No One Killed Sushant….He Was  Not A Jobless…Victim Of Nepotism!

Suddenly and very  regrettably  Sushant  Singh Rajput ‘s  unspeakably tragic death has become  a rallying point  for nepotism.

 Suddenly an actress , known to  shriek when  a whistle would do, thinks Karan  Johar and nepo-gang  planned Sushant’s murder by rendering him jobless,  making him  feel  feel worthless, driving him out of the  industry.

 This melodramatic  screenplay being woven by the anti-nepo gang(possible title for the fim  Karan Zehar)   is  far  more dramatic  than  any film that Sushant did in his all-too-brief career. It is also a false  hysterical narrative being  thrust into the  public eye to hide the  real  reason for Sushant’s hurried  journey from  distinguished to extinguished.

If Sushant  is not with us  anymore, it’s not because he was being driven  out of the industry. Of course  I am not saying the Sushant  was  not  a victim  of  nepotism. We all are victims   of  the  clannish culture that  exists in Bollywood.

When  I began writing I  was  told my English  was  poor.“Did  you attend a school in cowshed?”  one editor had  asked me  , laughing loudly at his  own  joke. I told him he must excuse me  as I need to go and milk my cow .

To fight nepotism  you have  to have a sense  of humour. Sushant had it in abundance. And he  had  the talent and  selfconfidence  to go with it.We would often laugh at  this one  and that one repeatedly getting   roles because of his  ‘connections.’ I remember  a major studio head had hired a singularly  untalented  actress (who continues be  cast in major films exclusively by this studio). In her  first film she was cast with Sushant.We had a blast   trying to figure where her talent began and ended.

But nepotism never held him down. And to  hold Karan  Johar or anyone  else  responsible  for rendering Sushant jobless  is plainly ridiculous  and  untrue. Because Sushant was  not jobless. He was inundated  with offers  right till the end  .  He is  the  only  actor in Bollywood to have turned down three  films with  Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Bhansali first  offered  him  Ram Leela, then Bajirao Mastani and  finally   Padmaavat.

So  Ranveer Singh owes at least a  part of his success  to Sushant. Did Sushant feel  like an outsider  in Bollywood?  I  don’t think so.His last two films  Kedarnath and  Chhichore were  hits. He  was  getting the  best of offers. At no  point  was he  being shunned  for  being an  “outsider”. Hotshot producers  like Sajid Nadiadwala and Dinesh  Vijan were keen to sign him repeatedly. But  in recent times, Sushant had  lost interest in meeting filmmakers,  discussing new projects. He  wanted  to be  left alone.

His  friends in the  industry did not abandon him  because he  was  not doing well. He was!  Doing well, I mean. But how  do you  connect with someone  who wants to be  left alone? You ask to meet. Then  you ask again. Then you give up.

What happened  to Sushant is  no one’s  fault.The fault, as  the title of his last  film  suggests, lies  with the stars. And not the ones  down below.