Former journalist Rajiv Masand, who now works at Dharma Cornerstone Agency, recalled his past experiences with stars, and addressed the controversy surrounding his Blind Item following the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput. Some of these articles were reportedly about Sushant, who died by suicide in 2020. In an interview, Masand said that his blind spots were ‘misrepresented’, and that the stories presented in them were already common knowledge in the film industry.
Appearing on the Shardology podcast, he was asked about the controversy that arose around Sushant after his death and what he felt about it. It was alleged that Blind Objects had a detrimental effect on the actor’s career. “At first, it surprises you, and then you realize it doesn’t matter,” he said. We live in a time when people who don’t know you and don’t know about your work are judging you. Do they matter? It takes some time to reach that place. At first, it bothers you, but I can’t really change your mind, so it doesn’t affect me…”
He further said, “I used to write a column which had many items and one blind item. But were they harmful? Were they harmful to people? I do not think so. The idea was that it was a puzzle that people had to solve. In fact, this was information that everyone in the industry already knew. It was misrepresented, but what can you do about something that is not in your control?”
Masand also remembered when actors like Shahid Kapoor and Rekha asked him to do full interviews because they were not happy with how they looked in them. He obliged, but said he generally avoids cutting parts of his interviews unless it is necessary. He said, “Once, during a round table meeting, one actress lashed out very badly at another actress. And not impartially. I think it was an inappropriate way to snap. And I got a call from another actress, ‘Can you please cut it?’ It was inappropriate, it was rude, so we cut it”.
Masand said that fortunately, most of the people he interviews understand that he is not looking for controversy. “Journalists know what to expect from their interviews. People want free-flowing, candid conversations. Even if they told something wrong, you correct it in the interview. You don’t need to cut it. The interview is an opportunity to find out who you are. We are all imperfect, we all have flaws, we all say the wrong things sometimes. Sometimes our pronunciation is wrong and sometimes our pronunciation is wrong. And there is a beauty in that. Anyone who understands this does not demand cuts,” he said.
