‘Dabangg’ Director Abhinav Kashyap Accuses Salman Khan And family For Destroying His Career

The sudden demise of actor Sushant Singh Rajput raised many questions about the Bollywood industry. The many posts referring to the film industry’s alleged role in alienating and isolating Sushant Singh Rajput have appeared to have been noted. Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh announced that the police investigation into the actor’s death will also probe reports that professional rivalry was a factor.

Social media urged those of the film fraternity who have criticised their colleagues after the demise of actor Sushant Singh Rajput. Following the recent demise of Sushant Singh Rajput, director Abhinav Kashyap took to Facebook to post a long note appealing to the government to launch a detailed investigation into what happened with Sushant.

Abhinav Singh Kashyap directed the Salman Khan starrer Dabangg about 10 years back. He took to his social media and claimed that ever since the movie, Arbaaz Khan and Sohil Khan have been trying to take a hold of his career. He added that he was threatened and all his creative projects have been sabotaged by the family.

Abhinav Facebook posts reads,

“My appeal to the Government to launch a detailed investigation.

Rest in peace Sushant Singh Rajput… Om Shanti.. But your fight continues…

The su!c!de of Sushant Singh Rajput brings to the forefront a much bigger problem of what many of us have been dealing with. Exactly what might compel a person to commit su!c!de?? I fear his death is just the tip of the iceberg just like the #metoo movement was for a much bigger malaise in Bollywood.

The death of Sushant Singh Rajput brings under scanner the role YRF talent Management Agency might have played in pushing him towards his su!c!de but that is for the authorities to investigate. These people don’t make careers. They ruin your career and life. Having suffered personally for a decade, I can confidently say every Talent Manager and all Talent Management Agencies of Bollywood are a potential death Trap for Artists. They are all basically white collared Dalaals and everyone is involved. They all have an unspoken code of conduct they adhere to. Their one simple mantra is, “Hamaam me sab nange aur jo nange nahin hain, unko nanga karo kyonki agar ek bhi pakda gaya to sab pakde jayenge”. Following is mostly their modus Operandi.

First the talent scout(Casting Directors, etc.) working on a cut/commission spots a needy wild talent from out of Mumbai with little connections or property.

The talent is then lured with free invites to Bollywood parties and random Restaurant launches on the pretext of introducing them to celebrities. The Blinding glamour of celebs and lure of easy money is unleashed on the unsuspecting. Mind you they are all ignored and treated very badly at these parties so they feel demoralized and their self-confidence breaks.

Once the confidence is broken, the scouts offer them a multi-year exclusivity contracts and pressure them to sign-up for it by promising to protect them from predators or offering a pittance. Mind you, breaking these legal contracts means heavy penalties for these budding talents but the scout makes sure through bullying and coercion that there is very little option for the talent but to sign up.

Once the talent is signed up with the Talent management agency, they give up their right to exercise free choice and their discretion in any matter concerning career and they are made to work as bonded labor with very little money. Even if they are brave and manage to escape the clutches of their Talent Management agency somehow, they are systematically boycotted and their name smeared till they jump ship to another Agency in the hope of a better tommorrow.

But that tommorrow never comes. Their new agency turns out to be the same. Over a period of few years, mostly the prime of any actor, the talent is repeatedly broken till they either commit su!c!de or they succumb to Prostitution and escort services (Yes male escorts also) to feed the ego and sexual appetite of the rich and powerful, not just in Bollywood but also in Corporate world and politics.

My experience is no different. I have experienced exploitation and bullying first hand

Arbaaz Khan on Dabangg and ever since. So here is my story 10 years after Dabangg. The reason I moved out of making Dabangg 2 ten years ago is because Arbaaz Khan in collusion with Sohail Khan and family was trying to take control of my career by bullying me. Arbaaz Khan sabotaged my second project with Shree Ashtavinayak Films that I was signed up with by personally calling their head Mr. Raj Mehta and threatening him with dire consequences if they made a film with me. I had to return the signing money to Shree Ashtavinayak films and moved to Viacom Pictures. They did the same thing. Only this time the sabotager was Sohail Khan and he intimidated the then Viacom CEO Vikram Malhotra. My project was sabotaged and I was made to return my signing fee of Rupees 7 Crores plus interest of Ninety odd lacs. Its only then that Reliance Entertainment came to my rescue and we forged an enduring partnership for my film Besharam.

