By Sharanya Gopinathan

So, this Sunday at the IIFA awards, three products of nepotism, Karan Johar, Saif Ali Khan and Varun Dhawan, got together to take cheap shots at Kangana Ranaut, who didn’t seem to present at the awards, to chant nepotism rocks (ooh, so creative guys) and to make other nasty statements to poke fun at her in public.

Of course, when something someone says something that still bothers you even though it’s been months and months, it’s usually a good sign that it’s true, and the three gents seemed to have no problem admitting it, even revelling in it for a few cheap laughs.

Obviously, all of Twitter found it to be distasteful, unnecessary and gross.

It also brings to mind how early this year, after Meryl Streep used her acceptance speech at the Golden Globe awards to make pointed remarks against then-President Elect Donald Trump, people in India were asking Bollywood stars to use award shows as platforms to make important statements. Opinion pieces in The Quint and the Indian Express asked Bollywood actors to take a cue from Meryl Streep and take public stands at award shows because they’re powerful platforms. This incensed Shah Rukh Khan so much that he wrote his own opinion piece in response in the Indian Express, in which he said that India and the United States face different issues, and that “you’ve got to speak to people who understand what you are saying. More than the platform Streep used for speaking, she had the platform where people understood what she said”.

I guess it’s fair to accept that the US and India don’t face the same issues, and that all public figures don’t need to heed our calls on social media and opinion pieces to share their political views or stances with the world. But it does say something about us that we continually let powerful men know that they can get away with the grossest displays of ego, vindictiveness and self-satisfaction and we’ll still watch their movies and television shows and buy the underwear they hawk while the women who cross them get called witches and black magic practitioners and mocked by everyone in the industry.

Plus, when even the actors called to these award functions find them a bit of a joke, like Sushant Singh Rajput revealed he does, you get the feeling that there’s really no reason to watch these shows at all.