Rhea is a friend, says Saqib Saleem
Idon’t enjoy the society we’ve become. The vilification and the way a person is portrayed in the media is sad,” says actor Saqib Saleem talking about the investigation of Sushant Singh Rajput’s death.
“I have lost faith in news channels as everyone has their own version about the case. The job of news channels is to report facts not to give a narrative to the audiences. I am upset. It is unfortunate that a young promising actor like Sushant is no more. No one knows what happened and the CBI, NCB, ED are investigating his death. We all want justice for Sushant and Rhea (Chakraborty, actor and Sushant’s girlfriend),” he says.
Saleem wants a fair investigation but is also disappointed at how things have played out. “It is heart-breaking as Rhea is a friend of mine and as a friend, it is my responsibility to stand by her and her family at this time. Having said that, the case is in court and I hope and pray that the Indian judiciary gives a fair result of what happened,” says Saleem who shared screen with Rhea in Mere Dad Ki Maruti (2013).
The Rangbaaz actor is also taken aback by the “hatred on social media”. He adds, “Actors become soft targets. We can’t fight everyone online. The industry’s image is being tarnished but the industry is not just the actors but technicians, directors, creative talent and Bollywood generates a lot of revenue through films. Rather than generalising the whole industry, people should point out individuals who have done anything wrong. Most of the stuff being said is propaganda. Truth will come out soon.”
He further points out that hatred was the reason he left Twitter two months ago. “It was getting too much for no reason. I didn’t want to wake up to negativity every day. If I put up a post, which someone doesn’t like, not only do I get abused but my sister and mother do too. How is that fair? Tomorrow, when I have children I wouldn’t want them to be abused because their father is an actor,” he concludes.