Nepotism is defined as the practice among those with power or influence of favouring relatives or friends, especially by giving them jobs. Based on several media reports and accounts of actors and technicians in the film industry, the Mumbai police is investigating in what is now proved that Sushant Singh Rajput had died by suicide, hanging himself in his plush Bandra apartment in upscale Mumbai.
Not many may be aware but Sushant was called Gulshan at home. A boy born after four consecutive elder siblings were girls – and after a lot of prayers by the family at Patna, Bihar in north India. And his family who had earlier set up the Sushant Singh Rajput Foundation (SSRF) to empower young talents in cinema, science and sports. His childhood home in Rajiv Nagar, Patna, is slated to be converted into a memorial, where his personal memorabilia inclusive of books, his Meade 14’’ LX-600 telescope and flight-simulator among other things would be on view for his fans.
And continuing in the same spirit, albeit being stunned by his suicide, a member of Sushant’s family has pointed a finger at nepotism.
Sushant Singh Rajput: Will the Tragedy of an Outsider Make Bollywood Rethink Its Culture?
Vishal Kirti is the husband of Sushant’s elder sister Shweta Kirti and his immediate brother-in-law, introduces his ‘brother’ Mayuresh Krishna who has created a campaign in the form of what has been billed as a ‘Nepometer’ with a Twitter handle. The Nepometer is slated to be an application that provides rating for movies, television and web series on the nepotistic levels in the said project. “If the Nepometer is high, then it’s time to boycott Bollywood nepotism, (sic)” says an accompanying tweet.
Meanwhile an advocate from Muzaffarpur from Sushant’s state of Bihar Sudhir Kumar Ojha has filed a case against film producers Salman Khan, Karan Johar, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, and Ekta Kapoor alleging that nepotism from their end led Sushant to suicide. The case is up for hearing tomorrow.