The entertainment world is a very political place. Bollywood is a big part of this world. Since the death of Sushant Singh Rajput, the reality of Bollywood is much more visible to everyone. The dark side that Bollywood has is beyond scary. It is full of negativity, conspiracy theories, and whatnot. Several celebs have started to come forward in order to share their side of the story.

How they experienced the ugly side of Bollywood. A Bollywood that is full of gangism, groupism, and nepotism. If you are curious to know these celebs then you are at the right place. Here is a curated list of 20 celebs who became prey to gangism and nepotism in Bollywood.

1. Priyanka Chopra Jonas shared how she was cornered in Bollywood

PeeCee recently came forward in order to explain why she quit Bollywood and moved to America. In a conversation with Dax Shepherd on his podcast Armchair Expert, she said as we quote,

“I was being pushed into a corner in the industry (Bollywood). I had people not casting me, I had beef with people, I am not good at playing that game so I kind of was tired of the politics and I said I needed a break.”

She further added,

“This music thing gave me an opportunity to go into another part of the world, not crave for the movies I didn’t want to get but I would require to schmooze certain clubs and cliques of people. It would require groveling and I had worked a long time by then that I didn’t feel like I wanted to do it. So when this music thing came I was like ‘fu** it I am going to America.”

2. Ranvir Shorey shared how he was professionally and socially isolated in Bollywood

Even after starring in a number of high-profile films, Ranvir Shorey shared that he was constantly isolated in B-town. He was traumatized to the extent that he went out of India to find some peace. This was because of his issues with the Bhatts. He shared as quoted in the Hindustan times,

“Yes, that (Bhatts) is what I am talking about. I was professionally and socially isolated, equally pressured from all ends. Every chance and every platform they would get, they would be lying about me, saying I am an alcoholic and abuser. You feel so helpless and powerless because these people are so powerful that the press will just listen to them and not even bother calling you for your side of the story. You just feel so helpless and frustrated because you can’t do anything about it. It got really toxic for me at the time and I had to leave the country for a while.”

3. A. R. Rahman shared that a “gang” is the reason why he is doing fewer Bollywood projects

Legendary musician AR Rahman also faced gangism in B-town. He revealed why he is doing fewer Bollywood projects while talking to Radio Mirchi. He said as we quote,

“I don’t say no to good movies, but I think there is a gang, which, due to misunderstandings, is spreading some false rumors.”

4. Sonu Nigam shared how the “music mafia” is bigger than the film industry and is crushing opportunities for talented musicians

Sonu Nigam in plenty of Instagram videos came forward to share how the music mafia manipulates the business and ruins the careers of aspiring musicians. He said as we quote,

“The producer, director, and the music composer, all are ready to work but then the music company says, this isn’t our artist.”

Sonu Nigam claims that T-Series and Bhushan Kumar are the music mafia. To say that plenty of known artists agree with Sonu would not be so wrong. Singers like Kunal Ganjawala, Monali Thakur, Kailash Kher, and Salim Merchant among others are to name them.

5. Raveena Tandon shared how there is classroom politics in Bollywood

Raveena Tandon who rose to fame solely on the basis of talent also has become prey to gangism and groupism. She shared how the industry is full of “toxic and mean girls” who are always given the chance due to favoritism. In an interview with Hindustan times, she said as we quote,

“There are bad people who do plan your failure, I’ve been through it. They are the ones who would want to see you down and removed from films. It’s literally like classroom politics. They play games.”

6. Abhinav Kashyap says Salman Khan and the Khan family sabotaged his career

Anurag Kashyap’s brother too faced the wrath of nepotism in B-town. He solely blamed the Khan family for it. He wrote to Facebook as we quote,

“Mr. Salman Khan and his family sabotaged the release of the film and got their PROs to run a sustained negative smear campaign against me and my film Besharam before release. This scared the distributors from buying my film. Reliance Entertainment and I were capable and courageous enough to release the film ourselves but the battle had just begun. My enemies, which there were many ran a sustained negative Trolling and badmouthing campaign against the film till the Box Office of my film collapsed.”

