‘Bollywood isn’t a fair place; business set around stars not content’
With a career spanning almost three decades, actor Rahul Roy has seen the film industry up and close. Perhaps that’s why he doesn’t hesitate in saying that Bollywood is indeed not a fair place..
“Having said that, there’s a chance to be able to break through those walls and achieve something. Look at it as a challenge, not everybody can go through. With web platforms coming in, a lot of newcomers are also getting opportunities. But from a producers’ point of view, how many have the guts to really make something that is totally with newcomers? At the end of the day, the business is structured, in India, not on the content, but [on the] star driving it. And that has been there for many years,” says the 52-year-old.
As someone who started off in films without any connections, Roy says even distributors don’t pay money for newcomers.
“They pay for the banner, and newcomers get the opportunities. You focus on your profession and enjoy that. Once you are liked, that’ll propel you to the next level. If it takes time, enjoy,” he quips.
The actor finds it “gut wrenching” when youngsters, who aren’t able to make it big in the industry, decide to end their lives.
“Who knows who went through that particular weak moment? I’m just saying, anybody who wants to come into this profession, [should] come with the right mentality and stability, to make sure no matter what anybody says or tries to push you into a corner, you’ll be able to take it. Because that, unfortunately, isn’t going to go away. With social media, people are only becoming more aware about it, which is a great start,” Roy tells us.
Believing that there are two sides of the coin in everything, the actor further says that he doesn’t get into debates about people who “unfortunately have taken the step” as he didn’t know them personally.
He explains, “I’m not somebody who sits and speculates, ‘Yeh hua, woh hua’. Eventually, a lot of things come out on everybody’s life. Let the legal people sort out what it is. To speculate, I do not know. You should cry for justice, for equality for everyone, I accept that. Before you start looking at other people’s lives to kickstart this movement, you look at yourself, and lead a life that doesn’t put you into that position.”
Rishabh Suri
RAHUL ROY ACTOR
Directed: Parched (2015), Rajma Chawal (2018)
The challenge for filmmakers is to tell stories the way they want to. I don’t compromise on the narrative and my vision for financial gain. Sometimes, this struggles makes you think if you’re in the right profession. Getting to work with the right kind of people takes time, unless you’re ready to let go of certain things. For both insiders and outsiders, struggles are different at different levels.
Directed: Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan
In this creative field, one can’t pretend to be a good writer or filmmaker. The first seven scripts I wrote didn’t work out, even though all were liked by those we approached. Had I been in one of these groups, things would’ve been different. But I didn’t want to. And I turned to TV and creative writing to keep myself going. And that patience paid off. To be fair, favouritism is everywhere, but if you have it in you, you’ll get there.