Tanujaa V Mehra feels that since celebrities are always in the public eye, Depression news grab more headlines!

The word “nepotism” made headlines once again after Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s sad demise in 2020. Whether it’s fair or not, the debate is still on, and though talent manager Tanujaa V Mehra, who handles actors like Tabu,, to name a few, agrees that the industry is prone to favouritism and partiality, she stressed that blaming this sad event on nepotism was not fair.

She also admitted that though it might look all good from the outside, even star kids face rejections and are often being compared not just to their contemporaries but also their parents.

She said, “It’s unfortunate that the blame for some rather heartbreaking events went on nepotism whereas the issue was more of human behaviour and every individual’s capability to handle both the demands of stardom and its pressure. Having said that, it’s not that we aren’t privy to partiality and favouritism at all levels of the entertainment industry, be it for getting jobs at bigger organisations or for pitching artists for good roles or projects to more established production houses or casting directors.”

“However, naming it on nepotism is being unfair. It’s not always true that things come easy to star kids or relatives because we have many classic cases of actors being rejected merely under the pressure of comparison with their star parents or siblings. It’s more a matter of being at the right place at the right time. The industry has seen few superstars who came here and became them without a godfather and some who failed miserably despite having one,” she added.

Depression was another word that was most-talked about in 2020 especially in regards to the industry, and even though the industry folks have been very open in accepting if they have succumbed to it or creating more awareness around it. Tanujaa feels that since celebrities are always in the public eye, such news grab more headlines and in a way create an indirect awareness.

“Actors are always under the media and audience scanner, their depression or suicide becomes newsworthy and more worthy of discussion, thereby bringing indirect awareness as opposed to the non-celeb victims or cases. I wish that awareness of signs and cry for help would catch the media attention and bring change in the overall perception of depression instead of all the drama trauma around the end of someone’s precious life,” she said.

Asked if she believes that the entertainment industry is always wrongly targeted because of the glitz and glamour, Tanujaa expressed her opinion strongly and said, “I don’t look at anything as right and wrong because it’s just a perspective and everyone’s point of view which changes basis the situation and their own experience. However, yes I agree that our entertainment industry is targeted more strongly as oppose to any other industry where also favouritism, partiality and casting couches exist likewise.”

“The artists who have been put on a pedestal by the audience cannot be seen as fallen. They are human but the audience has, by and large, decided that just like they own God, they own the people of the industry as well. And thereby moral policing, trolling, disrespecting, gossiping, and bringing them down from the pedestal is the birthright of every common man,” she concluded