Sushant’s death definitely Pushed me to Speak Up a little bit: Abhay Deol calls out Bollywood’s Lobby Culture!

Abhay Deol is known to be one of the most talented actors in Bollywood. The actor has been making it to the headlines for his Instagram posts as he has been revisiting his earlier films — Ek Chaalis Ki Last Local, Manorama Six Feet Under (both 2007), Dev D, ROAD (both 2009) — and sharing a story behind them, with the hashtag #makingwhatbollywouldnt.

In a recent post, he opened up about the ways in which people in the film industry lobby against anyone. Now, in a recent interview with Hindustan Times, he called out Bollywood’s lobby culture and agreed that bias and nepotism can take a toll on a person’s mental health.

He also mentioned that while he did not know Sushant Singh Rajput, he could relate to the late actor’s career.

Talking to HT Abhay Deol said that lobby culture has been prevalent in the industry for decades, which is why no one thinks about standing up against it. They are all ready to conform, which is why they know that they can get away with it. 

“The reason I can say this, is because I grew up in a film family and I’ve heard of these games even as a child. As a kid, I heard it through other people’s experiences, and as a professional, I have seen it myself,” added Abhay. 

He also talked about Sushant Singh Rajput’s and said that it shook him up and got him thinking. Although he didn’t know the late actor, but “I could relate to his career,” and also admitted that Sushant’s death did push him to speak up, but he has also spoken up in the past.

Sushant’s death definitely sort of pushed me to speak up a little bit. But, this isn’t my first time speaking up. In the past, I’ve taken on the biggest. I’m sorry it took someone’s death to wake everybody up. But I’m glad that people have taken note and they want to be heard. They’re asking for a change not just from the outside of the industry but even from the inside. What’s good today is that actors are speaking out. I had become quiet because I didn’t want to be the only one screaming. No man is an island, after all. And, without support, I alone couldn’t have brought about the change we need. So, I decided to speak up once again.

- Abhay Deol

Abhay Deol took to his Instagram account and shared a post about his movie Road and mentioned that the film made it to the Tribeca film festival where he got the opportunity to meet with both Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro.

"Road, Movie”, released in 2009. It went to the Tribeca film festival where I got the opportunity to meet with both Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro! Made the summer heat of Rajasthan in which we shot totally worth it.

This one was, and still is, waaaaaay too art house for the Indian market.

Fun fact- I drove an old 50’s truck through the streets of Jaipur and even took a sharp U-turn on a narrow street. Why do I remember that? You should try it! Directed by Dev Benegal. #makingwhatbollywouldnt"

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