Vivek Agnihotri, a filmmaker, has revealed an “inside story” about Bollywood. He described it as a “talent cemetery” as well as a “talent hub.” He discussed how those who do not achieve the expected level of success become entangled in showbiz’s vicious circle, without any income or power but are forced to fake it.
“What you see is not Bollywood,” the Kashmir Files director wrote. True Bollywood can be found in its dark alleys. Its underbelly is so dark that the average person cannot comprehend it. Dreams shattered, trampled, and buried can be found in these dark alleys. If Bollywood is a talent museum, it is also a talent cemetery. It’s not about being rejected. Anyone who comes here understands that rejection is a given. It is humiliation and exploitation that shatter tender dreams, hopes, and faith in humanity. One can survive without food, but it is impossible to live without respect, self-worth, and hope. No middle-class adolescent ever imagines himself in that situation.”
“It hits so hard that instead of putting up a fight, one gives up,” he wrote about how the unsuccessful ones end up in a never-ending battle. Those who return home are fortunate. Those who stay separate. Those who achieve some success but not true success turn to drugs, alcohol, and other life-altering substances. They now require funds. As a result, they are exposed to a variety of strange money. The most dangerous type of success is a partial success. You’re in show business with no money or power. You have to dress like a star, party like a star, and publicize like a star, but you aren’t one. Consider yourself in a gangsta ghetto where you must act like a gangster without the use of a gun or a knife. This is where you can be humiliated and exploited. Instagram is not a free service. It costs money to film, look good, and sound busy.”
He claims that this “hollow race of validation” returns them to where they began – “the dark hole that keeps getting deeper and deeper with each race.” “You show off, nobody sees,” he added. Nobody hears you scream. Nobody cares if you cry. You are surrounded by people who are laughing at you. You bury your hopes. Quietly. But then you discover people dancing on your dreams’ grave. Their success becomes your failure. You’re a walking corpse. The irony is that no one can see you are dead except you. You die one day. Vivek Agnihotri the rest of the world notices you.”
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