It’s
been more than a month and half, since that unsettling Sunday afternoon.
The news
of Sushant Singh Rajput’s death was beyond comprehension. Why would such a
promising actor take his own life? His death rattled the consciousness of an
average Indian movie goer. Most knew him as a promising and terrific actor. But
in death, the whole world woke up to the fact that, that Sunday afternoon, a dreamer
of impeccable talent in multiple fields, from cinema to physics, whose bucket
list included visit to places like CERN, just left the world, rather coldly.
His death
opened, Pandora’s box and from it flew, evils, existence of which, we the
audience, tucked in our web of neutrality always choose to ignore. Being
neutral always helps the predator, never the prey – why did we forget that?
Sushant’s
death was re-confirmed to the masses within minutes, with pictures of his dead
body circulating in social media, an inhumane and insensitive act, whoever started
it. Even before the body went cold, his death was attributed to suicide due to
depression. The following days saw a spike in articles on depression; the sheer
number of such articles gave steady competition to Corona related articles.
Timelines were flooded with offers on being a call away in case people wanted
to “talk”. The fact that most people, discussed a topic like depression with such
a sketchy and shallow understanding, is a matter to be dealt independently.
Then came
the subject of nepotism. It gave a constructive platform to many who were
victimized. The narrative progressed with stories of back stabbing, social isolation,
paid adulation and award scripting. When more and more people started talking out,
it became clear; how much of almost everything is fixed in this world. No
wonder, we have been fed with absolute non-sense in the name of commercial Hindi cinema!
But then,
the quality of commercial Hindi cinema has always been questionable. Once in an
interview, Satyajit Ray, called the larger Indian audience as backward (intellectually),
unsophisticated and exposed to commercial Hindi cinema. Commercial Hindi cinema
is notorious for dishing out half-baked characters and stories; relying heavily
on ornate presentation rather than layering or depth in content. This formula,
however, gives high return on investment and has unfortunately, been emulated
in regional cinema as well, collectively creating bouquet of sub-standard Cinema. To
survive in such an industry, what one requires is commercial ruthlessness,
which may or may not have anything to do with talent, creativity, ethics or
morality. Sushant was part of this world. Yet actors like him are seen as a beacon
of hope for change, someone capable of giving this field, quality future.
The outrage
over Sushant’s death, is because we, the audience, are ashamed. We are ashamed that
our neutrality has been equated to being moronic. We are ashamed that, while he
was alive, we didn’t question the unfairness of his world. We didn’t question
the array of sub-standard movies meted out to us in the name of entertainment.
We are ashamed that we lapped up bullying of talents in chat shows, eloquently
served in sophisticated English, as humour. We are ashamed of listening to
remixed and re-remixed howling that is called “songs” and yet never gather the
courage, to report it inappropriate and demand for proper songs. We are ashamed
of having ignored talents, beyond famous surnames and progeny. Seeking justice
and answers in Sushant’s death is our way of seeking redemption to the mess we
helped create.
Cinema is
an engaging and powerful art form. It is designed to make an audience
sit through a narrative of 90-180 minutes, at a stretch. During this period,
we, surrender our senses and thoughts to the evolution of characters and
depictions in the frame. The psychological impact, certain depictions have on our
minds, especially the young ones, are far reaching. If the genre we encourage, is
the one propagating vile objectification and illogical narration, supported by too
many ornaments (like catchy songs, over the top action sequence, actors looking
more like Victoria Secret Models or high end fashion), our sense of appreciation
for this art form will take a drastic deterioration in the long run. It isn’t
too late to step back and shun crass content.
The narrative on Sushant's death has changed to that of toxic relationship and deception. In a world that thrives on stories, it is hard to say, whether this is a story, to protect a few.
Who killed Sushant? The correct answer, does have the potential to clean commercial Hindi cinema.
