On Sunday, Sushant Singh Rajput committed suicide at his Bandra home in Mumbai. (File)
Mumbai:
Amid a wave of grief, support and anger after the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, the government of Maharashtra has said it will examine allegations of professional rivalry as well as its clinical depression reported in its investigations.
The 34-year-old rising star of Hindi films committed suicide on Sunday at his Bandra home in Mumbai and was cremated yesterday.
Maharashtra’s interior minister Anil Deshmukh commented on Twitter that he was depressed due to professional rivalry.
“While the post mortem report indicates that the actor committed suicide while hanging himself, there are reports in the media according to which he would have suffered from clinical depression because of professional rivalries. The police of Mumbai will also examine this angle “, the minister tweeted.
No suicide note was found in the actor’s apartment. A post-mortem confirmed the suffocation due to the hanging and the foul play was excluded, according to the police.
Sushant Singh Rajput has successfully gone from television to the movies and starred in high-priced films such as “Kai Po Che“,”Shuddh Desi Romance“,”PK“,”Kedarnath“and”Sonchiriya“. He was nominated for actor awards for his representation of the former Indian skipper MS Dhoni in the 2016 biopic”MS Dhoni: the untold story“. One of his most recent films,”Chhichhore“, was widely appreciated.
The shocking death has troubled the film industry, which fights against allegations of patronage and clique. Many have tweeted about the alleged sidelining of the talented star, who quit his engineering course to continue playing. There are unconfirmed reports of the actor repelled by the so-called Bollywood big league.
Among those whose publications on social networks have highlighted the troubles of the actor, there was that of the famous filmmaker Shekhar Kapur. “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 would have contacted. What happened to you is their Karma. Not yours, “he tweeted.
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
Many reacted strongly to this message and more and more celebrities are speaking out against what some of them have described as the “privileged Bollywood club”.
The actor’s family members had called for an investigation as they struggled to understand what had driven him to extremes.
“He was under pressure … a 33-year-old man was at his peak and posed a threat to his rivals. Our call for an investigation has been accepted by the government of Maharashtra,” said Sushant Singh Rajput’s cousin Neeraj Bablu, MP for Bihar, alleging a “conspiracy”.
(If you need support or know someone who needs it, please contact your nearest mental health specialist.)
Helpline:
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 p.m. to 8 p.m.)
