When a story becomes louder than the actor who’s meant to tell it, something essential is lost. Bollywood’s PR machine is no longer just about getting faces into headlines — it’s editing identities, manufacturing “relatability” and packaging star kids as preframed products. The result? Performers who spend more energy living a marketed biography than sharpening their craft — and audiences who grow numb to talent. This piece tracks that pipeline: the narratives celebrities sell in interviews, the moments publicists double down on, and how extreme PR can bury potential talent before it even gets to breathe.
Why PR Isn’t the Problem, It’s the Excess
Public relations has always been part of entertainment. Every industry runs on visibility, managed narratives, and strategic positioning. The problem isn’t that star kids use PR, it’s that the narrative is becoming the performance. When Veer Pahariya admits “I don’t have somebody to talk for me and endorse me and put me in the news” while simultaneously appearing across every promotional platform, the contradiction reveals the core issue: the packaging has outpaced the product.
Bollywood’s PR ecosystem now mines data, sentiment analysis, and predictive analytics to forecast audience responses before campaigns launch. Agencies craft multi platform rollouts spanning Instagram Reels, YouTube interviews, press conferences, and manufactured “candid” moments. The machinery works brilliantly until the film releases and the craft can’t deliver what the marketing promised.
As one industry analysis puts it: “PR firms have mastered a clever emotional trick, repackaging privilege as struggle.” The manufactured “self made” narrative dominates launches, with publicists carefully scripting relatability beats into every interview. The audience, meanwhile, grows skeptical. A viral MensXP article captured the fatigue: “Is Bollywood overdoing it with the PR of new age nepo kids… my feed has become really irritating.”
Case Studies: Narrative, Quote, and What It Costs
Veer Pahariya: The Embarrassed Visibility Trap
The Narrative: Grandson of a prominent politician but positioned as a self made actor who trained for years without industry help.
The PR Moment: When asked about being name dropped on Koffee With Karan by Janhvi Kapoor and Sara Ali Khan, Veer’s response was telling: “It’s embarrassing.”
🎥 Watch here
He explained he had no idea the episode would air with his name mentioned, and the sudden visibility felt manufactured and uncomfortable. Yet in the same breath, during another interview, he admitted: “I don’t have somebody to talk for me and endorse me and put me in the news so I think I need to keep putting myself out there so people know I exist.”
What It Costs: Veer’s case illustrates the paradox. He’s embarrassed by manufactured PR moments but trapped in a system that demands constant visibility. The result? An actor caught performing a narrative of humility while simultaneously feeding the PR machine. His debut Sky Force received mixed reactions, with some praising his effort and others noting the disconnect between the hype and the performance. The PR didn’t create craft; it created noise.
Sara Ali Khan: The Middle Class Performance
The Narrative: The relatable, frugal, middle class girl who doesn’t splurge and stays grounded despite her royal lineage.
The PR Moment: In a Times Now interview, when asked if she keeps things “middle class,” Sara responded: “I’m frugal. I think that I’m aware and mindful about where I spend my money. I don’t enjoy spending money frivolously.”
She mentioned not buying expensive items even when she can afford them, borrowing her mother’s designer bags, and needing her mother’s OTP to book tickets.
🎥 Middle class obsession critique
What It Costs: Social media has roasted this persona relentlessly. Multiple YouTube compilations and Reddit threads dissect Sara’s “middle class obsession,” with viewers noting the performative nature of her relatability. One Reddit comment captured the sentiment: “At IIFA, she mentioned she’s so stingy that she doesn’t even want to get roaming because it costs Rs 400… how can she think the audience will believe this.” The over rehearsed humility has created audience cynicism. Instead of building connection, the narrative has become a meme — and the skepticism bleeds into how her performances are received.
Khushi Kapoor: Authenticity as Strategy
The Narrative: A star kid finding her voice, vulnerable about cosmetic procedures, and honest about industry pressures.
The PR Moment: Khushi has been open about undergoing cosmetic enhancements, stating: “If someone wishes to get work done, it is their choice… I myself have been under the knife and people should have the right to choose whatever they want.”
She frames this transparency as avoiding unrealistic beauty standards.
