2020 is proving to be a harrowing year for the Film and TV industry alike. Be it the passing away of Bollywood Legends or the horror stories of suicide cases, our celebrities just can’t seem to catch a break!
With the nation-wide lockdown induced by the Covid-19 outbreak, all filming projects and TV shoots had come to a grinding halt, leaving actors without work overnight – riddled with debt!
Sadly, some people resorted to rather drastic and tragic measures to overcome their financial plight.
Preksha Mehta
Most recently, Preksha Mehta, best known for shows like Crime Patrol, Laal Ishq and Meri Durga, committed suicide by hanging in her room on May 25, 2020. The 25 year old TV actress who was reportedly in depression because of the lack of work due to the nation-wide lockdown, left behind a suicide note – stating that she had tried staying positive but couldn’t because her broken dreams had left her confidence shattered!
Prior to her death, she had uploaded an ominous Instagram story – “The worst thing is the death of your dreams”, hinting at her troubled state of mind. This was the second such instance of suicide in the TV industry in these troubled times.
Manmeet Grewal
Few days back, the news of Actor Manmeet Grewal’s suicide on May 15 2020, had left the industry reeling in shock. The 32 year old actor, known for his roles in Aadat Se Majboor and Kuldeepak, took the drastic step of hanging himself, leaving his wife absolutely devastated. Unable to find work amid the lockdown, he was struggling financially to repay his loans, which led to depression and his eventual demise.
While the Television Industry was struck by cases of suicide as a direct consequence of the Coronavirus outbreak, Bollywood in the meanwhile had lost two of its brightest stars in these trying times.
Irrfan Khan
With so much loss and uncertainty surrounding us, the death of Bollywood icon Irrfan Khan, renowned internationally for Slumdog Millionaire and Life of Pi, on 29 April 2020 was tremendously tragic! His unfortunate demise at the mere age of 53, was brought about after a two-year battle with cancer (neuroendocrine tumour).
He was admitted into Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Mumbai for colon infection, prior to his death. His last film, Angrezi Medium, was released on Disney+Hotstar a month before he passed away..
Rishi Kapoor
Just a day afterwards, before we could recover from one death, another hit us like a speeding truck! Our beloved veteran actor and Bollywood’s OG Chocolate Boi, Rishi Kapoor too passed away at age 67, on 30 April 2020. Diagnosed with cancer (leukemia), he was also fighting a two-year battle with the disease and had been admitted into Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital in Mumbai, before he breathed his last.
With a glorious career spanning over four decades and versatile films like Bobby,Karz, Kapoor and Sons and 102 Not Out, Rishi ji’s loss from Bollywood was sorely felt by the entire country.
Clearly, 2020 is NOT the year for Celebs. All of us here are sitting with bated breath, hoping that there are no more Cruel Casualties of the Cursed Coronavirus!