Alvida dost, says Richa Chadha in her heartfelt blog on 'old friend' Sushant Singh Rajput, nepotism and much more

Pic Courtesy: Instagram

New Delhi: Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death by suicide allegedly has opened a can of worms in Bollywood. Nepotism and favouritism are back to the centre as topics of hot debate online. Almost after a month to Sushant's demise, actress Richa Chadha has penned a long blog describing her thoughts.

Richa Chadha has written a powerful note which hits out at nepotism in the industry amongst various other issues as well. She tweeted the link to her blog: अलविदा दोस्त... 

Please read only if you are serious about change... with malice to none and love to all!

अलविदा दोस्त...
Please read only if you are serious about change... with malice to none and love to all !  https://t.co/dTWBlyjpin. — TheRichaChadha (@RichaChadha) July 16, 2020

In the blog, she starts off from quoting renowned poet Sahir Ludhianvi and ended on Guru Dutt's classic lines 'Jala Do'.

An excerpt from her blog reads: As for nepotism, it just makes me laugh out loud in real life.  I don’t hate “star kids”.  Why are we expected to? If someone’s father is a star, they are born into that household the same as we are to our folks. Are you ashamed of your parents? Is it right to expect someone else to be ashamed of their parents/families/legacy? This is a hateful and nonsense argument. I am a self-made person in this business. Will you tell my children to be ashamed of my struggle to reach where I have, for instance? ‘Star-kids’ have to deal with rivalry within their own clans. Often this is an inter-generational, unforgiving and all encompassing contest. There exist hierarchies within the clan too, wherein say the grandson of a legendary singer or the son of an ace stuntman maybe thought of as lesser than that of a director or actor. Knowing how deeply rooted caste is in our country, why does this unstated ranking system surprise anyone? We may never know what someone else may be dealing with here. I empathise but I won’t know that pain, unless I am standing in their shoes. 

Similarly, there’s just NO WAY someone born within the industry will have the same experience as someone who wasn’t. This takes me back a decade or so. Sushant and I started out by workshopping together in a theatre group. I was sharing a 700 sq ft apartment in Andheri West with a friend from Delhi. Sushant would pick me up on his bike and we would head to the rehearsal, for which I was grateful. I wasn’t poor or broke. But I can’t say money was not a consideration when I had to head out to do an ad audition for a skin brand. I would worry about my make up melting in the auto rickshaw before I even arrived. This was would NEVER happen with a ‘star-kid’, and if it does, they will be lauded for being humble enough to take the rickshaw in the first place. But I don’t resent their privilege.

Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput was found hanging at his Bandra residence on June 14, 2020. The Mumbai police is currently investigating the case but his fans have been pressing for a CBI enquiry to ensure a fair probe.