But lo behold… Mr. Salman Khan and family sabotaged the release of the film and got their PROs to run a sustained negative smear campaign against me and my film BESHARAM before release. This scared the distributors from buying my film. Reliance Entertainment and I were capable and courageous enough to release the film ourselves but the battle had just begun. My enemies, which there were many ran a sustained negative Trolling and badmouthing campaign against the film till the Box Office of my film collapsed. But to their horror, Besharam had still netted 58 crores before it went out of theaters.

So they fought on… They sabotaged the Satellite release of the film that was pre-sold to Mr. Jayanti Lal Gada who was the main agregator for Zee Telefilms those days. With Reliances goodwill, they were able to re-negotiate the satellite rights sale with Gada for a much lesser price.

Over the next few years, all my projects and creative endeavors have been sabotaged and I have been repeatedly threatened with life and rape threats given to/for the female members of my family. The sustained gaslighting and bullying destroyed my mental health and that of my family and led to my divorce and breaking up of my family in 2017. They erred and sent some of these threats as texts, sent to me as sms from several numbers. Armed with evidence, I went to the police in 2017 to file an FIR which they refused to register but registered a non-cognizable complaint. When the threats continued, I forced the police to trace the numbers but they couldn’t be traced back to Sohail Khan(the suspected sender). My complaint remains open to date and I still have all the evidence.

My enemies are sharp, cunning and always attack me from the back and stay Hidden. But the best part is after 10 years, I know who my enemies are. Let it be known that they are Salim Khan, Salman Khan, Arbaaz Khan and Sohail Khan. There are many other small fry’s but Salman Khan family is the head of this venomous serpant. They use a clever mix of their ill-gotten money, political clout and connections with the underworld to intimidate anyone and everyone. Unfortunately truth is on my side and I am not going to give up like Sushant Singh Rajput. I refuse to cow down and will fight on till I see the end of either them or me. Enough tolerance. It’s time to fight back.

So this is not a threat, it’s an open challenge. Sushant Singh Rajput has moved on and I hope he is happier wherever he is but I will make sure that no more innocent will kill himself over lack of work with dignity in Bollywood. I hope suffering actors and creative artists will share my post on various social media platforms as will the media and people who patronize the entertainment industry.

Warm regards,
Abhinav Singh Kashyap

Please share and forward this as much as you can.

#metoo #BoycottSalmanKhan”

Soon after Kashyap shared the above post, may people started expressing their concern about his safety. Responding to them the director wrote he not about to back off from his history. He also encouraged people to come forward and speak up and name people who have exploited them.

His recent post reads,

“A lot of people are showing concern about my safety. Some concern is genuine, some fake. Either ways, I have done what I have done and will face up to whatever fate may come. I am not about to back off from my story. I have suffered for 10 years and I am quite done with it.To those who are asking why I have not taken the names of others in the Bandra cartel. Well..!! I have heard many more exploitation stories in Bollywood but have no personal grudges to grind against anyone except the Khans.

I hope the people who have personally suffered at the hand of others can find the courage to write their own story with names. Expose your own tormentors. Or else don’t expect any help from me.. This is my own struggle against the Salman Khan family and I alone am enough to take these guys on.

Yes.. I will never commit su!c!de but should anything untoward happen to me.. By now the country knows who to blame… Treat this as my police statement. cheers.”

Sushant Rajput’s death may just be the tip of the iceberg and may bring a wave of ‘#MeToo’ like movement exposing exploitation in Bollywood.

What do you have to say about Abhinav Kashyap’s accusations against Salman Khan’s family? Let us know your views in the comments section below.