Ranbir Kapoor Says 'Of Course Nepotism Exists.' Hear That, Bollywood?

New Delhi: Ranbir Kapoor, who has a Bollywood pedigree like few others, says yes, nepotism exists in the film industry and he's a beneficiary. The usually diplomatic actor told comedy collective AIB (in what must surely be his most non-PC interview yet - more on that below), "I am a 'disarming' product of it. Of course it exists. I'm sitting here next to you guys (because of nepotism). I have a simple take on nepotism. I believe that my great-grandfather worked hard to give his children a platform, and so on and so forth."

That's great to hear, since the word 'nepotism' seems to raise Bollywood's hackles in the ugliest manner - as seen at the IIFA Awards last weekend, where Karan Johar, Saif Ali Khan and Varun Dhawan chanted 'nepotism rocks' in an unsubtle dig at actress Kangana Ranaut, who called Karan Johar the "flagbearer of nepotism." Bollywood promptly closed ranks. Sonam Kapoor and Alia Bhatt, star kids themselves, dismissed Kangana and her comment. Anushka Sharma and Swara Bhaskar, neither of whom have family in the film fraternity, denied nepotism exists.

But Ranbir Kapoor, son of actors Rishi and Neetu Kapoor, grandson of Raj and related to any number of other famous Kapoors, says he's here because of nepotism. 10 on 10 for that answer, and for also speaking about the pitfalls that come with belonging to a filmy dynasty: "I became an actor because of my family and because I got the opportunity, and the thing is you don't really get credit for your success because everyone just looks down upon your success."

Watch Part 1 of Ranbir Kapoor's podcast with AIB:
 

Ranbir, 34, appeared to have dispensed with his many 'prototype' answers, which he cheerfully admitted to having a stack of, in his interview with AIB. His responses ranged from hilarious (he claims to have kept track of time on the many-years-in-the-making Jagga Jasoos by Shah Rukh Khan's four-year-old son AbRam's birthdays) to profound (you don't care about awards when you're winning them, you care very much when you aren't). He also revealed that Karan Johar, his director on Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, is 'obsessed' with Pakistani actor Fawad Khan - we did say non-PC.

Watch Part 2 of Ranbir Kapoor's podcast with AIB:
 

Ranbir Kapoor's new film Jagga Jasoos, co-starring former girlfriend Katrina Kaif, released last Friday to good reviews.