2020 saw an unusual number of deaths among Bollywood actors and it may go down as a year that claimed several of our beloved talents in one swoop. On April 29, acclaimed actor Irrfan Khan died after a battle with Neuroendocrine cancer, leaving millions of movie-mad Indians gutted. Just a day later, even as the world grappled with the loss of an icon known for his effortless acting, veteran star Rishi Kapoor lost his own fight with cancer. Kapoor — who began his career as a college heart-throb — had been diagnosed with leukaemia in 2018.
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In 24 hours, Bollywood lost a pair of actors who were brilliant in their own right. They came from different schools of acting, with a varied career trajectory. The double tragedy shook us to our core and the wave of public grief was overwhelming. But, the worst and the truly disturbing was yet to come.
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The date June 14, 2020, will be etched in any Bollywood lover’s heart forever. On that day, the world woke up to the shocking news about the death of Sushant Singh Rajput at the age of 34. The self-made actor — who was the poster boy of true talent shining in Bollywood — as found hanging in his Mumbai residence. In one stroke, the media turned amateur sleuths as they speculated about the cause of his death and indulged in a vitriolic and voyeuristic reportage. His furious fans were devastated by the loss and demanded swift justice and answers. The case is still under investigation. This was also the year that saw the suicides of a number of actors who weren’t always in the spotlight but were familiar enough to mourn. Here’s a look at deaths that rocked 2020, in no particular order:
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Sushant Singh Rajput: The news of Sushant Singh Rajput’s death by hanging rocked Bollywood and sent shock waves through the country. Before we could absorb the news about the actor who made a spectacular acting debut in ‘Kai Po Che’, questions around his untimely death began to emerge. Voyeuristic media coverage that was macabre in its tone rolled out for several months and the case was handed to three top federal agencies in India for further investigation.
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Among all that noise, his sudden death also reignited a debate around nepotism in Bollywood, hostility towards outside talents such as Rajput, mental health issues among celebrities and the toxic working culture. The gloom of Rajput’s absence stayed in the air for long with fans still demanding to know what happened on the night of June 14.
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Irrfan Khan: Indian National Award-winning actor and cancer warrior Irrfan Khan — whose films are a masterclass in seamless acting — died in Mumbai on April 29 after battling a medical complications arising from a colon infection. He was 53 and is survived by his wife Sutapa Sikdar and two sons, Babil and Ayan. The news of his death was confirmed by his close director friend Shoojit Sircar. His publicist also informed loyal fans about the tragedy. Khan’s departure altered the Bollywood landscape forever as fans felt only half his genius and his mastery over acting was tapped. Khan has acted in films including ‘Slumdog Millionaire’, ‘Maqbool’, ‘The Namesake’ and ‘Life of Pi’, and had fans across the globe.
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Rishi Kapoor: On April 30, Bollywood movie fans — who were still grieving the death of Khan — had to make peace with the loss of another acting legend. Bollywood star Rishi Kapoor, who was born into the illustrious Kapoor acting dynasty, was 67 when he died in a hospital in Mumbai after a two-year battle with leukaemia. The ‘Bobby’ star, who reinvented himself constantly with his interesting career choices, is survived by his actress wife Neetu Singh and two children Ranbir and Riddhima Kapoor. As soon as the news broke, legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan tweeted that he was “destroyed” by the news. His tweet echoed the sentiments felt by Kapoor’s fans that day.
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SP Balasubrahmanyam: The acclaimed Indian singer, who has sung more than 40,000 songs in languages including Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam, died on September 25 in Chennai. He was 74 and died from complications arising from COVID-19. His death came as a shock to his colleagues and fans. Known fondly as SPB or Balu, Balasubrahmanyam was also a music producer and character actor. He won the National Film Award six times and was also bestowed civilian honours including the Padma Shri in 2001 and the Padma Bhushan in 2011. He has worked with the likes of AR Rahman. He also holds the distinction of holding the Guinness world record for his more than 40,000 songs sung over 50 years. Actors including Salman Khan have lip-synced to his songs and this prolific singer was notorious for working 17 hours a day, hopping from one music studio to the next.
