Vivek Oberoi photographed at the funeral of Sushant Singh Rajput.
Strong points
- “It really has to become a family,” wrote Vivek Oberoi of Bollywood
- “Less play of power and more grace and generosity,” he added.
- Vivek Oberoi attended Sushant’s funeral with Kriti, Shraddha and others
New Delhi:
Actor Vivek Oberoi, one of the few members of the film fraternity who attended Sushant Singh Rajput’s funeral on Monday, took the opportunity to speak plainly to his colleagues. In a note shared on his Instagram account, Mr. Oberoi called Bollywood to “b *** h less and worry more, less power play and more grace and big heart”. His words echo those of a small but powerful choir of industry voices who spoke out against what has been variously described as “the privileged Bollywood club” and “the Bollywood Guardians” – camps and cliques for which the film industry is known and by which power is exercised by a select and elite group of insiders. “It really has to become a family, a place where talent is nurtured and not overwritten,” wrote Vivek Oberoi.
Sushant Singh Rajput, who was found dead at home in Mumbai on Sunday, is said to have felt excluded from inner Bollywood circles despite his obvious talent and several screen successes. Vivek Oberoi never worked with Mr. Rajput but seems to have felt a certain kinship with him. In his note, Mr. Oberoi wrote: “I have gone through my own journey of pain, it can be very dark and lonely.”
Sushant Singh Rajput died by suicide, police say. He was 34 years old. In his note, Vivek Oberoi wrote: “When I saw his father today, having to light the fire at the cremation, the pain in his eyes was unbearable. When I heard his sister cry, begging him to come back , I can’t express how tragic it was. “
Read Vivek Oberoi’s post here:
Vivek Oberoi has been on Twitter for two days now. Social media called some members of the film fraternity for sharing seemingly painful tributes to Sushant Singh Rajput while being less than pleasant during his lifetime; filmmaker Karan Johar and actress Alia Bhatt have come under fire for speaking disdainfully of Mr. Rajput on Koffee with Karan, to which the actor was never invited.
Vivek Oberoi’s name appeared in connection with Salman Khan who also shared a post after the death of Sushant Singh Rajput and was accused of hypocrisy by social media – Mr. Khan, one of the most powerful stars in Bollywood destroyed the career of Vivek Oberoi, alleges Twitter. In 2003, Mr. Oberoi called a press conference alleging that Salman Khan had telephoned him threateningly. Vivek Oberoi was then a rising star, with Company, Saathiya and Yuva behind him. Over the next few years, he was chosen for notable projects such as Omkara, Krrish 3 and Shootout At Lokhandwala; However, Mr. Oberoi has been mainly relegated to smaller films in recent years – his latest Hindi film was a biopic of PM Narendra Modi in which he starred.
The word “hypocrisy” was used by actor Nikhil Dwivedi in a lightning attack on the film industry. Bollywood was also strongly named by director Anubhav Sinha and actor Ranvir Shorey. Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur tweeted about “the people who gave up (Sushant Singh Rajput)”. Read the full story here.
The photos of Funeral of Sushant Singh Rajput proved the point that Vivek Oberoi, Ranvir Shorey and others have made – none of the many A-listers who shared tributes to Mr. Rajput were present; apart from Mr. Oberoi, the handful of other fraternity members who attended included the co-stars of Sushant Singh Rajput Kriti Sanon, Shraddha Kapoor, Rajkummar Rao and Varun Sharma, and the director Abhishek Kapoor who attended cast in his first film Kai Po Che!
Sushant Singh Rajput became famous with the television series of Balaji Telefilms Pavitra Rishta. His work includes films such as Detective Byomkesh Bakshy, MS Dhoni: The Untold Story, Sonchiriya, Raabta and Kedarnath. He was last seen in Chhichhore and the Netflix movie .
(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.))
