This has been on my mind lately, and I needed time to sort my thoughts out. I briefly considered not writing about this, but I feel that I need to let this load off my chest. Apologies in advance if I upset anyone, that is not my intention. Oh and also, quite a long post ahead.
Exactly a week ago, Sushant Singh Rajput committed suicide. I went through a whole myriad of emotions. It still affects and haunts me till today. Which is why I think I must let it out.
I first watched Sushant in Kis Desh Mein Hai Mera Dil. My mother was into watching Hindi serials and somehow along the way, I joined her occasionally. A year or so later, I saw Sushant in Pavitra Rishta. I started watching the drama purely for Sushant. There was just something about the quiet and strong Manav that captured my attention. I then watched him on Jhalak Dikhlaja and supported him all the way as a fan.
A few years later, I saw him debuting in Kai Po Che, and I watched him in PK, as the ever dashing Sarfaraz. It was at this point, that I marvelled and remember telling my mother, “Hey mum, you remember Manav from Pavitra Rishta? He made it to Bollywood!”
It was this thing about him making it big and that his talent was not going unnoticed. With his death, it did shock many of his fans, me included. The more I looked into it, the more upset I get.
Here’s my two cents worth.
Nepotism has been rampant in the Bollywood industry lately. Kangna Ranaut raised many questions and got herself a fair number of enemies when she deemed Karan Johar as the flag-bearer of nepotism. One thing I admire about her is that she has the guts to fight for her cause. There are some actors who might not have relatives in the industry, but they have their respective godfathers to give them the push they need to rise.
I was born in the nineties, so I grew up to the likes of Karisma Kapoor, the Deol brothers, Raveena Tandon, Akshay Kumar, the Khans. It did not occur to me that some of these actors were products of nepotism. Back then nepotism was not rampant, unlike now. There are some who are supremely talented. However, it seems like now, just about anyone can be cast simply because of their connections.
It is true that producers or directors can launch whoever they want, but this raises a few questions. Are you launching a star kid because they generate profit better than the talented outsiders? Is launching a star kid better than launching a talented actor who worked their ass off to be where they are? Doesn’t launching star kids make the road much narrower for upcoming actors looking to make their mark?
There are so many gems in Bollywood that have been overlooked, and they are capable of so much more. They should be appreciated more and protected at all costs.
“Outsiders” who are under-appreciated:
Randeep Hooda, Jimmy Sheirgill, Ranvir Shorey, Sayani Gupta, Taapsee Pannu, Radhika Apte, Kriti Sanon, Kriti Kharbanda, Siddharth Malhotra, Kiara Advani, Richa Chaddha, Manoj Bajpayee, Kangna Ranaut, Irrfan Khan, Kay Kay Menon, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Ayushmann Khurana, Rajkummar Rao, Sushant Singh Rajput, Vicky Kaushal, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Siddharth Malhotra (I know, people might say KJo is his godfather, but he is not a star kid and I feel that he grew by himself), Konkona Sen, Sharman Joshi, Pankaj Tripathi, Rajpal Yadav, Kalki Koechlin, Bipasha Basu, Dino Morea, Abhay Deol (he might be related to the Deols, but he worked his way up by himself damned well).
I am a fan of star kids who I feel are talented and worked their asses off to enjoy the stardom they have now. I like Aamir Khan, Shahid Kapoor, Hrithik Roshan and Karisma Kapoor a lot. I used to like Aliaa Bhatt because I felt like she had the guts to try out different projects and she proved she could act.
However, I somehow let my judgement cloud me a little and it has affected how I see these celebrities now. I came across a video of Katrina, Alia, Shahid and Varun ignoring Sushant at IIFA and it kinda sucked. I should not be judging just based on the context of that video, but still, it sucked seeing Sushant being ignored. Suffice to say, my level of disdain with these actors is going up.
When news of Sushant’s passing came out, I went onto Instagram and my newsfeed was flooded with many “tributes” to Sushant, by many actors from the film fraternity. It baffled me, because these actors posted photos with Sushant, as if trying to prove they had a genuine connection with him and that they apparently cared. Hmm.
Some can even attempt to pull the attention to them, that depression is an issue we should address seriously. There are talks of actors getting Sushant’s projects, and endless preaching of depression, linking it back to themselves. I am sure you know who I am talking about, Repeat after me repeat after me, how about stop hogging the bloody spotlight?! My respect has only gone up for people like Kriti Sanon, Vivek Oberoi and Shraddha Kapoor, who really proved they are friends who loved him. It struck me that this industry I grew up loving, turned out to be shallow and fake.
I unfollowed some people on Instagram. I just got more annoyed when I hear directors say how star kids get roles and do not even need to audition for their roles. This is unfair.
If these talks about Bollywood sabotaging Sushant’s career and pushing him to the edge are true, they have disappointed us as fans. I see a lot of finger pointing after Sushant’s death. Fingers are pointed at the bigwigs of Bollywood, and somehow, us, the fans. That shocked the shit out of me. We as fans, appreciate our talents and actors, which is why we watch their movies in theatres and support them as much as we can, without caring if they notice us or not. I for one, go to the theatres to watch movies and wait excitedly to watch my favourite actors on screen. This shit about nepotism has to be addressed and if this is how it’s going, then so be it. Not being invited to weddings, parties, and to be rated and not invited on a stupid show on his looks and talents and being termed too boring. How could a mind like Sushant’s be boring? THAT IS UTTER COW DUNG.
Sushant’s death, like Irrfan’s, hit me like a personal loss. He grew by himself, defying all odds to be a self-made actor, oozing talent, and love for his fans. He had a brilliant mind, and he was a wonderful person in and out. He had an unsatiated curiosity on how the universe came about, and the thirst for knowledge got him excited. He made time for his fans, he did donations quietly, he sent children to space camps, he appreciated his fans and chose projects that showed his talent and he was paving a way for himself, in all aspects. He was an inspiration for many upcoming actors, who probably told their parents, “If Sushant could do it, there might be a chance for me.” It is sad that all these questions are raised after his abrupt departure. 34 is too young of an age to go, but we will never know what he went through before he made the decision to take this final step. All I have to say is, I hope you are happy wherever you are Sushant. Bollywood did not deserve a gem like you. May you shine as bright as the stars you used to marvel over. We will never forget you. Never.
