23 August,2020 12:53 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Prakash Jha Picture Courtesy: Official Instagram Account/Prakash Jha
The unfortunate demise of Sushant Singh Rajput on June 14 has not only shook the nation but also led to the commencement of a much-amplified debate about nepotism and the insider and outsider. Several actors and filmmakers have shared their thoughts and spoken about the issue and the recent one is Prakash Jha. He even had to say something to the term- Movie Mafia.
In an interview with Bollywood Life, Jha said, "I'm yet to understand this because, really speaking, I have had a few years in this industry, and I can say with some kind of honesty and some kind of integrity that I have never faced this sort of thing." He also cited examples of actors like Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Manoj Bajpayee.
He said, "I knows actors, whether it is Nawazuddin Siddiqui or Manoj Bajpayee, they may have taken a few years of extra struggle, but eventually, if you are a star kid, you may get one picture or you may get two pictures, you can go so far and no more unless and until you connect with people, performed and proved your mettle."
He added, "So, to make general comment about all this is...I don't know...like somebody was interviewing me and asked me about our "movie mafia" and I wondered where is this movie mafia? Please text me the address of this mafia, I'll go and meet them." Jha then went on to talk about actors that were bestowed with great opportunities but couldn't utilise them fruitfully to survive and succeed in Bollywood.
The filmmaker stated, "People are unnecessarily saying all this because you know, the film world is easily visible, making it an easy target. But what about industries like politics or other fields, like is an industrialist not going to promote his son or daughter? They will do it because that's a natural tendency. But in films what happens is...there are several names that I wouldn't like to take...where they got an opportunity, but couldn't capitalise on it, and they were out."
Talking about Sushant Singh Rajput, this is what he had to say, "Poor Sushant...I'm so sad that such a bright actor, such a bright human being had to lose his life and it's good that the CBI is investigating it now. But think about it, the guy was doing such good work. I would've loved to work with him, unfortunately, I never had an opportunity to meet him. Maybe there are certain offers where he was kind of like pushed out, I don't know, but that happens all the time."
Jha is currently gearing up for his show, Aashram, starring Bobby Deol that will stream on MX Player from August 28. The filmmaker is known for films like Mrityudand, Gangaajal, Apaharan, Raajneeti, Aarakshan, Satyagraha, and Jai Gangaajal.
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