7. Sona Mohapatra shared how even after a huge hit like “Ambarsariya” she never got another chance in B-town

Ambarsariya from Fukrey was one of the major blockbuster songs that still live in the hearts of many. Sona Mohapatra did an impeccable job. Regardless of this, it did not open any new doors of opportunities for her. She made a Tweet which she soon deleted in order to clarify, her previous Tweet went like this,

“Not very subtle.( FYI, Ambarsariya; both Javed & Farhan Akhtar were hostile/hated it. Only song Excel didn’t bother to shoot a music video for, montage got cut after much. Long story there but of course it’s no surprise why I never got a ‘second chance’. Stood up to the master.”

Clarification was,

Deleted a previous tweet I had written in the conversation. Realised I’d rather keep names out of conversations & not fall into a trap of pettiness or fuel trolling. There is a systemic issue in the industry. Hoping open conversations & reflection on all sides help a change. 🙏🏾

— Sona Mohapatra (@sonamohapatra) July 27, 2020

8. Resul Pookutty said no one gave him work after he won an Oscar

Can you imagine even after winning an Oscar you may not get to work? Yes, it can happen as it did to Resul Pookutty. He wrote on Twitter how he suffered a “near breakdown” by sharing Shekhar Kapur’s Tweet that said  Oscar is the kiss of death in Bollywood.

Dear @shekharkapur ask me about it, I had gone through near breakdown as nobody was giving me work in Hindi films and regional cinema held me tight after I won the Oscar… There were production houses told me at my face ”we don’t need you” but still I love my industry,for it…. https://t.co/j5CMNWDqqr

— resul pookutty (@resulp) July 26, 2020

9. Kangana Ranaut claims that the “suicide gang” told her she too would be driven by suicide

Kangana Ranaut is one of the most fearless people when it comes to showing the realities of B-town. She shared how Javed Akhtar told her she would be driven to suicide if she doesn’t apologize to Hrithik Roshan. About Mahesh Bhatt. Her image was also tampered with by Aditya Chopra after she rejected Salman Khan starrer Sultan.

10. Tigmanshu Dhulia said how groupism is not allowing Bollywood to go forward

Popular for the portrayal of Ramadhir Singh in Gangs of Wasseypur and dialogues like “Beta Tumse Na Ho Payega” Tigmanshu Dhulia also shared some insights into groupism in B-town. He told the Hindustan Times as we quote,

“The two strong groups in the industry did not take cinema forward. They were capable of changing the taste of the people but they did nothing for the art of cinema. They made money, which is great and essential, but cinema is an art form. What happened to it?.”

11. Madhur Bhandarkar says how his career was over the day his first film had flopped

Madhur Bhandarkar agrees that there is a great groupism in B-town. He was isolated after his first film had flopped. He said as we quote,

“The minute Trishakti bombed, people who used to take my calls — they were not even big people — they simply disappeared. They were suddenly nowhere. It was difficult for me to again get a foothold. People advise you ‘Your career is over’. My professional obituary was written that day.”

12. Ram Sampath went through a tough phase because of the groupism

Sona Mohapatra’s husband Ram Sampath is a known music composer. Nonetheless, he too became prey to the gangism and groupism in B-town. It was heartbreaking for her to see the tough phase he was going through. She revealed on Twitter as we quote,

“This illiterate self-important gang works against any genuine, classy, dignified, talented creative professional. Felt heartbroken seeing Ram Sampath go through hell, worse, finally, plug out of this toxic biotope 3 years ago. The final straw was #Raees. Took him 2yrs to recover post.”

