Dear all, Sushant Singh Rajput reacted in a humane manner. Cut him some slack, will you?

In Agatha Christie’s ‘Curtain’, which was famed fictional detective Hercule Poirot’s last case, the sleuth encounters an antagonist who never does anything by his own hands. Instead, he plays with minds and words, which induces a third party to commit a crime and confess about the same. Of course, there was no way the person could have been punished for playing with minds.

You must be wondering why I started the article with this reference. When the news of Sushant Singh Rajput’s ‘rude’ behaviour, along with a video to support the same, started doing rounds, I paused, and watched it. Did I find him rude? No, I did not. Did I find the questions thrown in his face forcing his demeanour to be tough? Yes, I did. Because this is not the first time stars have been sweetly coerced into commenting upon a sensational topic, but this certainly is the first time a film star spoke on same and condemned it. However, what is bothersome is that he is being panned for the same, being criticised for simply not speaking about something he was not well-versed with and was not in sync with the situation too. Though the example quoted above is a tad too extreme, this one fits the bill.

Multiple times, words are put into the mouth of the actors, and then those are reported with the quintessential masala, regardless of the consequences. So, can we really be cross with Sushant and Kriti for not wanting to comment on a politically delicate situation? It is their choice, right?

In the trailer launch of Kriti Sanon and Sushant Singh Rajput’s ‘Raabta’, a question was asked about the on-going fervour over Indian RAW agent Kulbhushan Yadav, who has been sentenced to death in Pakistan. While Kriti chose to evade the question politely, someone from the journalist fraternity chose to pursue the same and tried to reprimand Kriti over stopping the director from answering the question.

This is where Sushant Singh Rajput stepped in and started to explain the situation. Sushant was quite polite when he said that a public figure is not bound to speak on everything, and that it is a matter of choice. Further, he also said that one should not speak if one feels that the knowledge that he or she has is not enough to speak on the matter. Quite fair, isn’t it? But when you watch the video carefully, you do notice that the actor is being interrupted frequently, and hence, he became quite stern, by the end of it.

Any human would react the same way, don’t you think? Then why do we expect our stars to deal with everything in a calm manner, to be a saint, even when they are being pinched and prodded. What you sow is what you shall reap. So why make a hue and cry when Sushant reacted?

There is a fine line between intrusion and interrogation. Both the parties on the either side of the mic are humane, and we, whether journalists or stars, should realise its limitations and understand the reactions without jumping the guns. Sushant reacted in a humane way, like anyone would, on constant interruptions, when he or she is trying to explain their stance on a matter. Cut him some slack, will you?

Kadambari Srivastava

Grammar Nazi, word weaver, dreamer, bibliophile, technophile, caffeine addict, foodie, shuttling shopaholic! Mash it in a Bollywood recipe and voila! Pushpa, you’ve got her!