Emraan Hashmi reacts to Kangana’s nepotism claims, says she got lead in Gangster

Emraan Hashmi is awaiting the release of his new web series Showtime, which revolves around the issue of nepotism in the film industry. In a new interview with Dainik Bhaskar, Emraan got candid about the discussion around nepotism that was first thrown by actor Kangana Ranaut a few years ago. Emraan said that he found Kangana’s statements to be surprising. (Also read: Showtime trailer: Karan Johar makes a show on nepotism in Bollywood. Watch)
In the interview, Emraan said in Hindi, “I like Kangana a lot personally, as an artist. Maybe she might have had some bad experiences in the film industry. I have worked with her on Gangster. In that film she had a more important lead role than me. That is why she got an exposure with that film. So, I don’t think that only the ones favoured with nepotism gets the chance. However, Kangana might have her own opinion, but putting the blame on the entire industry is wrong. There might be a few. Not all are drug addicts in the industry.”
Kangana and Emraan first worked together in Gangster, and then went on to star in multiple movies together including Raaz: The Mystery Continues, Once Upon A Time In Mumbai, and Ungli.
Kangana had called Karan Johar the “flag-bearer of nepotism” on his chat show Koffee with Karan in 2017. Since then, her nepotism remark at Koffee with Karan became heavily reported in the last few years, especially after the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
Meanwhile, Emraan was last seen in an antagonistic role in Tiger 3. Showtime is his next show, which also stars Mouni Roy, Naseeruddin Shah, Mahima Makwana, Rajeev Khandelwal, and Shriya Saran. It will drop on Disney+ Hotstar on March 8.