Bollywood is a house divided perhaps like never before with the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput ripping the tinsel veneer to reveal the inner workings of an industry always in the public eye and expose schisms big and small.
From nepotism and insider-outsider to mainstream vs indie cinema and bullying, it is open season for debate and mud slinging.
The weeks since the death of the 34-year-old actor, who was found hanging in his Bandra apartment on June 14, has led to a churn, throwing up deep-rooted issues that have long troubled the glamour industry. The angst and anxiety has prompted searching, existential questions on the nature of Bollywood and its power structures.
During its investigation into the death of the actor, who went from being the outsider’ from Patna to the star of films such as Chichhore and M S Dhoni: The Untold Story , Mumbai Police has questioned several big names, including producers Aditya Chopra and Sanjay Leela Bhansali as well as journalist Rajeev Masand.
And while the focus for a while was on mental health issues and their manifestations, the discourse has quickly moved on as increasing numbers of film industry insiders are speaking out, sometimes to air animus and other times to spotlight the many areas of friction.
The rifts are wide open and played out mostly on social media.
Kangana Ranaut slammed film barons Chopra and Karan Johar and also took a swipe at Tapsee Pannu and Swara Bhaskar, Anurag Kashyap and Ranvir Shorey were engaged in an unseemly spat on Twitter.
As the issue snowballed into something no one had quite envisaged, filmmaker Anubhav Sinha said he was quitting Bollywood, triggering intense discussion on what the moniker really means.
Sinha also said he does not understand the outsider versus insider debate.
But there was little space for any nuanced introspection as a discussion that began with Rajput’s death took a turn.
Ranaut, who has labelled Rajput’s death “murder”, accused Bollywood biggies of systematically working against the Chhichhore star, and promoting his image as a “flop actor”. She also alleged that his hits were glossed over and the figures fudged to highlight the successes of insider’ films.
But somewhere in the middle of this maelstrom, the sadness over Rajput’s death lingered.
Casting director-filmmaker Mukesh Chhabra, who first spotted Rajput for his debut film Kai Po Che and has directed the actor’s last movie Dil Bechara , said he will always regret that he could not show the final film to his friend.
I keep regretting that he couldn’t see the final film, Chhabra said.
I feel whatever prompted him to end his life, we don’t know and we will never know. So the only way to show respect is by keeping quiet, actor Vidya Balan told PTI. (PTI)