Soni Razdan Defends Star Kids Facing Nepotism Pressures: I Think They Are All Talented

A recent post on Instagram shared by Freddy Birdy has garnered a lot of attention. It reads, “The people who moan on and on social media about nepotism are people whose parents had careers they would want to stay a million miles away from.” Alia Bhatt’s mother and veteran actress Soni Razdan has now reacted to this viral post, penning her thoughts on nepotism.

She patiently replied to all the netizens reacting to her comment. Razdan wrote, “Does a child have first right of refusal to a parent’s profession? Dentists children never seem to get any flack for becoming dentists … also I totally get the feeling. I was an outsider too trying to break in. Wisest words I ever heard were - the world doesn’t owe you a living. If you can’t deal with what it entails find another profession.”

A netizen reacted to Soni Razdan’s comment, and wrote that while ‘nepo dentists’ who aren’t good will not get repeated customers, but ‘terrible nepo actors’ get repeated a lot more. To this, Soni replied, “That way this industry is totally dependent on the audience in fact. It’s you who decide. No like… no see … it’s done and dusted. No more movies. (Unless daddy is funding your movie again and again that’s a different story and not at all about getting preferential casting ops) so it’s basically the same everywhere. You might get a foot in the door but that door has to have a very good reason to open."

One user wrote that to become a dentist, one has to study hard and pass exams, but an actor doesn’t have to go through this rigid process. Soni Razdan responded with a lengthy note highlighting the demanding aspects of an actor's career, including facing numerous rejections, enduring hurtful comments, and navigating challenges during shoots. “If you can’t hack it go somewhere else. You get the picture. Actors don’t have it easy. It’s never easy,” she wrote.

In another comment, Soni Razdan expressed how celebrity kids bear significant expectations placed upon them, which can be an overwhelming and frightening form of pressure. “But it won’t last if you don’t have ‘it’. And again, as I said .. this is the nature of the beast. Best to stay away if it’s so hard to deal with,” she wrote.

One netizen asked if Soni Razdan really believes Ananya Panday, Suhana Khan, Khushi Kapoor, Janhvi Kapoor and other ‘nepo kids’ are talented. To this, Soni Razdan replied, “I think they are all talented people! And so are many others. And thank god for OTT platforms now. So many more roles have opened up for so many more actors. In my youth it was just the films. Not even TV to start with. Can you imagine! Almost impossible to land a role.”