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Soumitra Chatterjee: Legendary Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee, famous for his roles in Satyajit Ray movies, died at a hospital in Kolkata at the age of 85 from complications arising from Covid-19. In a career that spanned over six decades, Chatterjee appeared in nearly 300 feature films and collaborated with other prominent directors such as Tapan Sinha and Mrinal Sen. He also went on to work as a poet, essayist, literary editor, painter, writer, director and theatre actor. He was of course most famous for his roles in Ray films, working with him in 14 features, including ‘The World of Auu’, ‘Charulata’ and ‘The Coward’.
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Saroj Khan: She made top Indian actors and actresses dance to her tune. Saroj Khan, who choreographed Bollywood’s most iconic songs in the 80s and 90s, died in Mumbai on July 3 due to a cardiac arrest. She was 71. During her long career, Khan choreographed nearly 2,000 songs including ‘Ek Do Teen’ (‘Tezaab’), ‘Choli Ke Peechay Kya Hai’ (‘Khalnayak’) and classical dance-heavy songs from the epic period drama ‘Devdas’. Her collaboration with actress Madhuri Dixit and the late actress Sridevi were her most notable works.
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Wajid Khan: Bollywood composer Wajid Khan of Sajid-Wajid fame died in Mumbai after suffering a cardiac arrest on June 1. His family confirmed the news and put a lid on rumours that he died from complications arising from COVID-19. “Our dearest Wajid passed away at the age of 47 due to a cardiac arrest on 1st of June at 00:30 am in Surana Sethia hospital. He had a successful kidney transplant last year and he was undergoing treatment for a throat infection,” the statement read. Actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas was one of the first stars to express her grief for this talent who had composed music for several of Salman Khan’s blockbusters. “Terrible news. The one thing I will always remember is Wajid bhai’s laugh. Always smiling. Gone too soon. My condolences to his family and everyone grieving. Rest in peace my friend. You are in my thoughts and prayers,” tweeted Chopra Jonas.
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Asif Basra: Actor Asif Basra, known for his roles in movies such as ‘Outsourced’, ‘Jab We Met and ‘Kai Po Che’, died on November 12. He was 53 and was found hanging in a private complex in Upper Dharamshala. The police treated the case as a suicide. While Basra has acted in several acclaimed international films, 2020 was also a significant year for the actor. He was seen in two acclaimed web series ‘Pataal Lok’ and ‘Hostages’. His colleagues including Kareena Kapoor Khan, Anushka Sharma, director Hansal Mehta, Anurag Kashyap and Priyanka Chopra Jonas mourned his death.
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Arya Banerjee: Born as Debdutta Banerjee, this model and actress was found dead in her apartment in South Kolkata on December 12. She was 33 and was the daughter of renowned sitar player Pandit Nikhil Banerjee. Her credits include ‘LSD: Love, Sex Aur Dhoka’ and a role as real-life adult actress Shakeela in director Milan Luthria’s ‘The Dirty Picture’. The police have ruled out homicide.
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Nishikant Kamat: Bollywood director Nishikant Kamat died due to liver cirrhosis on August 18. He was 50 and was known for directing the Hindi remake of the Malayalam film ‘Drishyam’, ‘Force’ and ‘Madaari’.
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Jagdeep: Veteran Bollywood actor Jagdeep, whose credits include ‘Sholay’, ‘Andaz Apna Apna’ and Purana Mandir’, died in Mumbai on July 9 due to age-related ailments. He was 81 and is the father of actor Javed Jaffrey and host Naved Jaffrey. Known best for his Soorma Bhopali role in ‘Sholay’, the comedian had acted in over 400 films.
