Mumbai: Kareena Kapoor recently offered a candid take on the ongoing nepotism debate, calling herself the “poster girl for the purest talent” to emerge from nepotism.
Her remark left filmmaker Karan Johar with a priceless reaction, making for an entertaining exchange.
Kareena made her Bollywood debut with Refugee on June 30, 2000, and has since built a career spanning over 25 years, taking on diverse roles across genres.
A member of the illustrious Kapoor family, she is the granddaughter of legendary actor Raj Kapoor and daughter of actors Randhir Kapoor and Babita.
However, the actor pushed back against the ‘nepo baby’ label during her appearance with husband Saif Ali Khan on Koffee With Karan.
After Saif won a fun segment on the chat show, he joked that his victory proved Koffee With Karan was neither nepotistic nor biased.
Kareena appeared surprised and questioned his remark, prompting Karan to point out that she was the ‘nepo baby’. The actor was quick to come back with a hilarious response.
“I am the poster girl for being the purest talent of nepotism. The purest, organic talent! Maine kabhi apne maa baap ka naam nahi liya hai (I have never taken the names of my parents)!” she said. Karan responded with an amused ‘waah!’ before joining Saif in mock applause.
Kareena had previously shared her views on nepotism during a 2020 conversation with Barkha Dutt.
“21 years of working would not have happened with just nepotism. It is not possible. I can take a long list out of superstars’ children for whom it’s not been able to happen that way,” she said.
The actor maintained that she does not believe her career opportunities came solely because of her family background.
“It might sound weird but my struggle is there. There is a struggle but it probably is not as interesting as somebody who comes in a train with just ₹10 in his pocket. Yeah, it’s not been that and I can’t be apologetic about it,” she added.
Kareena also argued that actors from film families work just as hard as those who enter the industry from outside.
“The idea is that today so many of our biggest stars whom you (the audience) have chosen, whether it is Akshay Kumar or Shah Rukh Khan or Ayushmann Khurrana or Rajkummar Rao, are all outsiders. They are successful actors because they have worked hard. Whether it is Alia Bhatt or Kareena Kapoor, we have also worked hard. You are enjoying our films and watching them. So, it’s the audience that makes or breaks us,” she said.
On the work front, Kareena was last seen in Meghna Gulzar’s Daayra, which underperformed at the box office.