Nepotism is prevalent and widespread in Bollywood. Period. No exclamations and no question marks on this statement are needed, as it is a blatant and harsh truth of the industry. Although it has been pervasive in the entertainment industry (since like forever), the word ‘nepotism’ came into the limelight when Kangana Ranaut berated Karan Johar on his show Koffee with Karan and said that he was the ‘flagbearer of nepotism’. Since then, every now and then, instances have erupted in the industry that Bollywood supports nepotism. And now, the term comes right in our faces when Shah Rukh Khan’s daughter Suhana Khan featured on the cover of Vogue- one of the most prestigious magazine names worldwide for its August issue.

Who doesn’t wish to be on the cover of such an esteemed magazine? But you need to rightfully earn it to be on it. Or may be not. With the current example, all you need is Shah Rukh Khan to be your father and you will land yourself on the cover of Vogue. No soon did the latest cover featuring Suhana on Vogue India unveiled, netizens were furious, and rightfully so. A young girl who has not even taken the baby steps to make a mark in the film industry or even otherwise, suddenly you see her on the cover of a magazine.

I couldn’t help but wonder, who is Suhana Khan and what are her achievements? The magazine describes Suhana as ‘a student, theatre lover, future star’. Well, the magazine forgot to mention ‘Shah Rukh Khan’s daughter’ in the description. Because that is what she currently is. Anaita Shroff Adjania, renowned fashion director and a long-time friend of Shah Rukh Khan who styled Suhana for her first shoot was quoted saying, “For me, it wasn’t about shooting Shah Rukh Khan’s daughter. It was exciting to work with a young raw amazing girl.” But if Anaita didn’t think she was shooting with SRK’s daughter, then why is she on the cover of Vogue India?

Let’s make it clear, that it is not Suhana that I wish to put down but the people behind the decision to put her on the cover. Miss World 2017 Manushi Chillar, an Indian who made the country proud and brought the crown back to the country after years, why didn’t she make it on the Vogue India cover? What also came to our notice, why did the magazine find it necessary to disable their comments on Instagram on all pictures from the shoot? Were they afraid to receive backlash and trolls from the netizens or nepotism remarks? Well, only the magazine can answer that. But Suhana and Vogue’s credibility, both were slammed by the trollers.

We can’t stop nepotism in the industry. Ranbir Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor and more are all proteges of well-known names in the industry. There is no denying that they all have made their mark here, but it has been far easier for them to get a break in the industry. On the other hand, exceptional talents like Kangana Ranaut, Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone and Anushka Sharma have struggled the way up the ladder to reach where they are right now. In the end, Suhana Khan on the cover of Vogue India was totally undeserving.

(The opinions expressed in the above article are of the author and do not reflect the stand or position of LatestLY.) 

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 01, 2018 03:26 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).