Ram Gopal Varma on nepotism debate: People have not understood why Karan Johar became successful

Promising actor Sushant Singh Rajput died by suicide in Mumbai on June 14, leaving his near and dear ones heartbroken. Following the tragic incident, several movie buffs lashed out at prominent filmmaker Karan Johar for allegedly ‘sabotaging’ the star’s career. Some even claimed that he favoured star kids over ‘talented outsiders’, supporting nepotism.

Noted director Ram Gopal Varma recently weighed in on the controversy and spoke in favour of the My Name Is Khan helmer. During a chat with Siddharth Kannan, the Rangeela director said that KJo is considered to be a brand as the audience loves his body of work. He added that those who hate the star filmmaker have failed to understand the reason behind his success.

“A man doesn't become successful himself, he is made successful by the people who watch his film or who are wanting to watch his films. And that is the reason why people know Karan Johar, not because he is an insider or Yash Johar's son,” he added.

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RGV had previously said that Karan was a victim of the “social lynch mob” and emphasised that the film industry would collapse without nepotism.

Sushant, who hailed from Patna, made his Bollywood debut with Kai Po Che, which exceeded expectations at the box office. He subsequently impressed fans with Shuddh Desi Romance and Detective Byomkesh Bakshi, which were backed by Yash Raj Films. It was, however, MS Dhoni: The Untold Story (2016) that established him as a household name.

SSR also acted Sonchiriya and Raabta, which did not do well at the box office. He was last seen in Chichhore, which emerged as a sleeper. His eagerly-awaited Drive, backed by Karan, released on Netflix and skipped the theatrical route.

Coming back to RGV, he recently grabbed attention with the Mia Malkova starrer Climax, which released online amid the COVID-19 lockdown. He is awaiting the release of the much-hyped Naked Nanga Nagnam.