Celina Jaitly stunned the world with her beauty. She landed a spot in top 5 at the Miss Universe 2001 pageant before entering Bollywood. Unfortunately, her Bollywood career did not flourish beyond glamorous roles in films like Thank You, No Entry, Golmaal Returns. In an earlier interview, she had talked about how she was tired of how difficult it was for an outsider to prove mettle in the industry. With the debate about outsiders and nepotism heated again, Celina has more to say. The actress has said that not only star kids have access but they are also immune from the sexual harassment in the industry. Quite a few names popped up during the 2019's #MeToo movement in Bollywood - the majority of the accused have resumed work.

Celina told Hindustan Times, "Nepotism is not bad, if there’s a successful transition from one generation to another, which merits talent. But when it blocks the entry of new talent, there’s is a big problem. Despotism favours the despot, nepotism favours the despot’s genes,"

The Janasheen actress added, "Also, children from film lineage have natural immunity from the sexual harassment that exists in Bollywood. And my journey was always a yo-yo between the two," Julie Andrews Reveals How Her Married Life with Blake Edwards Protected the Actress from Casting Couch.

Earlier, in June, Celina had explained her need for a sabbatical. She had said, "I had taken a purposeful break from cinema because of reasons best known to me and this had nothing to do with the fact that I got married. I was just tired and exhausted of how difficult it kept getting for an outsider to continuously strive to find the roles which celebrate the actor within."

The actress has been a vocal LGBT rights activist over the years. She recently made her comeback with a film, Season's Greetings, which released on an OTT platform.

In 2018, Ranbir Kapoor had said addressing casting couch, "I’ve never faced it in Bollywood. But if it is happening, then it’s very bad," Alia Bhatt on Casting Couch in Bollywood: Inform Your Parents First And Then Police.

In the same year, Salman Khan had said on the subject: "I have been here for the longest time and my father (screenwriter Salim Khan) has been here. Till today, I have never heard someone come and say this straight out."

Shruti Haasan has said, "I feel that there is a safety for women in the film industry. I agree that few people are facing the problems but we should learn to respect women."

Ranveer Singh, Radhika Apte, Swara Bhasker, Tisca Chopra, Priyanshu Chatterjee, Apurva Asrani, Himanshu Malik, Suchitra Krishnamurthy, Ayushmann Khurrana, Kalki Koechlin and many others have opened up about their brush with casting couch in the Indian film industry.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 23, 2020 07:32 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).