The wrongfully accussed.

Recent death of a leading Bollywood actor has yet again stirred the nepotism debate amongst journalists, audience and the industry itself. The example of nepotism this time, like always, turned out to be the Dharma productions tycoon Karan Johar. Johar wasn’t only targeted with accusations of involvement in the high profile case but also harassed for introducing only star kids in his projects. Although Karan has given big breaks to many star kids all through his two decade long career, he has also introduced many “outsiders” as they are now being labelled.

Self proclaimed providers of justice on social media have come out to attack Johar and his way of running his highly successful business, using Rajput’s death as a pawn. While netizens mourned the actor’s untimely death and promoted mental health awareness in the first few hours of the incident, the focus was redirected to the problem of nepotism eventually.  Within a few days it was a full blown attack on the biggest names of the showbiz with Johar bearing most of its brunt.

This is not the first time he has been questioned about his decisions neither is this the first time Johar was justifying who he castes in his movies and why. He had repeatedly reminded journalists and the audience that he is not solely responsible for bringing in new talent to the industry in the past. He is just another producer- director who makes movies for the purpose of art and business.

Johar went as far as naming a few “outsiders” he has introduced over the years. Directors like Shakun Batra, Sidhhart P. Malhotra, Sonam Nair and Abhishek Varman were a few he introduced. He also produced Shashank Khaitan’s Dhadak. He gave bigger than life breaks to actors like Sidhhart Malhotra, Tara Sutaria and more recently Gurfateh Pirzada in Guilty. All of these are complete outsiders and Karan gave them a chance to showcase their talent and make a place for themselves in the harsh world of cinema.

He has been wrongfully accused of making life for outsiders tough time and again. Last month, some went as far as blaming him for destroying Sushant’s professional life by casting him in a Dharma film, Drive. Any logical person would have one question about this: Why would any sane producer invest his money in a project he doesn’t believe in, simply to spoil an actor’s career?

The anger about the sudden demise of a successful actor, an inspiration for many is understandable but to tarnish someone’s image and accuse them of being someone’s murderer is unethical and unjustified. To talk of mental health in one breath and destruct someone’s peace of mind in the next is unacceptable. It should be unacceptable. Those who are participating in this, across social media platforms should not only respect others’ personal space but also respect and honour Rajput’s life and legacy.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

25

At 22, I didn't think I'd be 23 and then I was. At 23, I didn't think I'd be 24 and then I turned 24. At 24 now, I think I'll most definitely not be 25. But, perhaps, I will be.  Along the way, I've lost so much of who I was at 20 that turning 25 doesn't seem so much a celebration. Dreams have slipped by in the chaos of making it through every night. Ambitions left behind in the ache of not having enough strength to wake up. People have come and gone and while there have been fleeting moments of joy, nothing has ever seemed to last.  Those I grew up around tell me, you're not the same anymore. And I look at myself and don't see the spark I held in my eyes. Small joys aren't joys anymore. They're chores. Most of them, I'm unable to complete.  I wrote myself a letter at 18, one I was supposed to read at 25. When I read it, I am certain I won't find the girl whom I wrote it for. People I live around now, tell me, I like to suffer. But I...
Read more

Journal entry 2025

TW- Suicide, anxiety, mental health. A few months ago, I rang up my mother crying, unaware of what that conversation would open up for me. While we were talking, she casually remarked how she had never known me to have cried a lot growing up. A simple observation that didn't seem to strike me for the few seconds and then it did. My mother was unaware of how easily or often I cried growing up. And that opened a Pandora's box of unpleasant memories. It struck me that I had cried almost every day for as long as my memory stood correct and that I had mostly cried before bedtime or after waking up. This meant two things, my immediate family did not always know of the crying and that it was not being triggered by an active element. It was mostly without an argument or fight, without being put in danger or harm's way.  Over the past few years, it is well known among my social circles that I can cry at the drop of a hat. Some people, who've known me for over a couple of years k...
Read more