Swara Bhasker: Sushant's death pulled the cover off the glittering world of showbiz, says 'The moment of Sushant’s passing should have been about him & his talent, and not us'

As Swara Bhasker addresses the outrage and charges that have been exchanged since Sushant Singh Rajput death, she says "The moment of Sushant’s passing should have been about him and his talent, and not us."

Over a month after Sushant Singh Rajput's death, what is your take on all the phrases the air is thick with, favouritism, nepotism, insider, outsider, mafia?

I think Sushant Singh Rajput's demise was a shock and a tragedy that has moved everyone, especially his fans, audiences and the film industry. It seems inexplicable that such a handsome, successful and popular star with such a bright career ahead of him, sitting on a 200-crore grossing super hit film should feel the need to take his own life. There is genuine grief. I think people are just latching onto theories and possible explanations to make sense of a tragic act that seems inexplicable and too painful to accept. I think in a strange way all these words are helping people cope with an act that seems incomprehensible, but it is also very disturbing. It’s comforting in such a time to lay the blame on someone and vilify them – it makes the pain easily consumable. I think there is also guilt, a feeling that we didn’t appreciate Sushant Singh Rajput enough while he was alive. And now he is gone, and we can do nothing – so almost as a praayashchit we are turning this into a cause and attacking constructed villains.

I think there is something quite complex and deep happening behind all this. What's your perspective on the arguments for and against the possibility that the late actor Sushant Singh Rajput's would take an extreme step?

I don't want to speculate as to the reasons for Sushant Singh Rajput's unfortunate actions. It was painful to learn of it. At a personal level, it left me shaken for some days, though I didn't know Sushant Singh Rajput's personally at all.

But I think what was really tragic was the way Sushant Singh Rajput's death was used by certain people for their personal agendas. Really, I feel we lost him twice. The moment of his passing should have been about him. Not about us. About his talent, not our vendetta. About his successes, not our frustration. Sushant is a story of tremendous success, he should inspire us. Why are we acting like Sushant was a struggler or a failure? He was a brilliant achiever.

I think Bollywood has been under attack since that day. I think many people and the general public who have no knowledge about how the industry functions are spewing gyaan about it. I think lots of issues are getting mixed up. And I think Bollywood 'insiders' are in shock and are feeling attacked.