Shahid Kapoor slams Bollywood ‘camps’, says outsiders are not accepted easily: ‘I hate being harassed…’

Shahid Kapoor lashed out at the ‘camps’ of Bollywood. Appearing on Neha Dhupia’s show No Filter Neha, Shahid criticized the camp culture and added that those in Bollywood do not easily accept outsiders in the industry. He urged his industry peers to allow people to collaborate with whoever they want instead of “dismissing” or “belittling” them. Teri Baaton Mein star Aisa Uljha Jiya termed his honest statements as “unfiltered Shahid”.

The actor opened up about his thoughts on camps in Bollywood when Neha pointed out that she has not been a part of any camp since she started her career. “Maybe I don’t have the qualities to be a cutesy person,” Shahid said, before sharing an anecdote from his childhood. “I was from Delhi, I came to Mumbai and I was not accepted in my class. I was the outsider because my accent was different, I had a Delhi accent. “They treated me very badly for a long time,” he said.

“We lived in a rented house, so we moved every 11 months. I’d be in a new building, trying to make friends with people who didn’t know me. I went to Shiamak (Davar) and college, and that’s where I finally felt accepted and had my own group of people and then became an actor. When I entered the industry, I realized that this is also like a school. Bahar waale ko aasani se accepted nahi karte ye log, inko bada problem hota hai ke tum aa kaise gaye ander. (They don’t easily accept anyone from outside. They have the problem of how to enter the industry.) So for many years you face that,” Shahid added.

The actor said he doesn’t like the structure of the camp. “I don’t like this cheesy stuff. I feel like people who want to collaborate creatively with each other should do so. People are comfortable with each other, it should be that way. But that doesn’t mean you despise other people, put other people down, or close doors to other people. And I think that’s something that happens in this fraternity. I hate being bullied and I had no confidence as a child, teenager, and young adult. But now, if you try to bully me, I will bully you too. So I hate the bully, I bully the bully. This is not a Shahid filter,” Shahid said.

Having been in Bollywood for over two decades, Shahid has worked with a variety of filmmakers.