Sushant Singh Rajput’s suicide last week has once again exposed the underbelly of Bollywood and how people who are not from the industry find it tough to make space for themselves. SHALINI SAKSENA speaks with actors and directors who say that the B-town has proved that all that glitters is not gold
The one person people probably didn’t expect to take his life was Sushant Singh Rajput. He was what the common man aspires to be. A brilliant A-grade student who left his engineering two months before his graduation to pursue acting and then make a name and place for himself in Bollywood. His suicide on June 14, 2020 at the age of 34 has shocked everyone. Not just because he was a popular and a successful actor but because when people looked at him, they were motivated and inspired — that if he could do it — so can they. He is a powerful motivator and therefore the shock, anger and demand that those responsible be named so that Sushant Singh Rajput (SSR) can get justice.
Vivek Agnihotri, director of films like The Tashkent Files and Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal tells you that there is a reason why people who are not from the industry are unable to get the kind of recognition that they deserve. “In the last decade or so, since foreign studios came in the independent producer system died down. Singleplexes died and multiplexes came in. The power from hundreds of producers concentrated in the hands of a few studios. From thousands of distributors, it got reduced to a few multiplexes. When the power got centralised and with no background in filmmaking, they started buying stars. This meant that the stars got more media face, got more marketing. Today, one sees less than a handful of production houses and a few stars. The discrepancy between the big stars and mid-level stars is huge,” Agnihotri says who is working on his next project — The Kashmir Files.
One is told that earlier if one actor was paid Rs 1 crore another would be paid Rs 75 lakh and yet another Rs 50 lakh. Today, if one star gets Rs 100 crore the other gets Rs 1 crore. “If one director is paid Rs 20 crore the other is struggling to make Rs 25 lakh. Also, stars have become producers and producers have become distributors and directors. Ego comes into play. If you don’t surrender to those in power and their style of functioning or interfere or interrupt their success, they have the power to destroy careers,” Agnihotri tells you.
He cites a case in point. If a small budget film is released at the same time as a big budget film, the production house would collude with multiplexes to keep the small film away from the theatres. “Therefore, smaller films seldom survive. Hence, many actors who have become successful after a lot of struggle surrender to these power houses,” Agnihotri opines.
He doesn’t agree that people who are from the industry have not been talking about the issues that plague it, they have been, but unfortunately, the media doesn’t cover them. “There are so many struggling actors and directors who keep committing suicide, go into depression, leave the industry or become addicts and alcoholics but nobody cares. The media only covers big news. All that the media covered when SSR’s ex-manager committed suicide three days before he did, was that she had taken the drastic step,” Agnihotri says.
He tells you that from the time Jiah Khan committed suicide back in 2013, nothing much has changed nor is it likely to. This is because it requires a lot of media support.
“If one wants things to change, the media has to constantly talk about it. Sadly, the entertainment space is sold and all the big people give them money and the big get bigger and small, smaller. When the #METOO Movement came, it became big because the media supported it,” Agnihotri tells you.
There is a reason why the people from within the industry don’t talk about the ills that exist. “They are here to make a career, to express themselves creatively and not to fight. There are few who do fight but are isolated by the industry. When I fight, the big people don’t let my film release, they put zero stars next to my film and review it three days before it is released so that the film dies. The reason why I fight is because I am an independent filmmaker and don’t care much for the industry. But many succumb to the system,” he says.
He also tells you that we are a corrupt nation and it is in our DNA and hence we don’t speak against what is happening around us. “People who come here, as long as they make a name and money for themselves, they don’t really care what is happening to those who are struggling. This exists across all sectors. Ultimately, after eight-10 years, one realises that one’s merit and talent is not going to them anywhere and they give in,” Agnihotri says.
He says that it is okay for a father to promote his son in a film. “It is his right. But if he keeps promoting him film after film even though the son has given 15 flops and the father still invests in him and goes out of the way to promote him, that is what nepotism is all about, when you keep promoting the son at the cost of genuine talent,” he says.
Karan Verma, a National Best-Selling author of Jack & Master tells you that the massive furore over SSR’s suicide is because he was a symbol that everyone looked up to — a man from a middle class, an outsider, a brilliant student – who came on his own. Started his career with TV and had some successful films. He epitomised the aspirations of the middle-class. For him to take this step has hurt people. Till we don’t open vistas for outsiders, things are not going to change,” Verma says.
He recalls the time when he was studying engineering and later pursuing MBA and writing for TV. He had wanted to pitch a few ideas for films and met some people from the industry, some nice and some hostile.
