Need better system for all, say Taapsee Pannu, Anurag Kashyap as 'insider/outsider' debate hots up

Responding to actress-filmmaker Kangana Ranaut's recent comments naming her and fellow actress Swara Bhasker, Taapsee Pannu wrote that the bigger battle in the film industry is to create a 'better ecosystem to coexist'.

The debate about 'nepotism' and 'insider versus outsider' has gained fresh impetus following the death by suicide of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

While the cause for the actor's suicide is still under investigation by the police, several people have used the opportunity to accuse the film industry of being run by cliques, thereby barring 'outsiders' entry.

The debate plumbed new depths when Ranaut directed attention towards her own 'struggle' in a recent interview with the television channel Republic TV, going on to call Pannu and Swara ''B-grade actresses'' and ''needy outsiders''.

While the Saand Ki Aankh (2019) actress did not respond directly to Ranaut's comments, she replied to a filmmaker on Twitter, saying, 'Yes, there are differences between people born with pedigree n the "outsiders" but we aren’t battling each other, we are battling for a better system to coexist, not by mudslinging and name calling!'

Pannu's Manmarziyaan (2018) director Anurag Kashyap echoed her sentiments, saying, "Friends, there is a strange debate going on. Films don’t have only actors. At least 150 people work on a film set. Insiders or outsiders, the day these people learn to give artistes, workers, spotboys and others working on a set the same respect, we can have a conversation with them."

Kashyap added that a lot of ''blood and sweat'' goes into the making of a film, but only those who get the most out of cinema tend to speak about it. "It is necessary to look into every aspect of society and speak about all the ills in it," the director added.

While the debate has been going on since 2017, when Ranaut ignited it with her comment against filmmaker Karan Johar on his television chat show, it has definitely divided the industry.

Writer Kanika Dhillon got into a tiff with Ranaut's official social media team after the latter accused her of being 'left'-orientated.