Part of the Family Business

Kangana Ranaut created quite a stir when she spoke about nepotism and called Karan Johar the “Movie Mafia” on his show Koffee With Karan. Who was she really referring to? Oh ya…there were some cute little “students” who were being trained and nurtured by him. But come on…don’t blame him….if he doesn’t make all those bubble gum movies with houses bigger than palaces and college campuses which we have never seen before, what will these little kids do?

We have our very own Karan Johars in the corporate world too! How? Let me tell you. We, the good old service class people work very hard to update our resumes (we even take online sessions on how to make our resume detailed yet crisp) to make them super fancy so that the “so-called intellectual” HR gives our email one jhalak and in those 10 seconds our fate is decided whether it’s going to be passed on to his/her boss or shifted to the junk folder.

Good news…resume shortlisted! Yayy!! Then what? You get a call for an interview (audition) to a plush office on the 20th floor of an ivory tower in South Mumbai. The prep begins…not only to read about the company, its financials, its management, but more importantly figuring out what time will we need to leave home, take a train, reach their fancy building, making sure we look as fresh as a daisy. Finally, the drill begins! So cutting the long story short, after 6-7 rounds of auditioning in front of different business heads and HR, voila! you have got the job!

With over 15 years of work experience, you walk in with full confidence only to realize that your reporting manager is a youngster looking just out of a typical Karan Johar college….hey let’s not get judgmental. Doogie Houser also was a kid but a smart one for sure. As the day passes, you realize that this manager doesn’t seem to know much but is surely good at faffing! How do you know that? When the person does not have a clue of what is being discussed but smartly nods their head.

Looking at the attire and accessories, you wonder…kahan se kharida yeh sab…father must be filthy rich! That’s when your Bollywood mind is at play – the curious mind starts checking social media to find out more, then you realize…ohh…the reporting manager and the CEO share the same last name….aahhh…alas…the mystery has been solved….Doogie is actually Junior CEO….aakhir baap ki gaddhi ko usse hi toh sambhalna hai.

It doesn’t end here….as you are getting introduced to other members, you gradually realize that there are a couple of more people with the same surname…Smart toh hum hai…so connecting the dots was easy peesy! Just like Sooraj Barjatiya’s Hum Saath Saath Hain…our dear CEO Alok Nath said we are a family that stays together and works together because no one else is going to give our sweet and somber Reema Lagoo any job…what will she do at home…

“We are an ethical company, we treat everyone equal” blah blah blah is good to have in your handbook; but the fact remains that nepotism and groupism exist not just in Bollywood, but in the corporate world too!