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Sridevi Kapoor death: Tragedy shines light on Bollywood pressures - Published The death of Bollywood superstar Sridevi has led to a wave of speculation - some of it unsavoury. But the sad news has also encouraged some industry insiders to speak out about the disturbing pressures that women and outsiders face in India's so-called dream factory as Sudha G Tilak reports. Bollywood stars often refer to the Hindi movie industry rooted in Mumbai as "one big family", but the cracks in this large creative community are increasingly becoming too large to ignore. The tragic death of Sridevi has prompted an outpouring on Indian social media over the pressures on the industry's leading women and the murkiness behind their success. It has also exposed the plight of many hopefuls who pursue a path to Mumbai with dreams of making it big in Bollywood. The burden to defy age and look youthful and the haste to hide ugly scandals that embody campaigns such as #MeToo are not the issues of Hollywood alone. "Bollywood is probably worse with its history of its patriarchal mindset and the exploitative nature of young women more than men," says a young Bollywood actor on condition of anonymity. Over the last two decades gossip websites have been leaking information about romances, break-ups, problems with drink and substance abuse and criminal acts involving the industry's stars. After it emerged that Sridevi's death was due to "accidental drowning", veteran Bollywood actress Simi Garewal tweeted about the "uncanny similarities in the death of #Sridevi and Whitney Houston". Houston died in her hotel room on 11 February 2012 when she accidentally drowned due to the effects of cocaine use and heart disease, an autopsy concluded. A disturbing tally of at least 16 actresses and nine actors have taken their own lives in India, often reportedly due to being unable to bear the demands of the film industry, deal with heartbreaks or because of depression. Bollywood's demands for big ticket box office success, the pressure on its stars to appear visibly attractive and exposure to social media scrutiny have tested those at the top of the profession, too. Successful Indian actress Deepika Padukone has publicly admitted to suffering depression in this environment. 'A nightmare' Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma, who directed Sridevi in Telugu language blockbusters, also spoke out on social media in an effort to convey how unhappy the Bollywood legend was in real life. "[Sridevi] went through so much in her life," he said, adding: "Due to her early career entry as a child artiste, life never gave her time to grow up at a normal pace. "More than the external peace, her internal mental state was of a high degree of concern and this forced her to look at her own self. "The uncertainty of the future, the ugly turns and twists in her private life left deep scars in the superstar's sensitive mind and thereafter she was never at peace," Varma wrote on Facebook. Speaking to journalist Vir Sanghvi last year, Sridevi recalled how she had to acclimatise to the Bollywood