Alia Bhatt, Ananya Panday's co-star Seema Pahwa denies to train nepo kids, says, "Our industry is not about art anymore"

Seema Pahwa co starred with Alia Bhatt in Gangubai Kathiawadi

Actress and filmmaker Seema Pahwa has been in the entertainment industry for over four decades. She has shared the screen space with several actors, including star kids like Alia Bhatt and Ananya Panday.

However, Seema has recently shared her thoughts on nepo kids and claimed that Bollywood has become a business-driven industry and shifted its focus from storytelling to showcasing faces.

In a recent interview with Bollywood Thikana, Seema opened up about her kids not getting a break in Bollywood despite being acting graduates and theatre-trained actors.

Seema said, “They believe their decision is wrong. They say nothing that we’ve taught them has any value in the present system. They rue the fact that we made them actors, and not stars… We asked them to train more, do theatre more, and even though they are doing all of it, they are nowhere."

However, Seema further noted that there should be a balance when it comes to star kids and said, “Why would I say star kids shouldn’t come to cinema. Just like how I want my kids to move ahead, even others would have similar expectations, right?”

She elaborated, “There are so many actors who are trained from FTII or NSD, etc, why aren’t they getting cast in any film. I know of someone who is an acting graduate and a theatre artist, who quit acting and left the city because of lack of offers."

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She also shared that she is not willing to train the nepo kids who lack talent just for the sake of launching them.

The actress explained, “Earlier, directors and producers had the say, and that’s why you had talent coming in from all over. Now, it is more of a package system that is brought into place to launch someone into films. In fact, some filmmakers reach out to me to train an actor, and do workshops with them. But I flatly refuse to do so.”

Seema questioned why untrained actors were being hired and trained instead of utilising trained actors. She suggested that the trained actors would be a better investment. She wondered what new perspective untrained actors could bring to cinema.

She also noted that talented individuals who have worked hard might lack resources for grooming and conventional looks, but they possess talent.

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She concluded, “They are here after a lot of struggle, and parents spend money on them too. They are rattled by guilt and pick up some non-acting jobs, but the actor in them is never dead. But yeah, there is no point beating around the bush. Our industry is not about art anymore. It is all about business.”

Seema made her acting debut with a television play, Sab Ki Izzat, at 15 years old. She then bagged a big TV break with Doordarshan soap opera Hum Log. She made her directorial debut with the 2021 film Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi and went on to earn several accolades.

She has delivered powerful and captivating roles in films like Gangubai Kathiawadi, Dream Girl 2, Badhaai Do, Zubeidaa and more.