Consequently, director Abhinav Kashyap, who directed Dabangg and Besharam, took to Facebook to call out the industry, specifically Salman Khan and his family, for allegedly sabotaging his career. 

In his post, he called out talent management agencies, specifically YRF, for allegedly not building careers, but rather, ruining lives and careers. He stated that all talent management agencies are ‘a potential death trap for artists’, and casting directors ‘lure’ talent, only to coerce, bully, or exploit them. 

Exactly what might compel a person to commit suicide?? I fear his death is just the tip of the iceberg just like the #metoo movement was for a much bigger malaise in Bollywood. The death of Sushant Singh Rajput brings under scanner the role YRF talent Management Agency might have played in pushing him towards his suicide but that is for the authorities to investigate. These people don’t make careers. They ruin your career and life.

He went on to describe the ‘exploitation and bullying’ that he allegedly faced, at the hands of, Salman Khan and his brothers, Arbaaz and Sohail Khan. 

The reason I moved out of making Dabangg 2 ten years ago is because Arbaaz Khan, in collusion with Sohail Khan and family, was trying to take control of my career by bullying me. Arbaaz Khan sabotaged my second project with Shree Ashtavinayak Films that I was signed up with by personally calling their head Mr. Raj Mehta and threatening him with dire consequences if they made a film with me. I had to return the signing money to Shree Ashtavinayak films and moved to Viacom Pictures. They did the same thing. Only this time the sabotager was Sohail Khan.

According to Kashyap, though Reliance Entertainment backed him for Besharam, its initial distribution and satellite release was sabotaged, and so were all his further projects.

He shared that he, along with his family, was even threatened and the ‘sustained gaslighting’ led to mental health issues and his subsequent divorce from his wife.  

Over the next few years, all my projects and creative endeavors have been sabotaged and I have been repeatedly threatened with life and rape threats given to/for the female members of my family. The sustained gaslighting and bullying destroyed my mental health and that of my family and led to my divorce and breaking up of my family in 2017.

He ended the post by stating that this was the time to fight back. Less than a day after his first post, Kashyap shared a second post on Facebook and stated that though he had heard stories of exploitation, his ‘personal grudge’ was only with the Khans. 

Many people took to social media to comment on Abhinav Kashyap’s post: 

You can read his complete original post here: 

Abhinav Kashyap, brother of director Anurag Kashyap, also wrote the dialogues for Manorama Six Feet Under and 13B. His last film was Besharam in 2013. Salman Khan has not yet responded to the allegations.

If you, or someone you know, is suffering from depression, experiencing suicidal thoughts, or just need someone to talk to, remember that help is just a phone call away. Reach out to the following helplines in India. BMC mental health helpline: 022-24131212 (available 24X7), Vandrevala Foundation: 186-02662345/180-02333330 (24×7) or AASRA: 91-9820466726 (available 24X7).