Sushant Singh Rajput's sudden demise has reignited the debate about nepotism in Bollywood. Amid speculations that nepotism and exploitation in the film industry might have led to his demise, police are also probing 'professional rivalry' angle in his death case.
In memory of the actor, his family members have launched Nepometer—an app designed to tell users how 'nepotistic' a film is. In a statement released by the app's team recently, the family said they want the truth about his death to come out. In an Instagram post, the team said that his death has 'exposed the dark side of Bollywood'. The team added: “The goal of this app is to provide you a percentage meter of how nepotistic or independent upcoming movies are and send you notification to watch more independent movies. If the nepometer is high, then it’s time to #boycottbollywoodnepotism #boycottbollywood.”
Sushant Singh's brother-in-law Vishal Kirti had announced the launch of Nepometer, on June 25.
On Thursday, the team released a Nepometer analysis of director Mahesh Bhatt's upcoming film Sadak 2, and found that the film is '98% nepotistic.' “We rated it based on 5 categories, Producer, Lead Artists, Supporting Artists, Director & Writer. 4 out of 5 categories have Bollywood Family members. When #nepometer is high, it’s time to #boycottbollywood. Will you watch this movie?,” read the Instagram post.
Produced by Vishesh Films and Fox Star Studios, the movie featuring Alia Bhatt, Aditya Roy Kapur, Sanjay Dutt and Pooja Bhatt, is set for a digital release amid the pandemic. It is a sequel to the 1991 film starring Pooja Bhatt and Dutt.
In an earlier post, the Nepometer team said: “We all signed up for change. org petitions with great unity and it shows that we are looking for this Bollywood nepotism to change. I think the best way to make it happen is by using our own wallets and not watch movies that doesn’t support enough independent artists. But how do we remind ourselves about not watching nepotistic movies? And even if we can remember, how do we find alternative independent movies easily. Many independent movies just don’t make the cut of publicity to catch our eyes.”
While the social media handles of Nepometer are active, the work on the website is still under progress, Times of India reported.