Jiah Khan’s mother Rabia, speaks about her daughter’s troubled affair with her boyfriend and the film industry
When did you first know that Jiah was dating Suraj?
Last year. Initially, I never stopped her from meeting that boy. He was wooing her with flowers and home-cooked food. And she liked it.
When did you realise that Jiah was in a troubled relationship with him?
In February, this year she had come to London. I told her, ‘You are in love but there is no glow on your face’. She broke down. I asked her to share everything with me. I told her ‘Home is hospital, world outside is a battlefield. Don’t hide anything from me’. I asked her to withdraw from the relationship. But I realised it was too late… She was head-over-heels in love with that boy. I managed to dissuade her from talking to him for few days but I saw that they were in touch again. She returned to join piano and kathak classes. She had a maid, driver- her life was going fine. Her younger sister was going to get engaged on June 23, which is why I was in Mumbai. And on return I felt that she and Suraj had sorted it out and life was smiling upon her once more.
If things had indeed settled down between them, how did it suddenly go all wrong?
I don’t know. But since the past ten days, I could see that Suraj was trying to distance himself from Jiah. I sat Jiah down and had a chat with her on this (pauses). I could see that he was becoming commitment phobic. But youngsters are youngsters I guess…Love is blind.
Did you and Aditya Panscholi ever discuss Jiah and Suraj’s relationship?
It’s a misconception that Aditya and I were friends. Aditya is Anju Mahendroo’s friend. If he was my friend, things would have been amicable and this incident wouldn’t have happened. But yeah, I know he threw a fit when he came to know about his son’s relationship with my daughter. He even told Salman Khan about it, who tried to talk Suraj out of it. But Suraj told him that he loved Jiah and Salman was then cool about it.
Have you ever met Zarina Wahab (Suraj’s mom) and interacted with her?
Never. He never introduced me to his parents as Jiah’s mother. I kept telling Jiah that it is strange that you have introduced him to me as your boyfriend but he never reciprocated.
Did Jiah ever tell you that she was pregnant with Suraj’s child and underwent an abortion?
No. Had I known about it, I would’ve blasted the sky.
Did Jiah want to marry Suraj?
Yes. She wanted to settle down and have a home with him.
Any message to young girls aspiring for a career in films or their moms?
I don’t want to preach. But this industry is not bad if you work sincerely. And for heaven’s sake, don’t get me wrong. I have not been an ambitious and pushy mother. Every parent motivates his/her child to pursue his/her dream, I was doing the same
Was Jiah upset when she was ousted from Chance Pe Dance?
She was very disappointed. But I think only the makers of CPD (Read: UTV, Ken Ghosh) can tell you why they threw her out. But her dream was getting back on track. Recently, she had metSuraj Sharma (of Life Of Pi) and the makers of a South film had almost finalised her. They asked her to put on some weight and did not reject her outright as has been reported in the media.
Do you think that the fact that Jiah hadn’t signed too many films but Suraj was being launched by a big banner (Salman Khan Productions) drove a wedge in their relationship?
I think so. After he signed his debut film (remake of Hero) with Salman, his body language changed. In fact, Jiah told him that she wanted to meet Salman and tell him that she wanted to work with him. But Suraj did not make it happen.
Jiah was quite bitter about her dad. Where is he?
She had issues with him but that was her personal matter. At this point, I would only like to say one thing about him. He called me after Jiah passed away. And he cried a lot over the phone.
Bollywood actor Aditya Pancholi’s son Suraj was arrested on Monday evening for abetting actor Jiah Khan’s suicide. The action follows the delayed discovery of a letter by Jiah in which she holds an unnamed person responsible for her extreme step and mentions abortion, pain, abuse, torture and rape. Suraj, 22, was reportedly in a relationship with Jiah and was the last person she spoke to on phone before hanging herself at her residence last Monday.
Earlier on Monday, the police recorded Jiah’s mother Rabiya’s statement again, where she repeated her allegation that Suraj was the man Jiah addressed her letter to.
Jiah’s family found the letter in her handbag and gave it to the police on Saturday.
“We registered an FIR under the IPC’s section 306 (abetment of suicide) on the basis of Rabiya Khan’s statement and arrested Suraj. We will produce him in the Andheri court on Tuesday for remand,” said senior inspector Arun Bhagat of the Juhu police station.
