Sushant, Sravani Kondapalli to Jiah Khan – young stars we lost too soon

Mumbai: Indian entertainment industry has also lost some of its noted celebrities, stars and talented personalities like Sushant Singh Rajput, Sravani Kondapalli, Jia Khan, and Pratyusha Banerjee are among others who have created a void that can never be filled again. Today, as the whole world is celebrating World Suicide Prevention Day, let’s remember few young artists who ended their life through suicide after falling prey to depression or pressure.

World Suicide Prevention Day 2020

On September 10 every year, people all across celebrate World Suicide Prevention Day which is observed to raise awareness about the topic of suicide and talk about ways to prevent it. In 2003, the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) collaborated with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH) hosted the first ever World Suicide Prevention Day. 

Importance of World Suicide Prevention Day

World Suicide Prevention day gives us an opportunity to raise awareness all across the world that suicide can be prevented. 

Suicide is an unfortunate step taken by people when they lose all hope and feel an immense disconnect from the world. Even celebrities undergo such pressure and we have seen far too many talented, young artists who died by suicide.

Sushant Singh Rajput

Bollywood’s young and talented actor Sushant Singh Rajput was found dead on 14 June 2020, at his residence in Bandra, Mumbai. The official postmortem reports concluded that he died of asphyxia due to hanging. But the investigations are still underway by the central agencies and India is trying hard to find the cause of Sushant’s death i.e., whether it is murder or suicide.

Sravani Kondapalli

Telugu TV actress Sravani Kondapalli was found hanging in her flat in Madhuranagar, Hyderabad, on Tuesday, September 8 night. Native of West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, Sravani was 26 years old.

Sravani Kondapalli’s family members have blamed the actor’s former friend Devaraju for the suicide. A case against the Tik Tok star Devaraji has been registered under IPC section 306 by SR Nagar Police and the investigation is underway.

Jiah Khan

Actor Jiah Khan committed suicide in 2013 in her flat in Juhu, Mumbai, by hanging herself. She left a suicide note, in which she blamed Bollywood actor Sooraj Pancholi for ruining her life. Sooraj, who made his Bollywood debut in 2015 with the film Hero, was charged with abetment to suicide which was followed by series of cases, defamation cases and proceedings.  Jiah’s death is still a mystery even after seven years.While the Central Bureau of Investigation pronounced her death as a suicide, UK-based forensic expert Jason James-Pynes claimed that her hanging was staged.

Samir Sharma

Actor Samir Sharma (44), who has starred in the Hindi film “Hasee Toh Phasee” besides popular television shows “Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki” and “Woh Rehne Wali Mehlon Ki”, was found dead in his Malad (West) flat on 5 August 2020. Police said he had hanged himself from the ceiling fan of his kitchen and committed suicide.  Sharma, who had separated from his wife and lived alone, did not leave behind a suicide note.

Pratyusha Banerjee

Indian TV actress Pratyusha Banerjee who is popularly known for playing the role of ‘Anandi’ in Balika Vadhu committed suicide in her Goregaon apartment on April 1, 2016.

Kushal Punjabi

Actor Kushal Punjabi, who appeared in films such as Kaal and Lakshya as well as the reality show Fear Factor, was found dead in his Bandra apartment in Mumbai in the early hours of Friday. He was 42.