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Basu Chatterjee: Legendary filmmaker and screenwriter Basu Chatterjee, best known for directing films such as ‘Choti Si Baat’, ‘Rajnigandha’, ‘Baaton Baaton Mein’, ‘Ek Ruka Hua Faisla’ and ‘Chameli Ki Shaadi’, died on June 5 due to age-related ailments in Mumbai. He was 93. Popularly known as Basu da (brother), his feel-good films tapped into the lives of the middle-class Indians and treated their daily grind and anxieties with wit and sensitivity. His death was confirmed on Twitter by filmmaker Ashoke Pandit, president of the Indian Film and TV Directors’ Association.
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“I am extremely grieved to inform you all the demise of Legendary Filmmaker Basu Chatterjee ji. His last rites will be performed today at Santacruz crematorium. It’s a great loss to the industry. Will miss you sir,” he tweeted. Chatterjee’s films were an antidote to the violence-fuelled action dramas led by angry young man heroes. His collaboration with actor Amol Palekar was spectacularly successful and he made extraordinary films out of ordinary lives. He also directed Bengali films and serials like ‘Byomkesh Bakshi’ and ‘Rajani’.
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VJ Chitra: Tamil actress, host and VJ Chitra was found dead in a hotel room in Chennai on December 9. The ‘Pandian Stories’ star was 29 and according to news reports, she is suspected to have died by suicide. She was an avid social media user and she shared pictures of herself in a sari on her Instagram page few hours before her death. In August, she got engaged to a local businessman. The police are still investigating the case.
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Sejal Sharma: Indian television actress Sejal Sharma was found hanging in her flat in Mumbai on January 25. She was 25. The aspiring actress left behind a suicide note and claimed she took her own life due to personal reasons. Like many actor hopefuls who land in Mumbai to try their hand in films and taking a crack at the entertainment industry, Sharma did the same and was successful in getting cast as Simmi Khosla in the now-concluded TV serial ‘Dil Toh Happy Hai Ji’.
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Sameer Sharma: Actor Sameer Sharma, who was seen in the Bollywood film ‘Hasee Toh Phasee’ and serials including ‘Yeh Rishtey Hain Pyaar Ke’, was found dead in his Malad flat in Mumbai on August 6. He was 44 and was a household favourite with hit serials such as ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi’ and ‘Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki’.
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Nimmi: Veteran actress Nimmi died on March 25 at a hospital in Mumbai. She was 87. She made her debut in Raj Kapoor’s ‘Barsaat’ and has appeared in a string of hit movies in the ’60s and ’70s. Born as Nawab Banoo, her notable works include Mehboob Khan’s Aan (1952), Daag (1952), Amar (1954) and Mere Mehboob (1963).
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Preksha Mehta: Indian television actor was found hanging from her ceiling at her residence in Indore in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. She was 25 and has acted in shows including ‘Crime Patrol’, ‘Meri Durga’ and ‘Laal Ishq’. She left behind a suicide note in which she wrote about her difficulty in grappling with her ‘broken dreams’. She has acted in a brief role in Akshay Kumar’s ‘Padman’ too. According to news reports, she was dealing with mental health issues.
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Faraaz Khan: Actor Faraaz Khan, whose credits including Fareb and Mehndi, died on November 4 in a hospital in Bengaluru. He was 50 and was being treated for a neurological disorder. A few weeks before his death, actor Salman Khan had reportedly agreed to foot his medical expenses.
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Bhanu Athiya: Costume designer Bhanu Athaiya, who got India its first Oscar award for her work in 1983 film ‘Gandhi’, died in Mumbai on October 15. She was 91 and was diagnosed with a brain tumour eight years ago and was bedridden in the last three years. She has worked in films including ‘Pyaasa’, ‘Chaudhvin Ka Chand’, ‘Chandni’ and ‘1942: A Love Story’.
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Kumkum: Veteran Bollywood actress died on July 28 and was 86. She has in films including ‘Mother India’, ‘Naya Daur’ and is best known for her role in songs such as ‘Kabhi Aar Kabhi Paar’ and ‘Mere Mehboob Qayamat Hogi’.
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Rajat Mukherjee: Bollywood director Rajat Mukherjee who made stirring and experimental films such as ‘Road’ and ‘Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya’ died in Jaipur on July 19 due to kidney-related ailment. He was 60.
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