Famed Bollywood actress Jiah Khan, a breathtakingly beautiful 25-year-old starlet, has been found dead in an apparent suicide that shocked the Indian film world. Here’s what you need to know.
1. She Was Out of Work, Scared, Depressed — & Just Had Her Heart Broken
just Cant believe this girl died twitter.com/RGVzoomin/stat…
— Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) June 4, 2013
The Times of India reports Khan’s suicide may have been prompted by a failed relationship:
Preliminary investigation has revealed that she was in a relationship with Suraj, son of actor couple Aditya Pancholi and Zarina Wahab for nearly a year. Jiah was said to be under depression after coming to know of Suraj’s new love interest, who supplied jewellery to the Pancholis. …
Suraj and Jiah spoke over telephone a number of times yesterday, with the last call being made at 10.53pm which lasted for two minutes. Soon after, Jiah hanged herself. Post mortem examination revealed the incident took place between 11 pm and 11.30 pm, sources said.
“Jiah was said to be very possessive about Suraj. Last night they exchanged text messages on their cell phones. Suraj also sent her a bouquet which she did not accept,” they said.
Filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma, who gave Khan her big break in Nishabd, has been tweeting about her state of mind:
I dont know the reason what led to this but jiah was very depressed about her career and scared for her future
— Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) June 4, 2013
Inspite of being highly appreciated in Nishabd nd being a part of hugely successful Ghazni and Houseful she had no work for the last 3 years
— Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) June 4, 2013
The last time I met her jiah told me that everyone around her makes her feel like a failure
— Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) June 4, 2013
@shekharkapur yes shekar it is surely that. .it shows young hopefuls a dream and then ruthlessly thwarts them to the ground
— Ram Gopal Varma (@RGVzoomin) June 4, 2013
2. Her Mother Found Her Body
Reuters reports that Khan’s body was discovered Monday night by her mother — Rabia Amin, who was also a Bollywood actress. DNAindia reports the apparent cause of death was hanging, and that the body was discovered “in her flat at Sara Tarang apartment in Juhu,” a suburb of Mumbai. There was no suicide note.
3. She Was Born in America
Jiah Khan — real name Nafisa Khan — was born February 20, 1988, in New York City. She was raised in London but moved to Mumbai to pursue her Bollywood career. According to IMDB, she chose the stage name Jiah after the 1998 Angelina Jolie TV movie Gia (1998).
4. She Starred in Two Bollywood Blockbusters
After launching her Bollywood career in the 2007 Lolita-inspired flop Nishabd, she later held supporting roles in two wildly successful films, Ghajini (2008) and Housefull (2010).
5. Her Death Shocked the Bollywood Community
Khan was an up-and-coming star, and her suicide has baffled the Indian film world.
From Amitabh Bachchan, who starred opposite her in Nishabd:
T 1128 -WHAT …!!! Jiah Khan ??? what has happened ? is this correct ? unbelievable !!!
— Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) June 3, 2013
From Riteish Deshmukh, who acted with her in Housefull:
Nothing worse than waking up to bad news- shocked n dumb struck- RIP Jiah.
— RITEISH DESHMUKH (@Riteishd) June 4, 2013
From actress Sonam Kapoor:
Rip Jiah khan. Terrible tragedy.. Very very shocking and disturbing news..
— Sonam Kapoor (@sonamakapoor) June 4, 2013
Nobody should be in so much pain and a state of such hopelessness. I hope her soul finds some respite in death. #ripjiahkhan
— Sonam Kapoor (@sonamakapoor) June 4, 2013
h/t HindustanTimes