Following the tragic untimely demise of actor Sushant Singh Rajput, the Bollywood industry has erupted in sympathy for the late actor. While the eulogies are very heartfelt, not all seem to be very genuine. And that is not said by us, but by artists like Kangana Ranaut and Rajat Barmecha themselves.
Rajat Barmecha who rose to fame with the movie Udaan in 2010, has very boldly called out on solidarities that he deems useless now. He took to Instagram just after the news of Sushant’s death and questioned the long, seemingly valuable posts of personnel from the film industry which revolved around the late artist being ‘an invaluable gem’, ‘close friend’ very ‘talented and bright soul’. He asked the question “Why Now?”. He says that the problem does not lie not the fact that people paid respect to his soul, instead it lies in the fact that most people are pretending to know him or care for him when he is gone. “Why are you saying things now and you never did so when the person was there? Maybe that was the thing the person wanted to hear.” He himself mentioned that he did not know Sushant Singh Rajput personally and understands that not everyone was bound to be Sushant’s friend but cashing on his suicide is simply repulsive.
He further talks about how work is treated as the defining factor of a person and that must be changed. In Bollywood, there is a saying that Friday changes the fate of a person. He protests against it and says that “work shouldn’t decide the fate of a person” and regardless of date, time or day, a person must be appreciated. He recalls the time when Drive was released and Sushant was criticized for it. “When his film Drive came on Netflix and it bombed, people had such awful things to say. When an actor starts his career and a few things go wrong, people are so quick to pull that person down. It doesn’t take you a minute to say that ‘arre career khatam hogaya’, ‘can’t do anything”, Rajat said in the video.
He says even though we do not know for sure what made Sushant take the drastic step, unnecessary criticism, lack of appreciation, and hatred on social platforms could have been responsible for at least 1% of his mental trauma.
He mentions an invaluable point in his igtv video and that is “mental health is not a fancy word”. This sentence holds a very big truth and that is mental health has become a trend in the current situation. He asserts the point that people need to be for each other for real and not just when they are gone. He says that after Udaan he has not yet been offered a big and worthy role and it has already been 10 years since then. People and Directors had appreciated his work but he was never offered a role. Since then he has been facing the questions of people inquiring about his next big movie, but has anyone asked him about his personal growth? He says that he is one of those people who is very positive and strong and that is why the questions don’t bother him as much but for someone who seeks validation from the social platforms, the constant negativity and lack of appreciation may be adversely affected. He repeatedly says “If you say you’re there for someone, mean it!”
In an interview in IndiaTimes, he said “We are a beautiful generation. I have always said this and I have always believed in this. We are born to be the change-makers. We have our traditions and values from the past and we have the technology to support us in our present so that together we can create a beautiful future for ourselves and the generations after us. Let’s be responsible in everything we do. Be it saying No to plastic, helping the environment, being kind to one another, treating everyone equally without giving a fuck about the caste or the religion they come from or the sexual preference they have, being kind to animals, respecting elders and also respecting youngsters, not following anything or anyone blindly. Let’s just try to be better every day and together we can definitely create a world we all dream of. “
Mohona Bhattacharya
Banaras Hindu University
2nd Year, English Hons.
Varanasi, UP.
Mohona is an avid reader and an equality seeker. She takes a keen interest in painting and finds solace among books, coffee, nature, and dogs.