What It Costs: While honesty is refreshing, it risks becoming another performance of authenticity. The industry increasingly demands stars perform vulnerability as part of their brand. Khushi’s debut in The Archies and subsequent films like Nadaaniyan received lukewarm responses, with critics noting that her “girl next door” typecasting may limit her range. The PR builds an image, but the roles available to her may never allow her to escape it.
Junaid Khan: The Patient Outsider
The Narrative: Theatre trained actor who took the unconventional route, debuting at 31 without a “grand plan” or relying on his father Aamir Khan.
The PR Moment: Junaid told the Times of India: “I never had any grand plan for my debut film.” He emphasized theatre work since 2017 and waiting for the right project rather than rushing into a typical commercial launch. And yet — his debut was under Yash Raj Films. Let’s not forget the PR stunt moment: Junaid Khan was “spotted” traveling in a rickshaw post shoot to establish how “down to earth” he is. A Yash Raj actor taking an auto to prove humility? Hilarious, right?
What It Costs: The narrative of patience and craft sounds noble, but Junaid’s debut Maharaj was a Yash Raj Films production, hardly an outsider’s struggle. His subsequent film Loveyapa with Khushi Kapoor leaned into awkward, cringe worthy promotions that social media mocked. The “unconventional debut” framing created expectations his actual work struggled to meet. As one analysis noted: “Junaid Khan and Khushi Kapoor promoting their upcoming film Loveyapa in the most cringe worthy and awkward manner.”
The Mechanism: When Storytelling Outshines Skill
Bollywood doesn’t launch actors anymore — it launches narratives. Every star kid comes pre-packaged with a storyline so polished it could double as a PR deck. One’s suddenly the “middle-class girl next door.” Another’s the “patient artist who waited years.” Someone else is the “different kind of nepo baby.” It’s less about a career and more about content strategy.
Once upon a time, actors spent years in workshops, theatre circuits, or random side roles — now they spend that same time rehearsing interviews. It’s not about learning to inhabit a character; it’s about learning to inhabit an image. And these images need maintenance. Constant maintenance. Sara has to stay frugal in every conversation. Junaid must keep his underdog patience intact. Khushi needs to perform vulnerability like it’s part of her job description.
And maybe it is. Because the modern Bollywood machine doesn’t reward silence or mystery — it rewards algorithms. You’re either posting, performing, or falling behind. PR has turned relatability into a full-time gig, leaving no room for risk or artistic growth.
The result? Audience fatigue that’s borderline allergic. Every “I’m just like you” quote or “I struggled too” clip now triggers an eye-roll. Even Reddit’s had enough — one user summed it up perfectly: “Bollywood’s fixation on star children is backfiring… the market’s overcrowded, and everyone’s selling the same story.”
The irony? In trying so hard to be seen, they’ve become invisible.
Fewer Diamonds, More Glitter
Bollywood’s current PR first model creates a talent crisis. When production houses invest millions in launching star kids with heavy PR but minimal craft development, they crowd out space for genuine talent discovery. Outsiders without connections face an industry that prioritizes prepackaged narratives over raw ability.
Nushrratt Bharuccha, an outsider who worked her way up, noted: “Being an outsider has its cons… I’m not bitter that someone else got a film and I didn’t.” But the data tells a different story. Casting directors receive thousands of self tapes daily from aspiring actors, yet the industry remains fixated on launching the next wave of star kids with billion rupee PR campaigns.
What Audiences and Creators Can (Actually) Do
Maybe it’s time we stop confusing visibility with value. The cycle only breaks when we reward performance over packaging — when a strong scene gets more attention than a strong PR team. OTT platforms and social media have already cracked open the gates; we’re just not walking through them enough. Remember Vicky Donor, Queen, Tanu Weds Manu? Those films worked because talent spoke louder than a launch party.
And for the star kids — the lesson’s not rocket science. PR should amplify talent, not act as a replacement plan. You can’t post your way into being real. Relatability only works when it’s accidental, not part of a pitch. Audiences can smell a script — and lately, it stinks.
Bollywood’s at a weird crossroads right now. Keep chasing the “PR-first” fantasy and keep watching those glossy debuts tank. Or maybe, just maybe, bring the focus back to the work — the messy, unfiltered, craft-driven kind that actually moves people.
Because at the end of the day, you can either shine — or let the glitter bury you.