An archive photo of Sushant Singh Rajput. (Image courtesy: Instagram)
Strong points
- These tweets were published by Anubhav Sinha, Nikhil Dwivedi, Ranvir Shorey
- All three shared messages censoring colleagues
- Mr. Rajput, 34, was found dead at his Mumbai home on Sunday
New Delhi:
A set of oblique tweets shared after the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput accuse the cinematographic fraternity to which he belonged of “hypocrisy” and “double-sided”. These tweets were published by those who should know it – director Anubhav Sinha and actors Nikhil Dwivedi and Ranvir Shorey. All three shared messages censoring their colleagues – especially what they separately call the “Bollywood Privilege Club” and the “Bollywood Guardians”. A tweet by filmmaker Shekhar Kapur goes further, cryptically referring to “people who have given up (Sushant Singh Rajput)”. Mr. Rajput, 34, was found dead at his Mumbai home on Sunday; police say he died by suicide.
The death of Sushant Singh Rajput sparked an instant and massive outpouring of seemingly overwhelming Bollywood messages, among them Karan Johar and Alia Bhatt who are both in fashion after the backlash from Twitter. Social media, who never forget, reminded Ms. Bhatt that she called the deceased actor “Sushant Singh Rajput, who?” on Karan Johar’s cat Koffee with Karan. There are also accusations that Mr. Rajput has been expelled from the inner circle of Bollywood – he has never been invited to Koffee with Karan as a guest, for example – despite having starred in blockbuster movies and acclaimed works such as Kedarnath, MS Dhoni: The Untold Story, Sonchiriya, Chhichhore and Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!
On Sunday, Nikhil Dwivedi shared a strongly criticized tweet to denounce the “hypocrisy” of the industry and write “High and powerful announcing that they should have kept in touch with Sushant”. Mr. Dwivedi didn’t name any names but it’s easy to connect the dots to Karan Johar who posted a long Instagram note blaming himself for not staying in touch with Sushant Singh Rajput for the past year.
Sometimes the hypocrisy of our film industry hits me. High and powerful announcing that they should stay in touch with Sushant.
Don’t come! & thts coz his diving career. So STFU! R u in contact with Imran Khan, Abhay Deol & others? No!
But you were, when they were fine#SushantSinghRajput– Nikhil Dwivedi (@Nikhil_Dwivedi) June 14, 2020
Abhinav Sinha tweeted about the “Bollywood Privilege Club” and declined to say more:
The Bollywood Privilege Club has to sit down and think this evening.
PS- Now don’t ask me to develop further.
– Anubhav Sinha (@anubhavsinha) June 14, 2020
Ranvir Shorey had more to say about “inherited privilege” and how it works to create centers of power which he calls “the guardians of Bollywood”:
It would not be fair to blame someone for a step they took themselves. He was playing a high-stakes game, where it’s winning or losing everything. But something must be said about the self-proclaimed “Bollywood Guardians”.
– Ranvir Shorey (@RanvirShorey) June 15, 2020
Mr. Sinha and Mr. Shorey clearly distinguish a certain group of Bollywood insiders, one who has been repeatedly accused of patronage and patronage – Karan Johar is an easy connection here again.
What is not clear is who Shekhar Kapur means in his tweet indicating insider information about the life of Sushant Singh Rajput: “I knew the pain you were going through. I knew the story of the people who left you fall so badly that you would cry on my I wish you were around the past 6 months. I would like you to contact me. What happened to you was their Karma. Not yours. “
I knew the pain you were going through. I knew the story of the people who let you down so badly that you would cry on my shoulder. I wish I was around the past 6 months. I wish you had contacted me. What has happened to you is their Karma. Not yours. #SushantSinghRajput
– Shekhar Kapur (@shekharkapur) June 15, 2020
The comments thread in all of these tweets is filled with responses calling for the “Bollywood Guardians” to be named and ashamed – this, however, is unlikely. As Anubhav Sinha wrote, “Don’t ask me to develop further.”
(If you need support or know someone who needs it, please contact your nearest mental health specialist.) Help lines: AASRA: 91-22-27546669 (24 hours) Sneha Foundation: 91- 44-24640050 (24 hours) Vandrevala Foundation for Mental Health: 1860-2662-345 and 1800-2333-330 (24 hours) iCall: 022-25521111 (available Monday to Saturday: 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.) Connection NGO: 18002094353 ( available from 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.))
