Hindustan Times ST (Jaipur) - Hindustan Times (Jaipur) - City
Movies of star kids face flak: Fair or not?
The year 2020 has been one that most of us, if not all, would want to completely write off the calender. While every section of society has suffered due to lockdown and Covid-19 pandemic, it is the entertainment industry which seems to be the worst impacted with sudden and unfortunate deaths in the fraternity.
From well-known celebrities Sushant Singh Rajput, Irrfan Khan, Rishi Kapoor, Saroj Khan, Wajid Khan, lyricist Yogesh Gaur, Sameer Sharma, to budding actors such as Sejal Sharma, Preksha Mehta, and Manmeet Grewal, the industry has been left reeling. While some passed away due to illnesses, others died by suicide, as reported.
If the unfortunate deaths were not enough, the constant media coverage, attacks, accusations and trolling on social media has played havoc on the minds of not just the rest of the celebrity brigade but also regular people in general.
“To hear about suicides every few days, is disturbing. It re-emphasises the fact that the people are under pressure,” says actor Aahana Kumra.
Sangita Vyas, 50, a homemaker who has been following all the action in Bollywood echoes the thought. “News about celebrity deaths, especially so frequently makes one anxious. When we hear about popular stars and their crumbling lives, we wonder if this happens to them, what about us?,” she says.
While the news of any death is sad, its effect compounds when it is of a celebrity. It opens up the Pandora’s box of an otherwise ‘glittering life’.
Actor Tisca Chopra feels actors often have outward composure, which doesn’t reveal anything of the real inner self. And it is in times such as these when the vulnerability comes out.”this dichotomy is hard, especially in this current chaos around the world. Everyone goes through low phases. But certain artistes get affected much more.”
Saumya Tandon, however, finds the “courtroom battle” in the media with “random theories, just for ratings” a big factor of increased anxiety levels. “One fact is depicted in a new manner on every other news channel. No one knows the complete truth. In Sushant Singh Rajput’s case, I believe there should be a probe but don’t appreciate the speculation on TV,” says the actor.
Psychiatrist Dr Harish Shetty agrees, “Hype around celebrity suicides provoke those on the edge to think about self-harm. Fictionalised news also generates subliminal messages that it’s fine to do something similar.”
Social media success, too, is an added factor. If people are killing themselves, something must have pushed them beyond a limit. We should reach out and ask for help — be it financial or emotional.
The nepotism fire in the Hindi film industry refuses to die down, and people seem to be boycotting films starring star kids. In the latest instance, the trailer of Janhvi Kapoor’s Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl has been trolled by a section on social media, citing nepotism. Earlier, it was the Bhatt family’s Sadak 2, starring Alia Bhatt, daughter of filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt and actor Soni Razdan when #Boycottsadak2 was trending.
Apart from these, a number of other star kids’ films such as Coolie No. 1 (Varun Dhawan and Sara Ali Khan), Bhuj: The Pride of India (Sonakshi Sinha) and The Big Bull (Abhishek Bachchan) are up for release.
This raises a question: is it fair to troll a film before it has even released, just because the actor is a star kid? Industry people disagree strongly.
Writer Apurv Asrani, who had come forward in Kapoor’s support, says, “The real problem is the bullying; and the ganging up. That is what many did to Sushant (Singh Rajput, late actor). Now, they are doing the same thing to Janhvi.”
During the pandemic, entertainers have kept us in good spirits. Society must be kinder to artistes and protect them. We are humans, not consumable products.
Pankaj Tripathi, who plays the role of Kapoor’s father in the film, says, “Right now, we can praise it and say ‘it’s great’. But till people don’t see it, doesn’t matter what I say.”
Pooja Bhatt, on the other hand, says, “I don’t have time, energy or interest to hate the haters. I’m too busy loving the lovers.” Filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar feels that people need to realise nobody is forcing them to watch any movie. “I know how much time goes into making a film, to even raise funds. It’s a humongous task to complete and release a film,” he says.
As for filmmaker Hansal Mehta, he thinks that trolling is an ‘absolute insane thing’. He feels that a film should be judged as a film. “All this nonsense narrative should not come into your judgement about the film,” he reasons.
Kapoor, in an interview to Hindustan Times, addressed the backlash and said that taking away from what (people are) feeling “would be demeaning.” But she added, “I’m confident of what I’ve done and there is no reason for us to be apologetic.”