Priyanka Chopra’s cousin, upcoming Bollywood actress Meera Chopra, says the film industry can be a brutal place and she empathises with Jiah Khan’s drastic steps to end her life.
Khan, who made her debut in Amitabh Bachchan-starrer Nishabd, committed suicide by hanging herself at her Mumbai residence late Monday night.
“I completely understand why she did it. I was in tears when I heard the news,” said Chopra in an interview with tabloid!. Meera has signed two Bollywood films, including director Vikram Bhatt’s thriller 1920 and Satish Kaushik’s Gang of Ghosts.
“I am really sad that Jiah could do such a thing. She was a fantastic girl … but never be pushed to take such a drastic step. When you take your life away, you take away so many lives – your parents, your friends. So many people are associated with your life. Never get weak, no matter what happens all you must do is move on.”
“Every girl who is trying to be independent and trying to make it here goes through highs and lows … when you are going through a low, you have nobody around you. I am really sad about how Jiah could do such a thing,” said Chopra, who claims to have met Khan a couple of times at industry parties. She says survival in Bollywood is all about grit and fighting all odds.
“If you want to make it here, you need to be strong. Remember, Jiah was a girl who acted with superstars like Amitabh Bachcahan and Aamir Khan in her first two films. All her films were super-hits. So when things don’t work out. You just don’t get it. It can be so cruel,” said Meera. The actress has acted in more than a dozen Telugu and Tamil films and claims a Bollywood breakthrough is far tougher than cracking the South Indian film industry. She moved to Mumbai last year to pursue her career in Bollywood.
“To get a break here isn’t easy. It’s a constant struggle. We have to network, make the right contacts,” said Meera. She’s constantly in the gym to meet the rigorous demands made by Bollywood producers to maintain a slim figure.
