‘I was called alcoholic, abuser. No one checked facts’
Ranvir Shorey, who recently hit out at “independent film crusaders” who’ve turned into “mainstream Bollywood flunkies,” says his state of mind today is “melancholic”. In one of his recent tweets, the actor mentioned the ordeals he went through and wrote, “I went through the same professional & social isolation, bad mouthing & lies in the press, and psychological trauma from 2003 to 2005 with the same people who are now involved.”
Talking about the toxic environment that he faced and why he related with the late actor Sushant Singh Rajput, he reveals, “I didn’t want to be vocal about my experiences but when I see people trying to shut down Kangana (Ranaut) and others who are speaking up, I feel that’s unfair. So, I spoke about what I faced. I was called an alcoholic and abuser and no one cross checked the facts. One couldn’t do anything as one was helpless as a nobody. I suffered for years due to those lies with no respite and no way to get justice.” He adds, “Today, the worst has happened (with Sushant) due to this toxic environment. If we won’t speak up now, then when? Powerful people abuse power and there is no respite for the smaller fish. Talking will put some fear in the people who have power and no accountability.
What helped me is that I didn’t let the negative emotion consume me, and instead I focused on honing my skills with acting classes.”
Ask him what he thinks happened with Sushant and Shorey says, “You can’t blame someone for someone’s death directly. Obviously, Sushant took this unfortunate step himself but we can talk about the environment that was created for him and for many others. It stinks of abuse of power and we must talk about that. A lot of time and energy is being wasted on who is saying what, instead we should focus on the relevant points being raised against a system.”
Debates about nepotism, favouritism, insider-outsider have been going on time and again in the industry which Shorey feels won’t help. “Twitter hashtags won’t change things. The problem
stems from a bunch of people having control over the distribution and exhibition system as well as media space. What will bring about some change is streaming platforms. It will bring democratisation of content consumption,” he says.
When I see people trying to shut down Kangana Ranaut and others who are speaking up, I feel that’s unfair. RANVIR SHOREY, ACTOR