When I heard the shocking news about Sushant Singh Rajput’s suicide on Sunday afternoon, I had been thinking since then: how could this happen? Why did he take this extreme step? Agreed, he was facing problems, difficulties, but these are not permanent. He could have spoken to people he was closer to. He could have shared his pain with his close friends. This is not Sushant’s problem alone. Millions of people are facing such struggles every day. I therefore decided to speak about this matter in our prime time show ‘Aaj Ki Baat’ on Monday night to convince people that life is everything. So long as you live, you may get your dreams fulfilled, but once you extinguish the flame of life, it is gone, forever.
Sushant was given his last farewell on Monday in the presence of his family members and co-actors. His mortal remains went through the post mortem process and, as of now, Mumbai Police does not find any foul play in his death. Police believe he died due to hanging and asphyxiation. There were no external injuries on his body. Bandra police has filed a case of accidental death. Police have recorded statements of six persons including Sushant’s sister and actor friend Sidharth Pithani. Four people used to stay with Sushant in his flat. There were two cooks from Bihar, a cleaner and Sidharth Pithani.
In his statement to police, Sidharth Pithani said, Sushant was having problems with his girlfriend for the last several months and there were frequent quarrels. Sushant’s family members were objecting to intervention of his girlfriend in family matters. The girlfriend also objected to Sidharth staying with Sushant in his flat. The girlfriend later left him to stay with a friend. Police was also told that the girlfriend had a quarrel with Sushant’s sister Ritu Singh after which the relationship became tense. Police is going to question Sushant’s girlfriend. Police was also told that Sushant had of late been speaking less to his family members and had confined himself to his flat during lockdown.
Questions are many, but nobody appears to have the right answer. One is yet to get a definitive reason for Sushant’s suicide. His career in Bollywood was on the right course. His first movie was a hit at the box office and his last film was a superhit. His films were getting both commercial and critical acclaim. His acting talents were being appreciated. He had three to four new projects in hand.
Sushant was 34 years old and age was with him. That is why his suicide has raised too many eyebrows. Most of the people in Bollywood are shocked. His suicide has become an issue for hot, intemperate discussions on social media.
It is being alleged that Sushant was being sidelined by some Bollywood biggies because he was an outsider. It is being said that some big names in Bollywood have refused to accept Sushant and were elbowing him out from big ticket projects. Charges of promoting nepotism are being levelled against some Bollywood biggies and outsiders are not being allowed in big films.
It is being alleged that Bollywood is now divided into several big camps. Actor Kangna Ranaut went to the extent of describing Sushant’s suicide as ‘planned murder’. She alleged that despite his brilliant acting, Sushant never got acknowledgment, nor did he get awards. Kangna mentioned some posts by Sushant on Instagram in which he was seen telling a lady fan that he had “no godfather in the industry”. He told her, if you want me to survive in Bollywood, go and watch my movie.
Just imagine. Sushant scored seventh rank in engineering entrance exam on All India level. He has been an Olympiad winner in Physics on national level, and here he was asking a student to watch his film despite his exam. Was he so much insecure and desperate?
Desperation shows in an actor when one knows if the film flops, there would be none to back him and he would stop getting work. In one interview, Sushant says there is nepotism in film industry and if fresh talents are not given chance, Bollywood would someday collapse.
Renowned director Shekhar Kapur who directed classic films like ‘Masoom’ and ‘Mr India’ had this to tweet on Sushant’s death. He wrote: “I knew the pain you were going through. I knew the story of the people that let you down so bad that you would weep on my shoulder. I wish I was around the last 6 months. I wish you had reached out to me. What happened to you was their Karma. Not yours.” Sushant was supposed to work in Shekhar Kapur’s new film ‘Paani’ but the project was cancelled by Yashraj Films.
Whatever may be the reason behind his suicide, everybody was unanimous on one point, that he was a very good actor and had a brilliant mind.
Sushant’s suicide is not the first, and we should all pray, it should be the last. We can only appeal to all: please do not choose this terrible path. There are solutions available for all problems. One can find ways out, one should be ready to face challenges and obstacles, howsoever strong they may be. Committing suicide is not the right path, it is not a solution. With one suicide, not only does a person dies, but the dreams of his family members and acquaintances too die.
Imagine the condition of parents when they find their children committing suicide. Their entire world goes down in shambles. There are many young men and women in film and TV industry. I want to tell them: Losing does not mean you accept defeat. Failing does not mean you lose hope for success. If you want to dream and become big, gain laurels, you will have to face bigger obstacles and challenges. Faltering once does not mean you can never get back in your stride. So, do not lose courage. When you start losing courage, think of those who love you the most, who want you to attain success, who have high hopes from you, and in whose dreams you appear.
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