Corona Diaries 40: Sushant Singh Rajput, Futile Outrage & The Villain-Victim Binary

COVID-19 cases have shot past four lakh in India. Everything related to the disease stand pretty much where they were. There is not much to add to what media outlets have already informed us. Since the diary is not solely about the public health phenomenon we are confronted with but also about a zoomed out, wide-angle view of life and events during the pandemic, let’s talk Sushant Singh Rajput, the current hot topic on the social media.

No offence meant, but the question begs to be raised. It has to do with the death of the actor and the flurry of social media posts, particularly from the film fraternity, throwing insider knowledge on the reason why he killed himself. Here we go: If so many people had prior knowledge of what the actor was going through then how come none extended a hand of support before he chose the extreme action?

The words of sympathy appear genuine, so does the rage against the utterly corrupt and immoral system that powers the Mumbai film industry. All the anger with the skullduggery, meanness and machinations that goes into the so-called inspiring success stories of actors, directors and others is justified too. But this outrage is as ancient as the rocks of the Western Ghats. We hear the same stories of nepotism, favouritism and arrogance everytime an accident like this happens. Then they disappear into the cold storage, waiting to be in circulation after the next.

Actor Kangana Ranaut, like her bluntness or not, has been the only consistent voice against the evils of the film industry. She was expected to go ballistic after Sushant’s death, but to her credit she has been vocal earlier too, calling out big names for their double standards and hypocrisy. That does not appear to be the case with many others, who now claim to know what he was suffering. Some appear to be using the opportunity to hit back at the industry biggies over personal grouses.

Of course, we need to clarify here that we still don’t have the other side of the story. Those accused of being unfair and vindictive towards Sushant and other talented people like him haven’t responded yet. No journalist has bothered to get their version of the events that preceded the actor’s death. What we have is a lot of claims that are unsubstantiated and insubstantiable. But we have been through this earlier, stones thrown at the closed big, strong iron gate, and nothing has changed. The system stays unperturbed.

You might soon hear about suicides in the music industry, wrote the singer Sonu Nigam in a video blog. “Sushant died, an actor died. Tomorrow, you can hear the same about a singer, or a composer, or a lyricist. There are bigger ‘mafia’ here than in the film industry…,” his post said. He pointed at the involvement of a big actor in the fall of his booming career. It’s true mafia and gangs rule the roost in all industries, including the media. In such ecosystems loyalty matters more than talent, and capacity for compromise more than competence. It is more acute in creative fields where competition and the sense of insecurity is higher. It’s a rotten system and needs to change. But who will bell the cat?

The presence of more outspoken people like Kangana is of help. But that is hardly much to change the system. Collective action to break open the iron gates or creating a universe parallel to the one inside the gate is the solution. This would call for unity and capacity to leverage the strength of numbers against the entrenched players. Will that happen?

Coming back to where we began, no offence meant, but the outrage should lead us somewhere. Let’s introspect.

THE THING ABOUT CONSPIRACY THEORIES

We love conspiracy theories. Like in most of our filmy stories, they have to be framed in the victim-villain binary. At the subconscious level we identify ourselves with the victims and treat the big, bad system as the villain. The system cannot be a faceless entity, so we paste faces on it. The more easily recognisable the face, the better it is. In the case of Sushant, the likes of Karan Johar and Aditya Chopra fit the bill. They wield enormous power, thus their potential for corruptibility is enormous too.

Unfortunately, conspiracy theorists don’t usually bring much to the table as hard, actionable evidence. Moreover, they rarely proceed beyond immediate outrage or episodic outrage, which gives their allegations a short shelf-life. In the end the wider audience consumes the theories primarily for their entertainment value, not for factual robustness or gravitas of intent. A nice tribute to Sushant would be when at least one of these conspiracy theorists seeks legal remedy on the basis of evidence. We are prepared to wait.

POLITICS, THE FICKLE COMPANION

Politicians can be terribly fickle as fellow fighters for a cause. Of late, there has been a trend towards creation of ideological camps in the film industry. Many of those screaming against the system identify themselves openly with political parties and ideologies. Kangana, for example, has made no secret of her leaning towards the current ruling dispensation. It is not a bad idea to find a source of strength elsewhere when powerful insiders isolate you, but would politicians, masters at game of opportunism as they are, be a reliable companion?

Those who hold power and influence in the industry understand the dynamics of opportunism well. A small move from them would be enough to make politicians swing their way. It would leave the rebels in the lurch, and their good fight in tatters. It’s time they thought of a better idea.

OUTRAGE & OUTCOME

The outrage industry has flourished with the advent of the social media. It would be fair to say that issues, which would get buried otherwise, get due amplification through collective outrage. However, at some point, the virtual and real worlds must meet. If outrage brings tangible changes in the inherently unfair real world it would count as great success. If Sushant’s death throws enough light on the opaque system of contracts and exploitation of artistes, technicians and others in general, thus ushering change, it would be welcome. The burden of it lies on industry insiders who claim to be his friends. Social media is there to assist.

Also Read: Sushant Singh Suicide: Rhea Chakraborty Hid Important Details; Police To Probe