“I also signed a couple of films but they never saw the light of the day due to internal politics. There is a lot more that meets the eye. This is a crazy world. I am more careful now. Who pushes whose cart and where this is what it boils down to? Creativity and talent that should be primary are unfortunately secondary,” Verma says.
The only way to change the system is to start celebrating those who have made on their own. “If we can bring in this cultural change, it can make a big difference. He opines that the reason why actors who face prosecution don’t speak about openly is because they want to maintain relations. They understand how power rests with a few. Not everyone is as gusty as Kangana Ranaut. It is important to tell real stories, be honest and talk about their struggles. I always tell people the struggle I faced just to get my book published. How difficult it was to get shelf space and be on Amazon list. The problem is that once you become successful, you become part of the gang and never bother to give the real picture. You don’t want to ruffle feathers and just want to enjoy fruits of labour,” Verma tells you. He opines that SSR’s suicide has the potential of becoming something big.
“This lockdown due to COVID-19 has made people look within and they are no longer in awe of the celebrities at present. They have understood that there is more to life than success. People are no longer dazed by the glitz and glamour. Media has to speak about it and build a narrative that it is cool to celebrate those who have made it big on their own and encourage them,” Verma says.
Jagnoor Aneja, actor and fashion choreographer who began his career as a dancer and then went on to open his dance school and then a modeling school and went on to do four reality shows says that SSR’s death has exposed chinks in the armour.
“For now, the reports don’t point that money was an issue. Industry insiders themselves are tweeting about how he was pressurized, that despite being such a talented actor he was depressed and at 34 he took such a harsh step. One can only imagine the trauma and pain he was going through. The industry knows who the people are but due to the unity, nobody is taking the names,” Aneja says.
“It was so good to follow SSR’s career graph. Everyone in the Shiamak community would talk about his rise and growth. It was so inspiring for so many people and not just in the industry,” he tells you. “Why should nepotism exist in the first place? Why should anybody have the power to cast anyone anywhere. But star kids are born with the silver spoon. All that the parent has to do is call a producer and they fall at their feet. On the other hand, you have people like Kangana Ranaut or SSR who didn’t have a Godfather. It was their sheer talent that propelled them from ground zero to the top. It is good that Kangna Ranaut is so vocal about it. There are so many talented people who don’t even get a chance. There is a lesson for everyone here — one must support people. If you are a nobody one spends years in getting the right contact. We keep auditioning and then come to know that a star kid has been cast. Why hold an audition in the first place,” Aneja asks? His nine-year career in the industry has not been easy either. To get the right contacts that he needs for his modeling school, he had to slog. “Getting to the right people is tough,” Aneja says.
He tells you that in the last 20 years, the industry has grown so much so that Bollywood comes in as the third largest film industry in terms of revenue globally. Due to the growth, more doors opened. But it also means that one needs the right kind of contacts. If you have the right contact, they will make an actor out of you. But if you have the talent but no contacts, you give an audition and be shelved. “I tell my people to be street smart,” Aneja says.
Tia Bajpai who starred in films like Haunted 3D and 1920: Evil Returns tells you that it is extremely difficult for people from outside to make it big.
“The luxury of making a mistake is zero. One mistake and one is out. I have been at the receiving end. Despite two successful films people have not even recognised me. I have been to award functions and I am not even acknowledged. It is a mindset, if your movie is making Rs 100 crore you are deemed a successful actor. There is a simple math if a movie made in a budget of Rs 5 crore does a business of Rs 50 crore, it is a success. This movie can’t be compared with a movie made on a budget of Rs 100 crore. Even though I did a horror film, people said: ‘Oh she has just done horror films’,” Bajpai says.
Sadly, if one talks about what is happening to you, you are bullied. It is like a classroom where a child is bullied by a select few. “It is difficult to accept people who are outsiders. This is your wish. But at least don’t bully them. Don’t be mean to them. Let people be and don’t try to bring them down. There are so many talented people out there. But half their life is spent ii just trying to get an audition with a big production house. Then there is the whole thing of one being a TV actor. People look down at you and one is taken very seriously. I have faced this personally,” Bajpai tells you. However, the fact that she is also a singer makes it easy for her to give space to her creativity.
“Everyone makes a mistake. One should not be shunned just because one of your films flopped. More so, if your fans love you. Nobody has the right to decide who made it big and who didn’t. Everyone has a fan following. It is sad that the industry ranks actors. Nobody has the right to rub their idea of success on the other. Take SSR. Now people are saying how good and loving he was. If he was so good, loving and had friends why was he all alone? Why was he battling depression? Obviously, everybody was not loving him. Why this hypocrisy? Who are you to decide who is good and who is bad? Everyone should give everyone a fair chance,” Bajpai says.
