Indian police will probe whether the Bollywood actor who committed suicide the past weekend was depressed in part due to “professional rivalry,” in a film industry that is dominated by big names and has been accused of being insular, Reuters has reported.
34-year-old Sushant Singh Rajput, who won acclaim and fans for his roles in several top-draw films, hailed from a middle-class family with no Bollywood connections – a relative rarity in the industry.
He was found dead at his residence in Mumbai on Sunday.
“There are media reports that he allegedly suffered from clinical depression because of professional rivalry. Mumbai Police will probe this angle too,” the home (interior) minister in Maharashtra, which includes the film capital Mumbai, tweeted late on Monday.
Several of Rajput’s friends in the industry have written about his struggles to break through, while social media and some cultural commentators have criticised the allegedly closed culture in Bollywood, where some families have dominated for up to four generations.
Rajput’s family has not commented so far.
At least half a dozen accounts by Rajput’s industry colleagues suggested Bollywood’s clique-drive culture ostracised him, although none provided concrete details and it was not immediately clear who specifically they were talking about. However, hours after the actor’s death, the actor’s fans pointed fingers at Alia Bhatt and Karan Johar for driving him into depression.
“I knew the pain you were going through. I knew the story of the people who let you down so bad that you used to weep on my shoulder,” Shekhar Kapur, who was supposed to direct Rajput in a film that was eventually shelved, wrote in a tweet on Monday.
Legendary actor Dharmendra, while expressing his condolences said: “This beautiful beloved ‘show business’ is very cruel.”
Raveena Tandon also voiced similar views.
Meanwhile, actress Swara Bhasker called accusations against Bollywood personalities “the height of idiocy.”
Sonam Kapoor also had a similar stance.
Veteran actor Saif Ali Khan too, became part of the conversation as he showed distaste towards the hypocrisy the film industry is indulging in, soon after Singh’s demise.
“Out of respect for him, for Sushant’s tragedy, maybe a day of silence or introspection would be a little more becoming than this outpouring of love – an outpouring of love from people who obviously didn’t care about him and people who famously don’t care about anybody else,” he stated.
“We don’t care about anybody. You know, it’s a very cutthroat line of work. But to pretend that you do care is like the ultimate hypocrisy and I think that’s an insult to the dead, you know, it’s an insult to the soul that’s gone.”
He went on to say, “Nobody really cares in this town. So to pretend they really care is, you know, it’s a little much for me, it’s a little much to digest. They’re really coming across as the most ‘feeling’ people because they want their fans to think that they’re the most, feeling people – but that’s just untrue! Just for Sushant’s memory, there should be some dignity. If nothing else, you should just create some silence. I don’t think this is the time to comment.”
