No one can deny that Sushant Singh Rajput’s death raised a lot of questions about Bollywood. From Bollywood bullying to groupism to nepotism, many debates have left people shocked and disappointed. From time to time, many celebrities have come forward and spoken about the effect of groupism and nepotism on people’s careers.
Here are some of the Bollywood celebrities, who have shared how they were professionally cornered by Bollywood gangs who thrive on groupism and nepotism.
1. Priyanka Chopra on being cornered in Bollywood & people not giving her work
Recalling her challenges in Bollywood, Priyanka Chopra said,“I was being pushed into a corner in the industry (Bollywood). I had people not casting me, I had beef with people, I am not good at playing that game so I kind of was tired of the politics and I said I needed a break…This music thing gave me an opportunity to go into another part of the world, not crave for the movies I didn’t want to get but I would require to schmooze certain clubs and cliques of people. It would require groveling and I had worked a long time by then that I didn’t feel like I wanted to do it. So when this music thing came I was like ‘fu** it I am going to America.”
2. Vivek Oberoi on not getting work even after delivering hits
While talking to Bollywood Bubble about how powerful people tend to ruin careers, he said, “There was a whole lobby, a powerful set of people trying to push me down. That was when I went out and gave a Shootout at Lokhandwala, where I got a lot of praise and won awards. People were saying, ‘oh my God, this is amazing!’ Then, I was sitting at home for one and a half years, and nobody came to me with films; it defies all logic. As an actor, I was delivering, the box office was delivering, there were awards, critics were praising me, but there was no work, kaam hi nahi tha,”
He further added, “There is so much power in some people’s hands; a God complex needs to go. We can’t have too much power in their hand where they can think that they can make or break someone and ensure that people don’t work in this industry again. People have said this to me, and they actually believe it. It’s our fault as an industry that we’ve given that kind of power to them. That pedestal should be given only to talent — new, old, upcoming, established, that is the most important.”
3. Abhinav Kashyap said Salman Khan and his family ruined his career
In an interview, Abhinav Kashyap, Anurag Kashyap’s brother and director of Dabang, shared that Salman Khan, Arbaaz Khan, Sohail Khan and Salim Khan sabotaged his movie career. While sharing the details, he wrote on Facebook,“Mr. Salman Khan and his family sabotaged the release of the film and got their PROs to run a sustained negative smear campaign against me and my film Besharam before release. This scared the distributors from buying my film. Reliance Entertainment and I were capable and courageous enough to release the film ourselves but the battle had just begun. My enemies, which there were many ran a sustained negative Trolling and badmouthing campaign against the film till the Box Office of my film collapsed,”
4. Ranvir Shorey on being isolated and false rumors being spread about him
Even after giving extraordinary performances, it is quite shocking to believe that Ranvir Shorey was professionally isolated. While recalling how the fallout with the Bhatts ruined his career, he said to HT, “Yes, that (Bhatts) is what I am talking about. I was professionally and socially isolated, equally pressured from all ends. Every chance and every platform they would get, they would be lying about me, saying I am an alcoholic and abuser. You feel so helpless and powerless because these people are so powerful that the press will just listen to them and not even bother calling you for your side of the story. You just feel so helpless and frustrated because you can’t do anything about it. It got really toxic for me at the time and I had to leave the country for a while,”
5. Manoj Bajpayee on wasting talented actors and not respecting outsiders at all.
In one of the interviews with Wion, Bajpayee said, “I have said it before that this industry has wasted talent; so much that in any other country those talents who have not been given their due here.” In another interview, he said, “It’s an impossible industry for outsiders and if you are a girl trying to get in from outside then it is all the more impossible, because there are gangs and groups here, and they expect you to be in their good books all the time, whether they give you work or not.”
6. Kangana Ranaut on being told that she would be driven to suicide
Kangana Ranaut has been raising her voice about Bollywood’s obsession with favoritism and nepotism for quite some time now. While talking about gangs in Bollywood, she once shared that Javed Akhtar threatened her that she would have no other way except suicide if she doesn’t apologize to Hrithik Roshan. During one of the interviews, she also spoke about Mahesh Bhatt. She claimed that he threw a slipper at her for rejecting his film. From time to time, she has also mentioned that Bollywood biggies spread false news and rumors about her.
7. AR Rahman said that a gang is not letting him bag Bollywood projects
It was quite shocking when the Oscar-winning music composer, AR Rahman spoke about groupism in Bollywood affecting his career as well. While talking to Radio Mirchi, he shared why is he doing less work in Bollywood. He said, “I don’t say no to good movies, but I think there is a gang, which, due to misunderstandings, is spreading some false rumors,”
8. Amit Sadh said that the TV industry banned him for being outspoken
While talking with Bollywood Hungama, Amit Sadh shared how he was banned by the TV industry for being “outspoken”. Sharing the details, he said, “They called each other and said isko kaam mat do. Toh phir maine kaha, ‘Achcha? Nahi de rahe ho? Toh phir main picturon mein jaaunga,”
9. Raveena Tandon said that there are bad people who ‘plan your failure’
Raveen Tandon also mentioned how some people in Bollywood tend to play dirty games and break someone’s career. While sharing the details with HT, she said, “There are bad people who do plan your failure; I’ve been through it. They are the ones who would want to see you down and removed from films. It’s literally like classroom politics. They play games,”
It is quite disappointing how Bollywood tends to ruin the careers of talented actors without any shame. With the declining popularity of Bollywood movies in recent times, it is high time that Bollywood introspects and makes the required changes to end bullying and let talent thrive.
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