It’s been three days that actor Sushant Singh Rajput left us for his heavenly abode. The death of the actor, who was allegedly struggling with depression, has brought ‘nepotism in Bollywood’ under the spotlight. People online have been debating about this malpractice and also blamed filmmaker Karan Johar for fuelling it. Soon #KaranJoharIsBULLY and #BoycottKaranJohar started trending online.
And after ‘Dabangg’ director Abhinav Kashyap highlighted the ‘bigger malaise in Bollywood’, filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma has opened up about nepotism in Bollywood. But Varma has chosen to support the practice, reports Hindustan Times.
Varma, in multiple tweets, slammed people for bashing Karan Johar for promoting nepotism.
Blaming @karanjohar for what happened is ridiculous and just shows lack of understanding of how film industry works ..Even assuming Karan had a problem with Sushant it’s his choice of who he wants to work with,like its any film makers choice about who they want to work with
— Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) June 16, 2020
He went on to say:
If Sushant after 12 yrs of fame and money took his life becos he was made to feel like an outsider then a 100 actors suicides per day will be justified who couldn’t reach anywhere near Sushant. If u can’t b happy with what u have u will never be happy with whatever u have.Period!
— Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) June 16, 2020
Speaking of the insider vs outsider debate he says that all insiders of Bollywood were sometimes outsiders.
Also all insiders of Bollywood were sometimes outsiders starting from @SrBachchan onwards ..@karanjohar is up there not because he is an insider but because his films are seen by millions ..We all know as much failures coming from film families as much as from outside
— Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) June 16, 2020
No matter how many supposedly conspired to drive Sushant out (For what reason I can’t fathom when he can make money for them ) there were umpteen others wanting to work with him. ..But like it was his choice not to do with them,it’s the others choice not to work with him
— Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) June 16, 2020
Varma went on to explain why Bollywood is a hard place to be in.
Bollywood is hard place becos people want to jump to grab stars and higher they jump the harder they are likely to fall .Sushant atleast grabbed the moon , but what about umpteen others who dint take off from ground ..Are they supposed to kill themselves blaming the universe?
— Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) June 16, 2020
And for all the sound being made on social media about the super talented guy being sidelined the truth is it’s the people who are watching the other actors more than sushant and @Karanjohar couldn’t be holding a gun to the audiences head
— Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) June 16, 2020
And if Sushant hung on ,then in about 15 or 20 years he would have become an insider when he’s launching his own son and some outsider Prashant would have blamed him like how everyone now is blaming @Karanjohar
— Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) June 16, 2020
Yesterday, he tweeted how it’s only the audience who help actors rise to fame.
There’s no such thing as insiders and outsiders and it’s only audience who decide who they like and dont ..Film families however big they are can never have power to influence the audience and also don’t forget that @karanjohar is becos people made him big and not himself
— Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) June 16, 2020
Supporting Karan Johar, the ‘Aag’ director said that people hate his success and are just taking advantage of Sushant’s death.
Of the people who are venomously targeting @karanjohar partly they are outright ignorant of how things work in film industry and partly they hate his success and are just taking advantage of poor Sushanth’s death to vent their suppressed jealousy towards @karanjohar
— Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) June 16, 2020
Highlighting how nepotism is prevalent in society, he said:
Nepotism spoken in a negative context is a joke because entire society is based on only a family loving concept ..Should @iamsrk launch someone unknown instead of Aryan just because someone is more talented (in whose view is the point?)
— Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) June 16, 2020
Will any of the umpteen @karanjohar hating social media warriors chose anybody outside beyond their friends and families ??? It’s fundamental human nature to do only for the near and dear ones
— Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) June 16, 2020
He further opined:
And for all the hue and cry about the super talent being suppressed I will take a bet that 48 hours before now for many many months there wasn’t a single social media comment demanding to see Sushant from all the millions who are now blaming @karanjohar for not showing him
— Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) June 16, 2020
Talent is never an absolute but merely a perception based on various factors like different individuals,critics,box office etc and my proof is that two days before no one in the social media was crying hoarse why Sushant is not bigger than Ranveer Singh and Ranbir Kapoor
— Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) June 16, 2020
Calling nepotism a fundamental aspect of society, he divulged:
WITHOUT NEPOTISM SOCIETY WILL COLLAPSE BECAUSE NEPOTISM(FAMILIAL LOVE ) IS THE FUNDAMENTAL TENET OF A SOCIAL STRUCTURE..Like u shouldn’t love others wife more, u also shouldnt love others children more
— Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) June 16, 2020
He also called Karan Johar a bigger victim.
Just want to say this to the ignorant social lynch mob that @karanjohar is a bigger victim in this context compared to their ill perceived and suddenly discovered victim Sushant
— Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) June 16, 2020
And that only people like Karan, Ekta Kapoor and Aditya Chopra can provide work to the ‘outsiders’.
And my prediction is once this fake storm settles all the new outsiders from all over will still queue outside the insider @karanjohar ‘s office becos they know that the social media warriors can do nothing about creating work whereas Karan can provide actual work
— Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) June 16, 2020
Social media warriors can only create snap entertaining tweets for job less bored people, but people like @karanjohar @ektarkapoor #AdityaChopra etc can create actual physical work which will actually feed people
— Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) June 16, 2020
Speaking on Sushant’s death, he said that people on social media are assuming that he committed suicide because he was being treated like an outsider.
Not knowing why sushant actually did it, but on social media assumption that he did because he was being treated like outsider and not invited to parties then the crores of migrant workers walking bare foot with empty stomachs should have killed themselves multiple times over
— Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) June 16, 2020
The underlying insanity in the minds of social medians fuelled by ignorance is truly scary ..Though as Ayn Rand said “. The majority are nothing but a sum of zeroes “ also true are Nietzsche’s words “ Of many a proud structures ruin, weeds and rain drops have been the cause”
— Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) June 17, 2020
In his recent tweet he said:
In the face of a problem majority of people don’t understand the difference between thinking and worrying ..Thinking creates solutions and worrying creates depression
— Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) June 17, 2020
Karan Johar had also earlier mourned Sushant’s death and blamed himself for not being in touch with him for the past year.
Nepotism, casting couch, exploitation of newbies are some of the harsh realities of showbiz that have been highlighted by the who’s who of the industry time and again. And I strongly believe that practices that mess with a person’s mental health should be abolished ASAP. What do you think of Ram Gopal Varma’s take on this? Tell us.