Shama Sikander on drug scene in Bollywood: You always have a choice; no one forces you to do something at gun point or puts anything into your mouth

Actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s unfortunate demise has opened a can of worms and discussions around mental health, nepotism and favouritism in Bollywood have been going on for sometime. While actor Shama Sikander feels such talks might improve the atmosphere of the entertainment industry, she adds that the agenda-driven conversations happening in the name of good is portraying the industry in wrong light.

“Some people are unfortunately not conscious about what they’re saying, there are others who’re going overboard to satisfy their personal agenda. Things are getting murkier, spoiling authenticity of the whole conversation. It’s creating a negative impact on people’s mind, also discouraging talent who had dreamt of being a part of the industry. Sad people aren’t understanding how they’re being manipulated, brainwashed into believing certain things. This industry gave employment, entertain us, gave us great artistes. This isn’t that bad a place,” she says.

Actor Kangana Ranaut, who has been vocal about these existing biases, has recently alleged that 99% of Bollywood is into drugs leading to many wonder who did she mean by the majority because Bollywood consists of thousands of people.

Reacting to these talks around drug mafia, Sikander says, “I don’t think the entire industry is into drugs. I’ve been to parties where there were no drugs at all and also to some parties where there were drugs. It’s up to you as to what you choose for yourself. No one forces you to do something at gun point or puts anything into your mouth.”

Adding that the industry is made of creative people, the actor says, ”I agree some people make mistakes but they’re just a small part of the industry. And these people can be turned too. We need to deal with this sensitively. Fighting is good but in the right direction would get results.”

Sikandar further points that audience need to now make things move in the right direction as power is in their hands.

“You wanted to only watch star kids and now you’re saying ‘Oh nepotism is destroying the industry’. Along with being an art form, filmmaking is also a business. If you want to watch certain people, makers will only cast them right? If makers still take the chance with an outsider, and if the film fails then this actor’s career is almost over. So, if you want outsiders to flourish, watch their work,” she argues.

Sikander says more than nepotism, it’s groupism that’s the bigger issue. “These groups in Bollywood don’t allow you to function if you aren’t a part of it. Your auditions tapes don’t reach the right place and producers too want to stay close to these powerful groups. So people like us have to wait for years to get good work,”concludes the actor.

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Author tweets @Shreya_MJ