Sushant Singh Rajput’s Death Has Pulled The Mask Off Of An Industry That Lives For Appearances. And The Stars Are Being Called Out

Bollywood as an industry is often regarded as one of the toughest and most challenging places to thrive in. It is where they say dreams come true, but no one really talks about how when those dreams aren’t coming true, more often than not they’re getting squashed, a besides failure, you’ve plenty to deal with. From the outside, it may be the one big happy family you see come together on award shows, ever welcoming and full of smiles and opportunities, but in reality it is but it has a dark side, one that is selfish, inconsiderate and distant. A perspective that most of us have had about the industry ever since we were acquainted with the terrible news of actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s suicide.

Death had always been a difficult concept for people. But, after the unfortunate passing away of the young and ambitious actor, Sushant Singh Rajput, the reality of it has been even harder to grasp. One moment ago we thought he was alive and kicking, preparing for the release of his next movie later this year, and the next moment, we were bidding goodbye to a guy you’ve seen on screen. His demise triggered a series of chain reactions on the internet and in the industry.

With hundreds of tweets pouring in, expressing grief and shock, the internet was flooded on 14th June 2020, with condolences and messages expressing their utter shock. Most of them also coming from the Bollywood stars, expressing their regret – that they had not kept in touch with him when they still had time.

Also Read : Kangana Ranaut Trends After Her Video Blaming Nepotism, Mental Harassment And Lack Of Acknowledgement For Sushant’s Suicide Goes Viral

https://twitter.com/KanganaTeam/status/1272468124118298625?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1272468124118298625&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fthehauterfly.com%2Flifestyle%2Fkangana-ranaut-trends-after-her-video-blaming-nepotism-mental-harassment-and-lack-of-acknowledgement-for-sushants-suicide-goes-viral%2F

He loved me so much…I will miss him so much. His energy, enthusiasm and his full happy smile. May Allah bless his soul and my condolences to his near and dear ones. This is extremely sad….and so shocking!! pic.twitter.com/skIhYEQxeO

— Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) June 14, 2020

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Honestly this news has left me shocked and speechless…I remember watching #SushantSinghRajput in Chhichhore and telling my friend Sajid, its producer how much I’d enjoyed the film and wish I’d been a part of it. Such a talented actor…may God give strength to his family 🙏🏻

— Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) June 14, 2020

At times our movie industry's hypocrisy gets to me. High &mighty announcing they shud ve kept in touch wth Sushant..
Cmon u didn't! &thts coz his career dipped. So STFU! R u in touch with Imran Khan, Abhay Deol &others? No!
But u were, whn they were doing well#SushantSinghRajput

— Nikhil Dwivedi (@Nikhil_Dwivedi) June 14, 2020

Social Media Shenanigans

From Karan Johar blaming himself for not being in touch, to Akshay Kumar talking about turning speechless at the news, several people from the industry tweeted and posted photos of the late actor, also bringing up concerns about mental health. And while on one end, we had all the stars dig up old photos and show sympathy for his death, others like Kangana Ranaut, Saif Ali Khan, Nikhil Dwivedi and Meera Chopra called out the apparent hypocrisy of Bollywood. Nikhil Dwivedi said, “High and mighty announcing they should have kept in touch with Sushant. Come on, you didn’t! And that’s because his career dipped. So STFU! Are you in touch with Imran Khan, Abhay Deol and others? No! But you were, when they were doing well.”

And caught in this crossfire on internet were actress Alia Bhatt and filmmaker Karan Johar, who are since then being blamed for being a part of and promoting such nepotism in the industry, that made an already established actor like Sushant still feel like an outsider and ultimately pushed him to this drastic stepp. With videos, tweets and comments highlighting bits from his famous talk show Koffee With Karan showing how callously they laughed at Sushant’s name, both Alia and Karan are now trending on Twitter, for reasons far from good.

I love my industry,but yes,the pressures are high,there are good people and people who play dirty, there are all kinds,but that’s what makes the https://t.co/YEXmquEDj2 has to pick up the pieces,walk again and again,with the head held high.Goodnight world.I pray for a better tmrw https://t.co/52nGxPma2m

— Raveena Tandon (@TandonRaveena) June 15, 2020

Blaming a girlfriend , ex girlfriend, family , colleagues for someone’s death is ignorant and fucking mean spirited.

— Sonam K Ahuja (@sonamakapoor) June 15, 2020

The Blame Game

And as many people continued to play the blame game and called out Bollywood on its superficiality, including veteran stars like Raveena Tandon and Kangana, who without taking names dropped a lot of truth bombs, actress Sonam Kapoor came to the defence of the industry by tweeting, “Blaming a girlfriend, ex-girlfriend, family, colleagues for someone’s death is ignorant and fucking mean spirited.” She was then soon after, heavily criticised for making such a remark.

And even though a lot of support and grief was shown on social media, the actual turnout of Bollywood celebrities at his funeral was far from overwhelming. Seen at the funeral were co-stars of Sushant’s last film, Chhichore, Shraddha Kapoor and Varun Sharma, Rhea Chakraborty, Kriti Sanon along with casting director Mukesh Chhabra, Kai Po Che director Abhishek Kapoor, who came with his wife, Pragya.

Others who were also spotted were Vivek Oberoi, Rajkummar Rao, Dinesh Vijan, Ekta Kapoor, Randeep Hooda, Nupur Sanon, Ranvir Shorey and Abhishek Chaubey. Since then, it is almost like a mask has been pulled off the face of Bollywood, with reality seeping through the cracks, and forcing us to think if it really was all this pressure and boycott from the privileged that led to this level of mental agony.

Meanwhile, netizens and media personnel, stepping out of bounds as usual, have been sensationalising this topic instead of treating it sensitively. In fact, the sister Kriti Sanon, Nupur Sanon also took to her social media to share just how many messages the two sisters have been receiving on sharing their grief through a post.

She wrote, “Everybody has suddenly started talking about mental health on social media since yesterday…and then we have people harassing people who are actually in a state of shock,who are hurt,who are grieving ..by sending them disgusting tweets, msgs, comments for not posting on lnstagram !! ‘You are so heartless’ ‘ek post tak nahi daala’ ‘Tum logo ne ek reaction nahi diya kitne pathar dil ho tum’ These are the comments and msgs we are constantly getting !! Aap ki permission ho toh sukoon se ro sakte hain?? Please??”

Seems like the death of Sushant Singh Rajput, has left all of us feeling bereft and looking back at our own behaviour towards people. Guess they are right when they say, ‘Be kind. You don’t know what other people are going through.’

Also Read : The Reporting Of Sushant Singh Rajput’s Death Was A Media Circus That Was Insensitive, Shocking And Appalling. We Need To Do Better

Sadhika Sehgal

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