After actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death reignited the discussions around the struggle of survival in Bollywood, with many insiders highlighting "cruel and unforgiving" nature of the industry, Mollywood actor Neeraj Madhav, who rose to national fame with the hit Amazon Prime series The Family Man, spoke up about the problems in Malayalam movie industry and the struggles he faced.
In a lengthy Facebook post, written in Malayalam, the actor spoke about the hierarchy culture, judgmental nature of people in the industry and the attempts by some people to stifle talent.
The actor said he was once told by a production controller that there are some unwritten rules in Mollywood. He further said he did not understand what he meant by that then and added that "looking back, I realize that I have not followed these rules quite often. I have also faced setbacks for failing to follow these unwritten rules."
"There is a hierarchy system that still exists in many movie sets. The distinction begins from the senior actors served tea in glass cups and the rest in steel glass...you will be judged if you wear sunglasses, comment on the script. Even casual statements can be misinterpreted by an extremely judgmental set of people in the industry," he said.
"There is a group of people who plan to nip a growing talent in the bud," he said and added that if you want to survive in the industry, you need to pretend to be obedient, humble and cooperative.
The actor said he failed to be in the good books of many in the industry and lost chances because of this.
Madhav said the sad fact is that it is not an artist's talent that determines his or her future, but the ability to manage the aforementioned aspects. However, it helps if you have a legacy to claim, he added.
The Family Man actor said he decided to open up about his struggles in Mollywood in the wake of remarks by Kangana Ranaut about how Bollywood failed Sushant Singh Rajput and added that if it is so tough to survive in a small industry like Mollywood, how hard it would be to survive in a big industry like Bollywood.
"I am not a terrific actor, and not all the movies that I have done are great. What I intend to say is in a fair race everyone deserves an equal start. I am not asking for a reservation, but only quality in opportunities," he said.