Bollywood actress commits suicide

Jiah Khan: was depressed

Agencies/Mumbai

Bollywood actress Jiah Khan, who made her debut starring opposite acting legend Amitabh Bachchan, died in an apparent suicide at her home in Mumbai, police said yesterday.

The 25-year-old Khan, who grew up in London before moving to India for a career in Bollywood, was found dead in her home by her family, an officer said.

Police were interviewing her neighbours, the officer said, adding that no suicide note was found.

“We suspect she hung herself at her home” late on Monday, a police official said, adding that her body has been sent for a postmortem.

He said police had questioned Suraj Pancholi, son of actor couple Aditya Pancholi and Zarina Wahab, to whom Khan had made her last phone call.

According to call records on Khan’s mobile phone, on Monday night between 10.53 and 11.22 she was on a long call with Sooraj Pancholi. Shortly thereafter, she allegedly hanged herself.

“We are trying to ascertain the details of the final conversation between Jiah and Sooraj and whether it had anything to do with her suicide,” a police official said.

Her mother, Rabiya Amin-Khan, an actress of yesteryears, told police that her daughter was very depressed as she had no acting assignments in hand.

Khan also appeared for screen tests for Telugu and Tamil movies but was rejected, Rabiya said.

According to the mother, as Khan’s dreams of making it big in Bollywood were dashed, she was planning to become a professional interior designer.

Khan, who was born in New York before moving to London and then Mumbai, made her Bollywood debut in 2007 with the controversial film Nishabd (No words), playing the role of a teenager in love with her best friend’s much older father, played by Bachchan.

The movie received average reviews because of its provocative storyline but Khan was praised for her bold acting.

Khan, who changed her name from Nafisa Khan, went on to star alongside actor Aamir Khan in Ghajini, a box-office hit.

India’s film industry reacted with shock and sadness to the news, with actress Sonam Kapoor, a contemporary, tweeting: “Rip Jiah khan. Terrible tragedy.. Very very shocking and disturbing news.” 

“Nobody should be in so much pain and a state of such hopelessness. I hope her soul finds some respite in death. ripjiahkhan.”

Bachchan, when contacted, only said: “Shocked and disturbed.”

Actress Bipasha Basu tweeted: “Rip Jiah Khan!God bless her soul!”

Khan’s latest film Housefull was a comedy released in 2010, which also starred Akshay Kumar and Deepika Padukone.  

“Never ever seen a debutant actress with more spunk and more spirit than Jiah when i was directing her in Nishabd,” filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma wrote on Twitter.

“I dont know the reason what led to this but jiah was very depressed about her career and scared for her future,” he said in another tweet, adding that the actress had not worked for the past three years.

Fellow actress Dia Mirza tweeted: “RIP Nafisa (Jiah) Khan. You were too young and beautiful.”

The actress was a versatile dancer and trained as an opera singer, but said her “ultimate passion” was acting.

Khan also did modelling assignments, including one for Wrangler jeans, and was the brand ambassador for the prestigious Taj group of hotels.

She was also an ambassador for Peta (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) for their campaign against caging of wild animals in zoos.

Khan joins a list of young and promising actresses whose careers were tragically cut short by a mix of emotional-professional issues. Some of them are: Divya Bharati, Nafisa Joseph and Kuljeet Randhawa.

BELOW: Journalists gather outside the residence of Bollywood film actress Jiah Khan in Mumbai yesterday.