This ‘illiterate self-important’ gang works against any genuine,classy,dignified,talented creative professional.Felt heartbroken seeing Ram Sampath go through hell,worse,finally plug out of this toxic biotope 3 years ago.The final straw was #Raees .Took him 2yrs to recover post https://t.co/0VNpldRSdb

— Sona Mohapatra (@sonamohapatra) July 26, 2020

13. Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub said that the problem is deeper than nepotism

Zeeshan Ayyud shared how outsiders are often lied to about movie roles and poster credits. He told the Hindustan Times as we quote,

“You’re told that you have this projection and sometimes you’re promised a poster, too. The makers sell you the character like it’s the poster character and one of the main leads, but while shooting, it becomes a side character.”

14. Govinda was shunned by Bollywood during his bad phase

Actors like Govinda were also shunned by B-town during his bad phase. Shatrughan Sinha in an interview with Republic TV revealed as we quote,

“I saw how his film, which was in production, was taken over due to some people. The film was already made but he still had to suffer through all of this.”

15. Upen Patel says how “they” suddenly cut him out

Helmed for films like 36 China Town, Namastey London, and Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani among others, Upen Patel also shared how he become a prey to the toxicity of B-town. He shared as we quote,

“That’s exactly how it happened.. Suddenly they decided to cut me out and I was left in a corner. I was lost. Confused. Hurt. It was very toxic for my mental health .. suddenly I was not needed in the industry.”

16. Divya Dutta says she was replaced in several movies

In an interview with ETimes, Divya Dutta shared her experience of struggle in B-town. She said as we quote,

“It used to feel like a huge sense of loss, coming and being rejected or being told on the phone that someone else has been roped in. I’ve been dropped out of many movies at the last minute so that hurts because you feel sheer helplessness because you know how good you could’ve been in that role.”

17. Adhyayan Suman says 14 of his films were shelved because of groupism

Like all the aforementioned people, Adhyayan Suman,  the son of Shekhar Suman, also agrees with how groupism ruins the career of many. In an interview with Bollywood Bubble, he said as we quote,

“Power dynamics and groupism are there in the industry for years. It happened to me too. My 14 films were shelved and the box-office collection of my films were projected wrongly. People haven’t paid attention to this earlier. It’s very unfortunate that we required a Sushant Singh Rajput to commit suicide for people to realise.”

18. Shreyas Talpade said that Karan Johar and YRF have no interest in working with him

Shreyas Talpade says nepotism and favoritism are here to stay in B-town. He talked about his struggling days when he did not even have the money to pay rent. He agrees that star kids can never feel what they have felt. While talking to the Hindustan times, he says as we quote,

“Nepotism and favoritism are here to stay. But we can’t just focus on that while moving ahead. At least I don’t want to. I’ve never done a Karan Johar or a Yash Raj film, I’ve never approached them, nor have they shown interest in working with me.”

19. Amit Sadh said that the TV industry blacklisted him for being outspoken

While talking to Bollywood Hungama, Amit Sadh revealed how the TV industry banned and blacklisted him for being “outspoken”. He said as we quote,

“They called each other and said isko kaam mat do. Toh phir maine kaha, ‘Achcha? Nahi de rahe ho? Toh phir main picturon mein jaaunga.”

20. Manoj Bajpayee admitted that the B-town has wasted talent by not letting outsiders in

Bajpayee shared how B-town has wasted talent. He said as we quote,

“I have said it before that this industry has wasted talent; so much that in any other country those talents who have not been given their due here.”

He further talked about how this industry has no respect for outsiders. He said as we quote,

“How come I survived in this industry, an industry that doesn’t have respect for people from outside? So much so, if a good film is getting bad box office then forget about the industry as they will anyway criticize you whether you make a good film or a bad film, whether you give a good performance or a bad performance — the mainstream critics and the trade analysts will jump on it and they will try to prove that it’s a bad film because the box office is not that great.”

These are some of the celebs who became prey to groupism, gangism, and nepotism. There of course are many who do not even get the chance to come forward and share their tale. What do you think about it? Will this dark side of Bollywood ever come to an end? Do tell us via the comments below.