Film and TV celebrities who committed suicide

Not all dreams come true in the the entertainment industry and behind the razmatazz, you’ll find several sordid tales. Not every story ends on a glorious note as some film celebrities choose to opt out of the uncertainties of the glamour world, at times by taking extreme steps.

I was hoping that I would not have to update this list ever again, but unfortunately, I had to include Sushant Singh Rajput’s name on this list.

Sushant Singh Rajput

The year 2020 is turning out to be a really bad year for Bollywood, not only in terms of business but also the number of celebrities who have died so far.

The most shocking has been of Sushant Singh Rajput who committed suicide at a very young age of 34.

As per the police, Sushant was under medication for depression and they are trying to ascertain the reasons behind his depression.

But it seems Sushant was under a lot of stress as most of the big banner films that he had signed, got canceled, and there were rumours that he had been replaced by star sons.

Read: Favouritism and Nepotism in Bollywood

Jiah Khan

Actress Jiah Khan, who was found hanging in her residence last week, joined many such tragic stories of the film world.

Now who would have imagined that after making a successful debut in Ram Gopal Varma’s Nishabd opposite none other than Mr. Bachchan, who would take such a step? Almost everybody assumed that everything was going well for this sultry, spunky and talented, twenty-five-year-old, till her suicide proved it wrong.

Pratyusha Banerjee Committed Suicide Just Days After Her Abortion

After Pratyusha Banerjee’s shocking suicide, several theories were making the rounds as to why Pratyusha may have committed suicide.

• Actress was unable to cope up with the trouble in her relationship with boyfriend Rahul Raj Singh. There are rumours that Raj Singh got engaged to someone else leaving the actress heartbroken.
• The actress was out of work for the past few months, and may have exhausted all her savings resulting in a financial crisis. Her career was not going great and this may have driven her to take this drastic step.
• Those who were close to the TV celebrity and know her well (including Actor Ajaz Khan), claim that it was a murder and not suicide, as she was a strong person
• Some time back, few men, posing as cops had misbehaved with Pratyusha; some say those men could be behind her death (although this one seemed very unlikely back then)

However, going by the police investigations and reports from the doctors, it seems Pratyusha had been pregnant and had an abortion not long before her death. The suicide could be because of guilt from the abortion.

According to reports, Pratyusha underwent abortion in the first week of March, using oral pills (after consulting a doctor). Though Rahul was aware of Pratyusha’s pregnancy, he did not accompany her to the doctor at the time of abortion.

TV celebrity Pratyusha Banerjee committed suicide by hanging herself at her Goregoan apartment. A lot of questions were raised, with the police taking boyfriend Rahul Raj Singh as the prime suspect.

Pratyusha Banerjee first tasted success with her role as Anandi in the TV serial Balika Vadhu, making her a prominent face on TV. She was also a participant in the reality show ‘Bigg Boss’ (hosted by Salman Khan).

No doubt, this incident has shocked the TV fraternity.

Salman Khan always felt that Pratyusha was too young to be on Bigg Boss, when he first saw her. Perhaps that’s the reason Pratyusha was unable to handle the pressure and insecurities.

Do You Need to Have a Plan B in Life?

Do you need to have a Plan B in life? Unlike celebrities who committed suicide (Jiah Khan, Pratyusha Banerjee), there are several aspirants who have survived the odds and not fallen prey to the dark side of Bollywood.

You Also Need to Be Lucky
Several newcomers enter Bollywood with dreams to make it big, but not everyone can be a star.

There’s no doubt that hard work is necessary but Film insiders believe that you need to have luck to get a foothold in the industry, and hard work does the rest.

Sometimes, you just need to be lucky to get a good role or break in the film. Luck can strike anytime. Some newbies get films while sitting at a beauty parlor, while some superstars end up losing everything.

It’s that initial opening which can be the make or break reason to self-destruct.

Low Patch in Career
Common to all suicide cases in the glamour industry are the factors of depression and failed relationships, and the inability to deal with these situations.

Be it model Viveka Babajee, model and VJ Nafisa Joseph, or television actor Kuljeet Randhawa, they all suffered depression due to failure in their career as well as their personal lives.

These same factors have been attributed to Khan, who’s alleged to have been depressed as her career failed to make a headway in Bollywood, and a stormy love-life that drove her to self-destruction.

As per most psychologists, most TV stars and upcoming stars in films suffer from depression due to rejection. Some who were successful in the beginning of their careers are unable to deal with the lows when it comes to a standstill. The problem escalates when they don’t have other avenues to bank on. While many turn to alcoholism and drugs, a few tend to take extreme steps like Jiah.

Need to Be Mentally strong
There is certainly no denying that showbiz is not everyone’s cup of tea. But for every victim that falls by the wayside, there are several others — be it actors, technicians, musicians or directors who survive the odds.

‘Cruel, cold-blooded’ and ‘tough’ are among the commonly used adjectives employed by various commentators to describe Bollywood, each time a similar incident takes place, be it the death of a model, or the murder of a television company’s executive by an aspiring actress’s fiancee or any other such event.

So is it really true that the film industry is indeed the ‘big bad world’ that it is made out to be?

Maybe it is, and then again maybe not!

After all, for every victim that falls by the wayside, there are several others — actors, technicians, musicians or directors who survive the odds.

However, there is certainly no denying that showbiz requires you to have, in addition to the relevant talent/skills, a fair degree of street smartness, the ability to adapt (not compromise) and of-course oodles of good luck.

Need for Plan B
Unfortunately several aspirants chasing stardom, refuse to look at avenues beyond the arc-lights. Several youngsters who have seen a small measure of success or even the mere promise of it are willing to resort to drastic measures (casting couch etc) instead of getting their hands muddied with some serious work (read sharpening their skill sets).

Fortunately there are a few exceptions too — youngsters with sensible heads on their well toned shoulders, who have cruised through the treacherous waters of fame rather well.

Former model Sushma Reddy (former model) has happily turned producer, Rachel Reuben has donned the director’s hat. Another example is that of south star Chandni alias Sharon Joseph. Joseph won the Miss Photogenic title in Miss India Worldwide competition held in New York, and was immediately snapped up by south biggie Upendra for his Kannada/Telugu film ‘A’, which went on to become a resounding success. She was then studying marketing, but attained stardom overnight with several movie offers to choose from. With a gentle nudge from her parents, she continued with her education. She went on to complete a PhD in marketing while acting in a few regional language films. She’s presently the Programme Director of MBA Media and Entertainment Department at Whistling Woods, happily juggling few films, along with an academic career.

Though there are many who firmly believe that you don’t need a Plan B in life, as it makes you give up your dreams easily. The fact is that you constantly need to evaluate your options, especially when things are not working. You don’t have to give up, but you should always look for different ways to reach the destination, especially when few of the doors seem to have shut.