Sushant Singh Rajput’s untimely demise by suicide has re-ignited the debate of nepotism, lobbying and favouritism in Bollywood on social media. After filmmaker Abhinav Kashyap accused Salman Khan of sabotaging his career and Raveena Tandon tweeted on Bollywood camps and dirty politics within the film industry, actor Abhay Deol shared his thoughts on lobbying culture in the showbiz in an Instagram post.
The actor claimed that when Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara released in 2011, almost all the awards ceremonies “demoted” him and Farhan Akhtar from main leads, and only nominated Hrithik Roshan as “actor in a leading role.”
Now, the actor has spoken at length about the same in an interview with Hindustan Times.
“This was clearly an overt example,” Abhay said. “They didn’t even bother hiding their bias, something that they normally take efforts to do. Lobby culture has been prevalent in our industry not for years, but decades. Hence, no one thinks about standing up, or bothering to do anything. They are all ready to conform, which is why they know that they can get away with it.”
Deol’s post comes in the wake of Sushant’s death, after which many are slamming nepotism and lobbying culture in the film industry. Abhay said although he didn’t know the late actor, but “I could relate to his career.”
“Sushant’s death definitely sort of pushed me to speak up a little bit. But, this isn’t my first time speaking up. In the past, I’ve taken on the biggest. I’m sorry it took someone’s death to wake everybody up. But I’m glad that people have taken note and they want to be heard. They’re asking for a change not just from the outside of the industry but even from the inside.”