Most A-list Bollywood actors take cocaine, claims Sushant's friend
What's the story
Actor/producer Yuvraj S Singh, a friend of late actor Sushant Singh Rajput, has claimed that drug abuse is common in the film industry.
He added that while weed (or marijuana) is pretty commonly consumed on movie sets, cocaine is the drug used in high-profile Bollywood parties.
His statement comes when a central agency is probing a drugs case related to Sushant's death in June.
Details
'There has been a lot of drugs for long time'
Yuvraj said, "There has been a lot of drugs happening for a long time, maybe since the 1970s. At that time, things were different. There wasn't so much exposure or social media. Now, it is getting exposed."
He alleged that many popular actors and filmmakers consume cocaine. "That is why this madness is really happening," he told IANS.
Claims
Weed, cocaine, ecstasy are common in Bollywood, he said
Yuvraj went on to claim that weed is as common as cigarettes on movie sets. "From camera-persons to technicians, people on the set normally take weed."
He added that cocaine is often consumed in Bollywood parties. "Then there is MDMA, also called ecstasy; LSD, which is also called acid. There is also ketamine, which is a horse tranquilizer," the actor said.
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"Some of them need to stop, or they'll die"
"They (celebrities) are under its influence for almost 15 to 20 hours. Cocaine is also a very hard drug, and I would say that five to eight actors of the industry need to get off it, or they will end up dying," Yuvraj added.
Statement
He said drugs is way of 'moving around' in industry
The actor also said that taking drugs is the way of "moving around," in the industry and that people get work "because of it."
"If you do drugs with the right people, the right hero, actress and director, you form a lobby and a connection, and that is the kind of mindset Bollywood works on. They prefer to work in that circle," he said.
Viral video
Yuvraj also mentioned the viral drug party video
Making a reference to the viral video from Karan Johar's infamous "drug party" last year, Yuvraj added, "In fact, one of the videos also went viral - that was a drug party."
The controversial video had featured various A-list actors including Deepika Padukone, Ranbir Kapoor, Malaika Arora, Vicky Kaushal, Varun Dhawan, Shahid Kapoor, Arjun Kapoor, among others.
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Things have to be corrected, he concluded
"Drug involvement has also become very normal, which is not good for the industry. The new generation will be discouraged from entering the industry amid all these practices. Things have to be corrected," he concluded.
Case
Anti-drug agency held many in Sushant's death case
To recall, Sushant Singh Rajput had died by alleged suicide on June 14.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is currently investigating the circumstances that led to the 34-year-old star's sudden death.
Meanwhile, the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), probing a drugs angle in the actor's death, has thus far held his girlfriend, actor Rhea Chakraborty, her brother, and a few others in the case.
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The matter has also taken political undertones
The alleged drug abuse in Bollywood has also taken political undertones, with BJP MP Ravi Kishan slamming the industry for the same. Rajya Sabha MP and former actor Jaya Bachchan, on the other hand, called the controversy a "conspiracy to defame the film industry."