Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar is one of the first major Indian stars to address the alleged drug problem in the film industry, and the upheaval following Sushant Singh Rajput’s suicide in June. In a video posted to social media, he implored fans to avoid labelling Bollywood as all bad, and asked the media for sensitivity as “one negative news item can destroy someone’s reputation that took years of hard work to build”. In a country where fans can make or break a star’s career, this fear of being cancelled might be keeping major celebrities from speaking up about the issues that plague the industry. But their silence amid such serious allegations ultimately speaks for them. [COMMENT BY: Jennifer Barretto, Assistant Editor – Features]
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