way of working. She told him that while working in the south Indian film industry she would start shooting at 06:00, but in Mumbai she would wait for Bollywood actors to turn up on set well into the late afternoon, making her feel "restless". She recalled how the promotions for her first movie in Bollywood "felt like a nightmare" and how she was "very, very uncomfortable" with the scrutiny of Bollywood's paparazzi. Sridevi was called "Thunder Thighs" by the Bollywood press. For an entertainer who could speak fluently in five Indian languages, she was also mocked for her lack of English-speaking skills by the industry's glossy magazines. Her death has also led to a lot of speculation about the effects of repeated cosmetic surgeries and the pressure on stars to look youthful. Sridevi had been quizzed on whether she ever went under the knife - it was always something she denied in her interviews. However it is quite common in Bollywood for stars these days to undertake cosmetic surgery. #MeToo and Nepotism In the past two decades many young stars have spoken of how Bollywood has become an unfriendly place with incestuous power brokering among large studio houses. "I've been treated like a dog" said Kangana Ranaut, India's two-time national award winner and top Bollywood star. She spoke about how unfriendly and exploitative Bollywood is for hopefuls like her from small towns of India and how it has "scarred her psyche". The current crop of Bollywood studio executives and filmmakers is different. Successful, rich and powerful, they are predominantly the children of former stars and film producers. The breed of second and third generation "star kids" are urbane, educated in schools abroad and are often called the "Bombay yuppies" in Bollywood. The many hopefuls who call themselves "outsiders" without the protective network of powerful families or former star parents are vulnerable to greater exploitation, according to Ranaut. Industry stars and film producers openly heckled Ranaut and her comments led to debates on the entitlement among Bollywood's current crop who have the patronage of big studios and their family money. The outsiders who have become successful, including Shah Rukh Khan, Anushka Sharma, Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone, have the firm backing of the traditional studios and filmmakers. Debating these difficult issues that the industry faces has been muted in Bollywood and in the public sphere. Sridevi's tragic end has led to introspection of how Bollywood's beauty should be more than skin deep. Sudha G Tilak is a Delhi-based independent journalist
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श्रीदेवीको निधनपछि बलिवूडको अंध्यारो पक्षमाथि चर्चा बलिवूडकी चर्चित अभिनेत्री श्रीदेवीको निधनले अड्कलीबाजीको लहर नै सिर्जना गरिदिएको छ- त्यसमध्ये केही निकै नमीठा लाग्छन्। तर उनको दुःखद मृत्युले भारतको 'ड्रिम फ्रयाक्ट्री' भनिने बलिवूड चलचित्र उद्योगमा काम गरिरहेकाहरुलाई सो क्षेत्रमा काम गर्दा महिलाहरुले, तथा त्यहाँको घरानासँग कुनै पारिवारिक सम्बन्ध नभएका बाहिरियाहरुले, सामना गर्नुपर्ने अत्यासलाग्दा दबाबहरुका बारे खुल्न प्रेरित गरेको पत्रकार सुधाजी तिलकले उल्लेख