Tabrez Khan: Sushant Singh Rajput and I had planned to meet in a week’s time

Death might be your only certainty, but still, life seldom prepares you for it. In fact, the biggest fear that haunts most people is the final departure of their loved ones. Actor Tabrez Khan is currently grappling with the trauma of one such sudden and shocking loss. The actor, who had known Sushant Singh Rajput for 14 years, cannot accept the fact that his friend died by suicide.
Tabrez tells us, “We were friends even before we became actors. In fact, back when we were introduced by a common friend, we were not even planning to become actors. Those days, Sushant was busy with theatre and I was into modelling. We hit it off instantly and later, as destiny would have it, we started our acting careers with the same show — ‘Kis Desh Mein Hai Meraa Dil’. We were thick as thieves, brothers by bond. He was like a son to my mother. He found joy in small things. I remember, when he had bought a car, one of his dreams back then, during ‘Pavitra Rishta’, we celebrated for almost a month. We used to party and drive without a care in the world. We were never apart. In fact, we would meet up every day until a few years ago, when he got busy with his films. Though he became the next big thing in Bollywood with his debut film (‘Kai Po Che!’), he didn’t change a wee bit. He would call me over to his film sets, like ‘Shuddh Desi Romance’ and ‘Detective Byomkesh Bakshy!’, and introduce me as his brother to everyone.”
Tabrez last spoke to the actor around 12 days ago. He shares, “It was a regular conversation, and he said, ‘Let’s meet man’. We had planned to meet up in a week’s time. He sounded fine to me. I didn’t feel anything amiss. But then, he would never let anyone know what he was going through. I will always remember him as warm, generous and welcoming. I am still in shock that he could take a step like that. Unfortunately, we couldn’t meet in the last few months because of the lockdown.”
The actor, who went to Sushant’s Bandra residence on Sunday, says, “There will always be a regret that I should have dug in deep, but he never spoke about his troubles. He was someone who would sleep his troubles off. I wish he had dialled one more number — mine.”