The police had initially stated there was no evidence against Suraj, but after the letter’s appearance, they consulted legal experts about its contents before deciding to book Suraj. A police team went to the Pancholi residence in Juhu around 5pm and took Suraj in custody. His mother and sister followed him to the police station in a separate car; they left from there around 9pm.
The police have said that before Jiah’s suicide, Suraj spent two nights with her. On her last day, she phoned him, wanting to meet him, but he refused; instead, they had an argument. The police have been examining Jiah’s phone for communication details. In Suraj’s phone, they found the messages the two exchanged deleted. On Monday morning, ACP (west region) Vishwas Nangre-Patil and DCP Chhering Dorje, along with other officers, visited Jiah’s residence for more clues.
On Monday, Rabiya also held a press conference at her home, in which she reiterated that Jia’s suicide was not due to a lack of assignments, but her troubled relationship with Suraj. “My point is to tell you the truth. It is being said that she was depressed and had no work, but it was not the case,” Rabiya said. “She was attending at least three to four events a month. She was making money and was living comfortably in her house with two maids and even had a car and a driver. It was the insecurity that her love was not respected and recognized that was killing her day by day.”
Bollywood actor Aditya Pancholi’s son Suraj was arrested on Monday evening for abetting actor Jiah Khan’s suicide. The action follows the delayed discovery of a letter by Jiah in which she holds an unnamed person responsible for her extreme step and mentions abortion, pain, abuse, torture and rape. Suraj, 22, was reportedly in a relationship with Jiah and was the last person she spoke to on phone before hanging herself at her residence last Monday.
“Tum itna jo muskura rahe ho, kya gham hai jisko chhupa rahe ho…?” As the showbiz world somberly comes to terms with the suicide of actress Jiah Khan, the evocative song from the 1980s film ‘Arth’ perhaps sums up the many insecurities and uncertainties behind pretty smiles.
All of 25, Jiah was found hanging from the ceiling at her Mumbai house on Tuesday morning, the latest in a line of actresses and models who have opted out of the life of stresses and pressures of showbiz.
The problem, as film historian S.M.M. Ausaja puts it, is that youngsters today “don’t have patience left to struggle their way to the top”.
“Instead of banking on their talent, they lean on shortcuts and promises, which when not fulfilled, lead them to self destruction,” Ausaja told IANS.
Bollywood makes some stars and sucks some souls, director Roshan Abbas said in his tweet, while Ranvir Shorey tweeted: “Bollywood is a dark, incestuous world, where insecurity can often be a fatal flaw.”
Anna M.M. Vetticad, author of The Adventures of an Intrepid Film Critic, added: “You never know what lies behind the glitz and the smiles.”
Jiah’s death shocked everyone, including her mentor filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma.
Jiah, whose real name was Nafisa, studied acting in the Lee Starsberg Institute in New York, was depressed and scared about her future, revealed Varma, who launched the Britain-born talent opposite Amitabh Bachchan in Nishabd in 2007.
She was 19 back then, confident, spunky and with more spirit than any debutant actress that he had ever directed, Varma says.
Perhaps, it faded away with time, when she managed just three films - Nishabd, Ghajini andHousefull in the six years that she spent in tinsel town. She had no work for the last six years. She was reportedly trying to foray into southern cinema, but in vain, and her personal life wasn’t very rosy either.
Jiah isn’t the first actress who let her failed career or crumbled personal life pull her intodepression, and hence, as many would say, “into the hands of god”.
There was the infamous southern siren Silk Smitha, who touched peaks of fame, attained almost iconic status as a sex symbol in Tamil cinema and then, following personal and financial hassles, was found dead at her Chennai home in 1996. She was 33. It was said to be a case of suicide.
The 1993 death of young and successful actress Divya Bharti continues to be a mystery. The Deewana fame actress fell to death from a window sill and it was reported that she was depressed.
Models-turned-actresses Nafisa Joseph and Kuljeet Randhawa, who worked together in “C.A.T.S”, the Indian adaptation of hit US show “Charlie’s Angels”, also resorted to suicide by hanging themselves in 2004 and 2006 respectively.
According to Ann Simi John, clinical psychologist, Columbia Asia Hospital, Gurgaon, “most suicide cases are related to either relationships, especially breakup or divorce.”
There are a few cases related to work or unemployment but the basic problem remains that “nowadays people have a lot of expectations from future, have rigid form of thinking, lack problem solving skills and have inability to cope”, she said.
