Sushant Singh Rajput death anniversary: A look at positive conversations that started in Bollywood

Actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death led to a lot of conversation about nepotism and how is it like for an outsider in the showbiz world. One year on, has it led to any change? We talk to a few industry people for their take.

As glamorous as the profession is, being an actor is not an easy job. At least that is what many from within the industry have maintained. Conversations gathered steam especially over the past one year, ever since actor Sushant Singh Rajput died on June 14, 2020 and his sudden death left everyone with many questions.

Actor Sushant Singh Rajput died on June 14, 2020.

While the cause is still not known, the one debate which reared its head again was the fact that Rajput was someone who made it on his own, without any connections or belonging to a film family.

However, people close to him alleged that his films releasing directly on OTT platforms — Drive and Dil Bechara — affected him, and there was another factor at play: Discrimination towards him as an ‘outsider’.

BOLLYWOOD’S ‘INEQUALITY’ CAME TO THE FORE?

Is it fair to say that Rajput’s death led to Bollywood’s inequality in the form of nepotism coming to the fore? Actor Adhyayan Suman, who has had a tough journey till now despite belonging to a film family (son of Shekhar Suman), agrees.

“It was a good thing that so much came out, there were so many inequalities in the industry. Sushant’s death brought out so many thing prevalent in the industry,” says Suman, however, he questions, “How much change has it brought? Have deserving people started getting work? Has it become easier for them?”

Adhyayan Suman

The 33-year-old adds that makers still don’t entertain more people, “I don’t think directors have started taking calls of nobodies. I don’t want to name a filmmaker, he came to me during the pandemic last year, and said ‘I love you as an artist, there is no chance I am not going to give you work’. It’s been then and now, he is not answering my calls. It’s unfortunate. I am not sure anything has changed,” he opines.

Maintaining that showbiz is after all a “business”, actor Samir Soni feels that this is not a charity, and like every business, the investor wants to make profits.

“If he can do that with his own son, or with a guy from a small town in Bihar, it is a business. A lot of people say ‘merit counts’. Then people like Naseeruddin Shah and late Om Puri should have been the highest paid actors in the country. Market decides that,” Soni elaborates.

Samir Soni

While he feels that conversation on such topics strikes an emotional chord with people, they themselves don’t look at a film’s fate in correct terms.

“If I was to make a film and had enough money, I wouldn’t play the central character, I know people will crowd theatres to watch someone more saleable. If a film doesn’t work, the public won’t say ‘even though he lost 20 crores, he gave a new guy a chance’, they will just say the film didn’t work,” he explains, calling Rajput, therefore, a “success story”, as he managed to deliver hits and work with different directors.

ACTORS GET A VOICE TO SPEAK UP

Rajputs demise not only brought important discussions about the film industry to the fore but also gave many actors — outsiders — courage and power to speak up on issues that matter. We’ve seen how many, in the recent past, have called out the existence of nepotism and other biases that exist.

A rank outsider, Amol Parashar, who has starred in a lot of web content, says a lot of friends and well-wishers reached out to him after such conversations started.

“There were conversations about the inner lives of young actors, the pressures they live with on a day to day basis and the demons they fight away from the public eye. In a few days though, the conversations became convoluted, and instead of sympathising with his colleagues and friends who were dealing with the loss, some sections of the media turned it into a headless witch hunt,” rues the 34-year-old.

Amol Parashar

Parashar hopes that some empathy can be brought back into the conversations about young people’s internal struggles, “especially in an industry that keeps you on your toes all the time”.

Echoing a similar sentiment, actor Gulshan Devaiahsays people have unrealistic expectations about Bollywood, as it is a cut throat business.

“There is a severe lack of professionalism at different levels and there’s an unsaid hierarchy. This is no meritocracy. Very few people understand the nature of this business and that’s where all the trouble lies. Sushant was a bright star and had a fantastic career. I wish I had his career,” he says.

Gulshan Devaiah

Conversations on camps and lobbies, too, have increased, according to him.

Devaiah adds, “A lot of people felt empowered to share what they feel about this business, may be out of vengeance, motivation or to just shake things up. It’s undeniable that his unfortunate demise has given many people the courage to speak out.”