SSR’s Death: Why Not Much Will Change

Many are expecting a paradigm shift in Bollywood post-Sushant Singh Rajput’s death. Here is why we think that not much will change.

SSR’s death has shaken the industry. None of the celebs or the fans expected such a reaction. Social media is full of people who have sworn to boycott Bollywood altogether. We can’t help but feel sorry for their naivete. As if one has to go by the track record of Bollywood fans, not much will change.

Every Bollywood fan knows the true face of their favorite celeb. They know exactly which celeb continues to hobnob with underworld ‘bhais’ even after the 1993 bomb blasts, or which celeb makes his actresses go through the casting couch or which celeb has black money stashed abroad. But none of it matters. What truly matters to them is whether the movies in which these celebs act in is worth their time & money. For the entertainment starved masses, movies are still one of the cheapest options to keep themselves entertained.

Sanjay Dutt

Sanjay Dutt is the best example when it comes to the hypocrisy of fans. Sanjay Dutt openly confesses to not being by his 1st wife’s side when she was dying of cancer. In fact, when she was dying of cancer, he was having an affair with Madhuri Dixit. While this can be dismissed as his personal matter, how can one overlook the fact that he continued to be in touch with the terrorists who supplied him arms before the bomb blasts? Wasn’t he heard speaking to Chota Shakeel & nudging him to straighten Govinda for coming late to the sets?

He even helped Dawood & gang in their attempts to eliminate their rival – Abu Salem. This too was widely reported in the media. But his fans continued to watch his movies as long as his movies were entertaining. The movies which flopped, did so because the movies were bad & not because the public suddenly saw the true face of Sanjay Dutt.

Salman Khan

Aishwarya Rai accused Salman Khan of physically assaulting her, she even turned up at a press conference with a black eye. Katrina Kaif too was publicly slapped by Salman Khan at a coffee shop, which had several witnesses. Salman Khan was even seen slapping his bodyguard who pushed a boy aside. But his fans don’t care. If you ever try to reason them they will remind of all his “charitable deeds”.

MeToo Movement

While the MeToo movement shook the foundations of Hollywood. But it was a huge flop in India. None of the top actresses called out the culprits in Bollywood. Nonetheless, Bollywood fans are completely aware of the superstars, directors who force the heroines to compromise. While their supporters will claim that since their heroes were not named publicly, it would be wrong to punish them. Agreed. But weren’t Alok Nath, Subhash Ghai, Rajkumar Hirani, Vikas Bahl, etc called out? These production houses conducted “internal inquiries” & exonerated the celebs.

Alok Nath was seen in De De Pyaar De which was a hit, Shahrukh Khan will be working in Rajkumar Hirani’s next, Vikas Bahl too continues to thrive post Super30. Aditya Pancholi – who was accused of raping Pooja Bedi’s maid too continues to get work.

Shiney Ahuja

Shiney Ahuja is the only notable exception. All the fans & Bollywood celebs boycotted the actor who was accused of raping his maid. It was after several years that he was offered a movie role, despite not being exonerated in the rape case. The movie turned out to be a hit.

Hollywood

When you compare the behaviour of Bollywood fans to that of Hollywood fans, you will notice a stark difference. There is no way that a convicted racist or a celeb convicted of or alleged to have terrorist links will get work in Hollywood. Even if a studio decides to cast such a celeb, the movie would be boycotted by the masses.

Kevin Spacey & Harvey Weinstein are prime examples of what Hollywood will do to you if you are found guilty of any wrongdoings.

Nepotism

Nepotism is a non-issue. There is no way that the Bollywood fans will boycott Ranbir Kapoor, Ranveer Singh, Hrithik Roshan, Alia Bhatt, Salman Khan movies beyond a point. We personally don’t think that a celeb should be boycotted only because he/she is a star kid.

The only casualty I foresee from the Sushant Singh Rajput scandal is Rhea Chakraborty. Till the time there are crazed fans who continue to patronize a superstar despite his misdemeanors, producers will keep giving them work.

The movie-going public needs to have a firm resolve to shun Bollywood celebs who indulge in malpractices. It has to be unanimous. One must not forget that a film does not require 135cr Indians to see a movie to make it a success, 1cr footfalls itself will generate 140cr+ in revenues for a movie. Till the day the people don’t act responsibly our politicians & our celebs will continue to be of low calibre.

Until the fans don’t weed out such despicable celebs, Salman will keep physically abusing, Sanjay Dutt will keep having underworld contacts, casting couch will continue to exist like there is no tomorrow. I blame the audiences more than anybody else for making such indecent humans as our celebs.

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