In her view, only 15-20 percent of people who commit suicide are actually clinically depressed.
Whatever the case, it is important to get emotional and moral support from family and friends.
Actor Tusshar Kapoor, son of veteran actor Jeetendra, and brother of successful film producerEkta Kapoor, wonders “how many young actors there are who lack a support system and get crushed under the dark side of showbiz”.
However, it is vital to remember that “there’s life beyond your profession and there’s life beyond your partner too”, tweeted actor Ayushmann Khurrana, who won overnight fame with his debut film Vicky Donor. “It’s pertinent to have a stable mind in this fickle showbiz,” he added.
The basic necessity for anyone going through an emotional crisis is “to be surrounded by loved ones, who can help them pick up and bounce back, not succumb under pressure,” said Raveena Tandon.
In 1962, legendary Hollywood star Marilyn Monroe was found dead in her home. Almost five decades on, have things really changed for women in showbiz – in Hollywood or in Bollywood?
Earlier on Monday, the police recorded Jiah’s mother Rabiya’s statement again, where she repeated her allegation that Suraj was the man Jiah addressed her letter to.
Jiah’s family found the letter in her handbag and gave it to the police on Saturday.
“We registered an FIR under the IPC’s section 306 (abetment of suicide) on the basis of Rabiya Khan’s statement and arrested Suraj. We will produce him in the Andheri court on Tuesday for remand,” said senior inspector Arun Bhagat of the Juhu police station.
The police had initially stated there was no evidence against Suraj, but after the letter’s appearance, they consulted legal experts about its contents before deciding to book Suraj. A police team went to the Pancholi residence in Juhu around 5pm and took Suraj in custody. His mother and sister followed him to the police station in a separate car; they left from there around 9pm.
The police have said that before Jiah’s suicide, Suraj spent two nights with her. On her last day, she phoned him, wanting to meet him, but he refused; instead, they had an argument. The police have been examining Jiah’s phone for communication details. In Suraj’s phone, they found the messages the two exchanged deleted.
On Monday, Rabiya also held a press conference at her home, in which she reiterated that Jia’s suicide was not due to a lack of assignments, but her troubled relationship with Suraj. “My point is to tell you the truth. It is being said that she was depressed and had no work, but it was not the case,” Rabiya said. “She was attending at least three to four events a month. She was making money and was living comfortably in her house with two maids and even had a car and a driver. It was the insecurity that her love was not respected and recognized that was killing her day by day.”
Aditya Pancholi’s son to be produced in court today
Actor Jiah Khan’s family found in her handbag a letter she wrote before committing suicide and gave it to the police on Saturday. The police had failed to recover it when they studied her room following her death.
“We registered an FIR under the IPC’s section 306 (abetment of suicide) on the basis of Rabiya Khan’s statement and arrested Suraj. We will produce him in the Andheri court on Tuesday for remand,” said senior inspector Arun Bhagat of the Juhu police station.
The police had initially stated there was no evidence against Suraj, but after the letter’s appearance, consulted legal experts before deciding to book Suraj. A police team went to the Pancholi residence in Juhu around 5 pm and took Suraj in custody. His mother and sister followed him to the police station in a separate car; they left the place around 9 pm.
The police have said that a day before Jiah’s suicide, Suraj spent two nights with her. On her last day, she phoned him, wanting to meet him, but he refused; instead, they had an argument. The police have been examining Jiah’s phone. In Suraj’s phone, they found the messages the two exchanged deleted. On Monday morning, ACP (west region) Vishwas Nangre-Patil and DCP Chhering Dorje, along with other officers, visited Jiah’s residence for more clues.
Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan says that he is very upset over the suicide of actress Jiah Khan.
“I am very sad and also worried. It feels strange to talk about it. Sometimes there are situations when someone gets sad and depressed. They come with dreams and when it is not fulfilled, they give up. I want to say that to end your life like this is not good. I am deeply upset with what has happened with Jiah Khan,” he said at an event on Wednesday.
The 25-year-old Britain-born Jiah was found hanging at her flat in Sagar Sangeet Building in the posh Juhu area of northwest Mumbai around midnight when her parents had gone out.
Jiah shot into the limelight with her 2007 debut movie Nishabd in which she starred opposite Amitabh Bachchan. She was also seen in films like Ghajini and Housefull.
