Geetika Vidya Ohlyan on nepotism in Bollywood: Bhaichaara runs deep in our blood – bollywood

The constant narrative around Bollywood having a culture of sidelining outsiders has been all pervasive for the past couple of months. Geetika Vidya Ohlyan, a newcomer with just two films in her kitty so far, says she’d like to believe that there’s still hope when it comes to the film industry.

“I’m glad to realise that my experiences as of now haven’t given me enough raw material to answer this question. I’ve met humans who’ve collected together to make a movie. Most of them are warmer, and more sensitive than humans I meet outside the film world,” says the Thappad and Soni (2018) actor.

From her experience, Geetika believes that all the people who work in the film industry are just people who’ve chosen artistic ways of running their lives.

“Flawed like other humans, yet united to tell a story. I have a supportive family at home, very accessible loving friends in Bombay and a reliable management that‘s got my back. If I ever witness the ‘bad dark side’ I’m hopeful I’d be able to reach out to my people and pull myself out of harm’s way,” she adds. 

The nepotism debate is also something that has gained prominence amid all this chatter. However, the actor is quick to say, “I struggle to make sensible arguments around this topic.”

She argues that there are star kids on screen because the audience is more ready to spend their money on someone’s son or daughter rather than a new name.

“Don’t we all do it ? We support people we know when they open a new business. If we ourselves make business plans we count our family members as our most trusted allies. Bhaichara (brotherhood) runs deep in our blood as a Indian cultural mineral!” she adds.

Having said that, Geetika explains that her film Soni that has received an overwhelming amount of love from audiences and appreciation from industry veterans, had no ‘insider’ as part of it. “My most recent Thappad is helmed by Taapsee Pannu ‘an outsider’ herself. ‘Unfair and Lovely’ the film I am currently working on is being shouldered by Ileana D’Cruz, Randeep Hooda and I all of us ‘outsiders’. These facts of my career and my perspective give me hope and strength to keep giving my best to whatever comes my way and not limit my experiences with imagines chains,” she concludes.