गरेकी छन्। दुर्दशा मुम्बई शहरमा केन्द्रित हिन्दी चलचित्र उद्योगलाई बलिवूड चलचित्रकर्मीहरुले प्रायःजसो उनीहरुकै शब्दमा "एउटा ठूलो परिवार" भन्छन् तर यो ठूलो सिर्जनात्मक क्षेत्रमा रहेका विचलनहरु बेवास्ता गर्न नसकिने हुँदै गएका छन्। श्रीदेवीको निधनले भारतीय सामाजिक संजालहरुमा सो उद्योगमा काम गर्दा अग्रणी महिलाहरुले सामना गर्ने दबाब र तिनीहरुको सफलता पछाडिको कथा प्रति व्यापक प्रतिक्रियाहरु व्यक्त गरिएका छन्। साथै बलिवूडमा सफलता हासिल गर्ने सपना देखेर मुम्बई पुगेका कैयौँ आकांक्षीहरुको दुर्दशा पनि उजागर गरिएको छ। "पितृसत्तामक सोच र पुरुषभन्दा महिलाको शोषण गर्ने प्रवृत्तिका कारण बलिवूडको इतिहास खराब छ," परिचय नखुलाउने शर्तमा एक बलिवूड कलाकारले भने। विगत दुई दशकमा कैयौँ वेबसाइटहरुले बलिवूड कलाकारको प्रेमप्रसंग वा विछोड, मादकपदार्थ सेवन वा लागू पदार्थ दुर्व्यसन तथा तिनीहरु संलग्न आपराधिक गतिविधिहरु बारे हल्ला वा खबर प्रकाशित गरिरहेका छन्। श्रीदेवीको निधन दुर्घटनावश् बाथटबमा डुबेर भएको भनिएको समाचार बाहिरिएपछि पुरानी बलिवूड नायिका सिमी ग्रेवालले श्रीदेवी र अमेरिकी गायिका-नायिका ह्वीट्नी ह्युस्टन दुवैको मृत्युमा "अनौठा समानताहरु" भएको भन्दै सामाजिक संजाल ट्वीटरमा लेखेकी थिइन्। कम्तीमा १६ जना नायिकाहरु तथा ९ जना नायकहरुले, चलचित्र उद्योगको माग अनुरुप प्रस्तुत हुन नसकेर तथा पीडाहरु वा डिप्रेसनका कारण आत्महत्या गरेको बताइएको छ। 'डिप्रेशन' बक्सअफिसमा चलचित्र सफल हुनुपर्ने, कलाकारहरुलाई एकदमै आकर्षक देखिन पर्ने दबाब र सामाजिक सञ्जालमा हुने टीकाटिप्पणीले सफल कलाकारहरुलाई पनि असर पारेको छ। सफल नायिका दीपिका पादुकोणले पनि सार्वजनिक रुपमा यस्तो माहोलमा डिप्रेशनको शिकार हुन पुगेको बताएकी थिइन्। तेलुगु भाषाका चलचित्रहरुमा श्रीदेवीलाई नायिकाका रुपमा निर्देशन गरेका निर्माता तथा निर्देशक रामगोपाल बर्माले ती चर्चित बलिवूड नायिका आफ्नो वास्तविक जीवनमा बेखुशी भएको भन्दै सामाजिक सञ्जालमा सन्देश राखेका छन्। "उनले जीवनमा धेरै चीजहरुको सामना गर्नुपर्यो। बाल कलाकारका रुपमा चलचित्र उद्योगमा प्रवेश गरेकी उनलाई उनको जीवनले कहिल्यै सामान्य अवस्थामा हुर्कन समय दिएन।" गत वर्ष पत्रकार वीर संघवीसँग कुरा गर्दै श्रीदेवीले आफूलाई बलिवूडको काम गर्ने शैलीसँग अभ्यस्त हुँदा सामना गर्नुपरेको अनुभव बारे बताएकी थिइन्। दक्षिण भारतीय चलचित्र उद्योगमा काम गर्दा सुटिङ बिहान ६ बजे शुरु हुने तर मुम्बईमा अबेर दिउँसोसम्ममा पनि कलाकारहरु सेटमा नआउने र त्यसले उनलाई बेचैन बनाउने उनले बताएकी थिइन्। साथै आफ्नो पहिलो बलिवूड चलचित्रको प्रचारप्रसारमा आफूले निकै भयभित महसुस गरेको र बलिवूड 'पापाराजी'का कारण उनकै शब्दमा निकै असहज महसुस गरेको बताइएकी थिइन्। विगत दुई दशकमा युवा कलाकारहरुले बलिउड कसरी अमैत्रीपूर्ण बन्दै गएको बारे उल्लेख गरेका छन्। असमान दुई पटकसम्म राष्ट्रिय पुरस्कार जितेकी भारतकी चर्चित नायिका कंगना रनावतले आफूलाई 'कुकुरलाई' जस्तो व्यवहार गरिएको बताएकी थिइन्। बलिवूड उनीजस्ता साना शहरबाट आएकाहरुकालागि कति अमैत्रीपूर्ण र असमान भएको र कसरी त्यसले उनको मानसिकतामा असर पुर्याएको बारे उनले बोलेकी थिइन्। बलिवूडसँग पारिवारिक सम्बन्ध नभएर पनि सफल भएका शाहरुख खान, अनुष्का शर्मा, रणवीर सिंह र दीपिका पादुकोण लगायतलाई ठूला चलचित्र निर्माण कम्पनीहरु तथा निमार्ताहरुको साथ छ। चलचित्र उद्योगले सामना गरिरहेको अप्ठेरो समस्याहरु बारे हुने टीकाटिप्पणीलाई बलिवूडमा तथा सार्वजनिक रुपमा महत्त्व दिइँदैन। श्रीदेवीको दुःखद अन्त्यले बलिउडको सौन्दर्य बाहिरी आवरणमा मात्र सीमित हुन नहुनेतर्फ आत्मविश्लेषण गरिनुपर्ने संकेत गरेको छ। (सुधाजी तिलक दिल्लीस्थित स्वतन्त्र पत्रकार हुन्।)