MUMBAI: For some, achieving stardom and instant fame is an easy task. But for many, getting the big ticket to Bollywood has never been easy. They have had an uphill task, climbing their way up to achieve success.
Sadly, while a few have reached the peak, few have succumbed to the pressures of life. That’s been the case with Jiah Khan alias Nafisa Khan, whose sudden suicide at a young age of 25 has raised doubts over achieving quick stardom or struggling for it.
Jiah Khan’s claim to fame was her controversial pairing alongside Amitabh Bachchan in Ram Gopal Varma’s ‘Nishabd’. Her big ticket to Bollywood came when she was seen with Aamir Khan and Asin in ‘Ghajini’. What followed was a small role in Akshay Kumar’s ‘Housefull’. That was it. Her stint in Bollywood was almost over. Three years without work, as Ram Gopal Varma tweeted, was a possible reason for Jiah Khan to take the drastic step.
Sadly, in the age of rising stardom and quick fame it’s never easy to cope with the failures of being unemployed. And it’s not just about the big Bollywood break. There are more things to it, the list being endless. Jiah Khan is not the first, who could not make it to the A – List. There were many others like Jiah, who wanted to make it to the big league but faced the same pressures, the same struggle and the end result, sadly was not a happy one, as usually seen in the movies.
Kunal Singh, the chocolate boy actor, who was seen alongside Sonali Bendre in ‘Dil Hi Dil Mein’, VJ Nafisa Joseph of MTV and who could forget Divya Bharti who was all of 19 when she died. They all shared a common connection, unable to cope with rising stardom and pressures of life. While the former two, took the drastic step because of their receding careers, with Divya Bharti it was a question over her relationships. Her career was at the peak, but in the end, it was the same tragic story.
Jiah Khan’s sudden suicide has brought back memories of those stars and the harsh reality of the industry, where it takes immense patience and belief to reach the top. Sadly very few make it. And many bright talents, well earnestly try harder, but destiny seems to have a different road ahead for them.
To Jiah Khan and to many others who succumbed to the pressures of stardom – May your soul rest in peace.
