Friendship Day Special: Are there any real friend in the industry? Celebs share their views

Friendship is the rarest thing in a world that survives in fierce competition. In an industry where crores often ride on your back, you have to make each association or bonding count than just talk your heart out with those who you call friends. Tollywood is well of it. Yet there are some bonds that are destined to survive the taste of time, though these bonds often are strictly professional.Our Bengali celebs reveal such bittersweet moments when long-lasting friendships were forged or things just went sour. Check out what they have to say.
DEV

Making friends when you are not successful is not so tough. But once you have tasted success, people often become apprehensive. In my difficult times, I was shocked to see the help from some unexpected quarters. Sadly, people whom I used to think my friends just vanished from the scene! They, moreover, were jeering at my plight. The friendships that you now see on social media are nothing but superficial. Tell me, do you really have to show off your friendship?
Socialising and partying are quite common as people look for fodder for gossip and often flaunt closeness to stars. But all they do in reality is backstab later. I would say it's my school friends who are my real friends. With them, I can spend hours as Deepak Adhikari and not be judged.
SHIBOPROSAD MUKHERJEE

having worked in this industry for more than 20 years I have now realized the concept of best friend here is nothing but a facade. It’s a professional space where people can become colleagues or acquaintances but not friends. People here are looking to backstab you and build their own fortune. The bond between friends is all about respect, which lacks nowadays. But there are also exceptions. From my experience, 2003 to 2011 was a challenging phase for me professionally. The two persons who trusted me during that hard time were Rituparna Sengupta and Sohini Sengupta. So, I can say they are my `Tolly friends'. In fact, our bonds go beyond Tollywood. Ritu and Sohini had reaffirmed my belief in the old saying -`A friend in need is a friend indeed'.
RAIMA SEN

My friends are all from outside the industry and I like to keep it that way. I am cordial with my colleagues from Tollywood and Bollywood. I party with them, I chill out, but when it comes to sharing deep feelings, it is a strict no-no. You can never be sure if they'll turn it into gossip or not. With school friends, I can let my guard down and just express myself. `Friend' is too strong a word and too big a responsibility to expect from the professional world.
YASH DASGUPTA

I think I am not here to increase my friend list. I am here to earn my bread and butter and work is like worship for me. Generally I don’t like to make friends in the industry as it hampers my focus on work. See, we all are competitors and we have to face the truth. But yes, there are certain bonds that I have enjoyed over the years with people who have stayed beside me.
BIRSA DASGUPTA

Growing up among the industry people had made me feel at home in Bengal. So they have always been my family. There are some who love me unconditionally and obviously, there are those who can hate me with all their might. I have had the bad luck of making friends who once used me to make their careers and then forgot me. I've had friends who had backstabbed me. So, no good friends in all these years? Yes, I have. I am the kind of person who doesn't only build professional contacts but also prefers to get attached easily. I've some friends who were, are and will always support me.
DEBOJYOTI MISHRA

I have worked in this industry for so many years and it has made me realize that friendship is just like a mirage! But I can fondly say Prosenjit Chatterjee, Kamaleswar Mukherjee are my real friends. Also, Anik Dutta, Suman Mukherjee, Tanushree Shankar, Saibal Banerjee and Amit Sen are great friends. Bumba (Prosenjit) and I had started our journey together when we were staying in a guest house near Ballygunge Station Road. It was Bumba who had introduced me to film music direction and I can call him my 3 am friend. My mother treated Kamaleswar like her son and our bond is beyond this industry. But I must say, along the way, I have also come across so many Macbeths and Brutus.