It has been over a month since the death of talented bollywood actor Sushant Singh. A police investigation has been launched to determine the reasons that provoked Sushant to take the extreme step of ending his own life.
Even as an investigation into the death of Sushant Singh Rajput is underway, popular news daily Mid-day peddled an unsubstantiated story, claiming that the Kai Po Che actor was suffering from ‘bipolar disorder’. The article published in the news daily claimed that one of the psychiatrists of a leading hospital contended in his deposition to the police that the actor was suffering from ‘bipolar disorder’.
Bipolar disorder is a mental illness characterised by drastic shifts in mood. The symptoms of the disorder can include an extremely elevated mood called mania. They can also include episodes of depression. Bipolar disorder is also known as bipolar disease or manic depression.
The article published in the Mid-day asserted that one of the three psychiatrists interrogated by the Bandra Police in the case of Sushant Singh Rajput’s suicide has stated that the actor was suffering from ‘bipolar disorder’. A similar claim was also made in an article published by Times Now, where it said that the doctors who were consulted by Sushant stated that he was suffering from ‘bipolar disorder’. Even news reports on DNA and Zee News said that Sushant was afflicted by bipolar disorder and wasn’t taking his medicines regularly.
The article had gone ahead to suggest the deceased actor was not taking his medicines. Citing the Mid-Day report, film editor Apurva Asrani had called out the efforts to tarnish Sushant’s image.
However, when Film editor and screenwriter Apurva Asrani questioned the veracity of the claims made in the article, the news daily quietly edited the article and Sushant Singh Rajput’s purported illness was changed to ‘depression’.
Today Mid-Day carried a story claiming a psychiatrist confirmed #SushantSinghRajput had 'bipolar disorder'. After I called out the anonymous source, the article was edited & his illness was changed to 'depression'. Dont let your hate for Kangana allow for a cover up of injustice. pic.twitter.com/9wnJzfiG0T
— Apurva (@Apurvasrani) July 21, 2020
The Film editor then went on to allege that the hatred for Kangana, who has been vocal in her support for Sushant Singh Rajput and has cast aspersions on some powerful personalities of Bollywood industry for continuing nepotism, is being channelled to cover up an injustice.
Sushant’s death triggers allegations of nepotism, harassment and exploitation in Bollywood
In the wake of Sushant’s demise, a groundswell of opposition had developed against the Bollywood bigwigs, accusing them of abetting his suicide by perpetuating the culture of nepotism and professional harassment of ‘outsiders’ in the industry. A large number of people on social media, aided by the reports of Sushant Singh Rajput being rejected by a number of well-known production houses, firmed up the popular belief that the actor was shunted on account of being an outsider.
This belief unleashed a wave of fury and discontent against ‘bigwigs’ like Mahesh Bhatt, Karan Johar, Yashraj Films and several other prominent individuals of the Bollywood industry, alleging that the culture fostered by them had led Sushant to take away his life.
As the blame of Sushant’s alleged suicide pivoted on Bollywood bigwigs and major movie makers, popular Bollywood critics and starlets came together to patronisingly assert that the Kai Po Che actor was ailing from a mental illness. Bollywood critic Subash K Jha had also penned an article claiming how Sushant, who many believe was bullied and pushed over the edge, was ‘mentally unstable’.
It was also pointed out how the talented actor was hounded with an extremely negative PR machinery that included baseless gossips, allegations and claims made by movie critics and gossip columnists to criticise and defame the actor. Apurva Asrani had earlier also called out movie critic Rajeev Masand for his ‘vicious and cowardly blind items’ against Sushant Rajput.
While it is still early to ascertain the true reasons that pushed Sushant over the edge, efforts were already underway by the media and Bollywood coterie to paint Sushant as a patient of clinical depression and absolve themselves from the collective guilt of his death.
