Mohnish Bahl is the son of actor Nutan Samarth Bahl and the cousin of Kajol. Hence, a lot of people may regard him as a product of nepotism as well, despite his brilliant acting career. And now, his daughter Pranutan embarked on her cinematic journey as an actor.
Speaking to TOI, Mohnish Bahl recently opened up about his daughter’s acting talent, her stepping into the industry, and added to the ongoing nepotism debate.
He called the insider-outsider debate “superficial” and said that anyone born into a family that is involved in a particular profession is bound to have an easier journey than the rest.
“I think the debate is very superficial. There is no such thing as an insider or an outsider. Anybody who has been born into a particular family profession will have a much easier journey than someone who has not. It is as simple as that. It makes things simpler because your parents know the way to guide you.”
He claimed that his daughter, Pranutan, has never used her family as an excuse to bag a project. He revealed that she, in fact, got her first film after auditioning for it.
“As far as Pranutan is concerned, she never used the family name to get in. She bagged her first film after giving auditions. Even when she went to a big production house, she put down her name as Pranutan and not as Pranutan Bahl. She did not reveal her family lineage.”
He went on to add that when he asked Pranutan why isn’t she using her family name, she said that she was “testing the waters”.
“When I asked her why she isn’t telling anybody about her family name, she said it was because she was testing the waters. She wanted to know if she has any value as an actor or are people just offering her tea because they know me. I thought that was a very mature point of view.”
Mohnish goes on to agree that it is easier for industry-bred kids to find an audition, but after they start performing, they are on their own.
“I agree that it is easier for industry-bred kids to find their way inside and get an audition. But that is the case with other professions also. If my younger daughter wishes to pursue law in future, it would be easier for her because we already have a lawyer in the family. Once you start your performance as an actor, you are on your own. There is no Mohnish or Nutan ji standing behind you in front of the camera. It is just you. That is why I feel all this debate is superficial. I don’t give it much thought.”
He goes on to add:
“If you look at it this way, my entire family is the product of nepotism – right from my grandmother Shobhana Samarth to my mother Nutan to Tanuja to Kajol to my cousin brother-in-law Ajay Devgn – it is basically everybody. Where do you stop? Hats off to people who come from non-film backgrounds and make it on their own but there is nothing shameful about being an industry kid too. Eventually, you have to make it on your own.”
He then said that if nepotism was really so beneficial, he wouldn’t have been playing so many negative roles.
“Frankly, if nepotism really helped people, I wouldn’t have been playing negatives and parallel leads all my life, considering whose son I am. There are so many other examples of people who have not even gotten as good as me and outsiders who have made it big.”
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