The news of SSR’s suicide has broken many hearts. It has broken mine too. I always admired this guy and the loss is just not acceptable.
The world of Bollywood is extremely cut-throat and ambitious. It has its cruel ways of treating its members. This is not the first suicide case in the industry. There is a long list spanning from Guru Dutt, Manmohan Desai, Divya Bharti, and now Sushant. But no matter how intense the professional, financial or relationship stress is, the value of life is above all….. multiple times.
What media reports suggests is that Sushant took his life considering the obstacles posed by veterans of the industry. Also, we don’t know whether he was suffering from any financial stress.
But often financial stress is one of the key part of overall stress amongst the celebrities. Film actors are dependent on the success of their films and product endorsements. Unlike common people, their earnings happen in chunks. They experience sudden windfalls followed by long drought. No actor can ever forecast his earnings 5 years down the line. They need to keep evolving to stay relevant.
When a newbie manages to climb the path of fame, his/her expense pattern changes suddenly. The new fame needs to be supported by matching car, vacations and apartments. He/she is under social compulsions to match the lifestyle of peers. This may require taking on loans. But, in Bollywood, success is always standing on dagger’s edge. One flop movie, and the earnings of future become very shaky. The asking pay for next movie will come down heavily. Then the outstanding loans come to haunt.
Sometimes, even established actors also go through financial stress. Their personal life is way too different from an average Joe. They need to pay large sums of money into alimony and sustaining the kids from previous marriages. They also need to support the new family that they started at the age of 50 by marrying again. In pursuit of second income, sometimes they become adventurous and enter the untested waters, thereby putting further strain on finances.
Coming back to the sad news of Sushant’s death. I would say that if someone hates his/her life so much, then they should change the way of living. Reducing ambition, and opting to go slow, is not always a loser’s proposition. Sometimes it is WISE. It can make life easier and beautiful. Suicide is never going to be an answer to anything. I will end this note with this quote:
“Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem”
We all wish you had stayed. RIP Sushant