Irrfan Khan's wife Sutapa speaks on the insider-outsider debate
Late actor Irrfan Khan's wife Sutapa Sikdar has written a note on Facebook, expressing her views on the "insider-outsider" debate that has dominated discussions about the Hindi film industry in the past few months. Sutapa, however, clarified that her post was not, in any way, related to actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who passed away tragically earlier in June. Here's more on what she said.
Sutapa started her note by asking the question, "Who is an outsider?" She then wondered if she would make a good fit for the term, considering her own cultural and religious background. She opined that the line between the terms "insider" and "outsider" in Bollywood is often blurred. "It is grey, the entire area (sic)," she wrote.
Without taking any names, Sutapa went on to address the so-called "messiah of outsiders." "I do not want your patronization. Did you ask any 'outsiders' if they want this intervention?" she asked, adding, "Or you are self-appointed outsiders association of India?" "Stop this! This inside outside theories it works only in design journals," Sutapa added in her post.
Sutapa added that given the commonly-perceived notion of the term "outsider," Irrfan could have been one as well. However, the late actor chose not to be categorized, she said. "In these kind of crusaders' words, Irrfan could be an 'outsider' too. But he was not, he chose to be what he was an objective witness to this jamboree called Bollywood," she penned.
Sutapa added that Irrfan did not get front page film magazine coverage "for many years," but "he did not waste his time gossiping about people or bad mouthing, nor did he get depressed. He chiseled his craft and refused to be part of it (sic)."
She further wrote, "It's a simple thing, no one owns Bollywood unless you think there are some people who own this industry." "The Bollywood couldn't do a shit about Irrfan getting Hollywood offers." For the unversed, Irrfan was part of various international productions such as Slumdog Millionaire, Inferno, Jurassic World, The Amazing Spider-Man, Life of Pi, The Namesake, and others.
"In the end of the day, you choose to be who you are...So your weaknesses are yours, your fears are yours, your fight is yours. May you survive in the most dignified way because that will determine what you are made up of," she concluded.
Irrfan Khan passed away on April 29, after battling neuroendocrine tumor for two years. He left behind a memorable legacy, laced with many critically-acclaimed gems. They include Paan Singh Tomar, Piku, The Lunchbox, Maqbool, Haider, Talvar, Life In A... Metro, Haasil, Qissa, among others.
