‘The Disguise’ director Sandeep A. Varma on nepotism debate: Kangana Ranaut has always been exceptionally – Times of India

Director Sandeep A. Varma, known for his impactful short films like ‘Kahanibaaz’ and ‘The Virgins’, recently presented his latest gem, ‘The Disguise’. The short film, he says, is not about Islamophobia but about ‘identity’ and also takes on relevant trending subjects like bigotry, racism and intolerance. In an exclusive interview with ETimes, the director revealed that a film with late actor Sushant Singh Rajput was on the cards and also shared his views on the ‘risky business’ of filmmaking apart from everything else that goes on behind the scenes.
Speaking about a film he planned with Sushant, Varma said, “There was a script I narrated to him, which he absolutely loved. It was on a young man coming up in the world, his life and experiences.”
However, the director shared that the film never took off sighting that the actor had some date issues. “But unfortunately, his calendar was full and I thought I would follow up with him a few months down the line, but what happened with him is really very sad,” Varma explained.
Since the tragic demise of actor Sushant Singh Rajput on June 14, many industry insiders have spoken up about the role of an alleged “movie mafia”, constantly working against “outsiders”.
Sandeep shared his thoughts on the same and said, “I would like to say that even if we accept the fact that there is a movie mafia, which sticks to their own and doesn’t want outsiders to come in; I would hate to propagate that someone should be committing suicide because of that. There are challenges in life and I believe anyone should be up for the challenge. Suicide is not justified.”
The debate on ‘nepotism’, which began back in 2017 by Kangana Ranaut, is another topic that has resurfaced and has been taking up the top trends over the past month. Sharing his ideas on the same, Varma said, “It is a fact that nepotism exists. Knowing people helps ‘socially’, but the bigger effect of that is that genuine talent does get sidelined as your talent is based on who you know.”
Adding his perspective to this battle of insiders vs outsiders, he says, “I have a slightly different take because I think there is an insecurity about genuine talent to the people who are on the inside. Those who know each other well and also know that they are not talented enough, they will always be insecure about someone coming up who is incredibly more talented than them.”
He called to mind an example of a classroom when an academically intelligent child is introduced to a new class, “they are often ostracized and isolated.”
“I think that’s what unfortunately happens in this industry too. The more talented you are, the more resistance you face. But if you are a bit mediocre, you get accepted into the mediocre club,” he adds.
On that note, he went on to share that “exceptionally talented” actors like Sushant Singh Rajput and Kangana Ranaut who have spent years in the industry, may still not be getting their dues. Varma explains, “If you are exceptionally talented, your films are doing well and earning a lot of money, people within the industry will start getting scared. That person, in my opinion, could also be someone from within the industry. We have a problem with the way Kangana Ranaut speaks. But she has always been exceptionally talented, and so has Sushant. In her first few years, Kangana never got the recognition she deserved. If you see Sushant, if the character, MS Dhoni had been played by a film star, imagine the kind of applause he would have got. Or a film like Kedarnath, where Sara Ali Khan got much more media attention than Sushant.”
Sharing some words of advice to all those chasing the Bollywood dream, he said, “The more talented you are, the more discrimination you will face. But then, you need to have more determination.”
The director also went on to speak very fondly of Sushant, not just because they had similar interests, but also because they had an engineering background and a thirst for knowledge. Sandeep shared, “Sushant and I had met a couple of times and because I’m an engineer and he was an engineer, we could get along. I meet a lot of actors and sometimes you have to dumb down in the conversations because a lot of them have very limited exposure to things. Sushant had to talk about a lot of things with his knowledge and exposure. I can imagine if Sushant went to a party and if he started talking the way his mind used to work, then he would have been isolated. But those kinds of enriching conversations are absolutely fantastic to have.”
“We are creative people! We need to push the envelope in the kind of conversations we have. That said, Sushant was fantastic as an actor and truly one of a kind. It was very refreshing when I met him, it was a very enriching conversation. He was younger than me and yet, he was so knowledgeable,” he said.
Today marks one month since Sushant’s passing. The news of his death by suicide sent shockwaves through the country. While angry fans have been demanding for the CBI to look into the cause of his demise, the Mumbai Police has been spending the past month interrogating over 30 people including family, friends and film personalities.
The police have so far ruled out foul play in the actor’s demise as his autopsy report confirmed asphyxia due to hanging as the cause of death and no toxins were detected in SSR’s viscera test.

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