Exclusive! Ranvir Shorey on nepotism debate: I’m an insider who has been treated as an outsider | Hindi Movie News

Bollywood actor Ranvir Shorey, who has been entertaining the audience for nearly two decades now, had recently taken to social media to slam many independent-film-crusaders, who turned mainstream-Bollywood-flunkies by calling them, hypocrites. While his heated argument with filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, over the same, caught a lot of eyeballs, Ranvir cleared the air by calling it a ‘minor misunderstanding’.

In an exclusive interview with ETimes, Ranvir opened up about the ongoing current insider-outsider debate and also shared the details of how he dealt with his film releases which didn’t get the necessary attention they should have in the past.

Excerpts from the interview…

You have been very vocal about your views on the current insider-outsider debate, drawing from your journey what can you tell us, where do you see yourself? Are you an insider or do you see yourself as an industry outsider?

I grew up on the fringes of the Hindi film industry. I have seen closely, since childhood, the politics that drives this business. As a grown-up professional, I have also borne the brunt of it. So you can say that I’m an insider, who has been treated as an outsider.

Did the fact that ‘Sonchirya’ didn’t get its due affect you? Can you talk about how you have dealt with your film releases when they didn’t get the necessary attention they should have.

Yes, I was terribly disappointed that the film didn’t perform well at the box office. But the silver lining was all the critical acclaim and love from the audience that the film has been slowly garnering. It’s always extremely exasperating and frustrating when a film suffers because of reasons other than the film’s own merit. I have always used those emotions to try to do better the next time.

You and Anurag Kashyap recently exchanged differing viewpoints on Twitter. What did you mean and who were you talking about when you said Bollywood flunkies?

Anurag is a friend of mine. It was a minor misunderstanding we had that got a lot of attention because it was on a public platform, that is also very high on drama. I was actually referring to a number of bloggers, journalists, critics, actors and filmmakers, who made an identity for themselves as crusaders of independent cinema but are now trying to shut down someone who’s raising their voice against injustices in the mainstream system.

Do you feel this open debate will change the star culture in Bollywood and give more space and attention to actors, who are usually on the periphery or sidelined during the promotions?

No, I don’t see any such hope. We’ll be lucky if all this talk can help shed some of the toxicity that stems from feudalism in Bollywood.