Professional Rivalry Angle To Be Probed In Sushant Singh Rajput’s Death: Minister

Mumbai: Amid an outpouring of grief, support and anger after actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death, the Maharashtra government has said it will look into allegations of professional rivalry along with his reported clinical depression in its investigations.

The 34-year-old rising star of Hindi films killed himself at his home in Mumbai’s Bandra on Sunday and was cremated yesterday.

Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh commented on Twitter on reports that he was depressed because of professional rivalry.

“While the post mortem report says the actor committed suicide by hanging himself, there are media reports that he allegedly suffered from clinical depression because of professional rivalry. Mumbai Police will probe this angle too,” the minister tweeted.

No suicide note has been found from the actor’s apartment. A post-mortem confirmed asphyxia due to hanging and foul play has been ruled out, according to the police.

Sushant Singh Rajput transitioned successfully from television to films and starred in big ticket films such as “Kai Po Che“, “Shuddh Desi Romance“, “PK“, “Kedarnath” and “Sonchiriya“. He was nominated for acting awards for his portrayal of former Indian skipper MS Dhoni in the 2016 biopic “MS Dhoni: The Untold Story“. One of his most recent films, “Chhichhore“, was widely appreciated.

The shocking death has roiled the film industry, which has been battling allegations of nepotism and cliquism. Many have been tweeting about alleged sidelining of the talented star, who quit his engineering course to pursue acting. There are unconfirmed reports about the actor being rebuffed by Bollywood’s so-called big league.

Among those whose social media posts highlighted the actor’s turmoil was that of acclaimed filmmaker Shekhar Kapur. “I knew the pain you were going through. I knew the story of the people that let you down so bad that you would weep on my shoulder. I wish I was around the last 6 months. I wish you had reached out to me. What happened to you was their Karma. Not yours,” he tweeted.

I knew the pain you were going through. I knew the story of the people that let you down so bad that you would weep on my shoulder. I wish Iwas around the last 6 months. I wish you had reached out to me. What happened to you was their Karma. Not yours. #SushantSinghRajput

— Shekhar Kapur (@shekharkapur) June 15, 2020

Many have responded strongly to that post and more and more celebrities are coming out against what some of them have described as the “Bollywood privilege club”.

Members of the actor’s family had called for an investigation as they struggled to understand what pushed him over the edge.

“He was under pressure…a 33-year-old was at his peak and was a threat to rivals. Our call for a probe has been accepted by the Maharashtra government,” said Sushant Singh Rajput’s cousin Neeraj Bablu, an MLA in Bihar, alleging a “conspiracy”.

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