Depression, denial, death: Do celeb suicides have a common factor?

Failed relationships, financial distress or fading stardom, there seems to be a common link between these celebrities who took their lives. Psychiatrists say not everyone is cut out for the glamour industry ' the pressure can be too much for a person to handle alone.
Pratyusha Banerjee, TV actress
Age: 24 (Died April 1, 2016)
Pratyusha Banerjee, who rose to fame as the grown-up Anandi in the popular soap 'Balika Vadhu', was found hanging from a ceiling fan at her residence in Mumbai on April 1 by boyfriend Rahul Raj Singh.Rahul rushed her to the hospital where she was declared dead on arrival. She also participated in reality shows 'Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 5', 'Bigg Boss 7' and 'Power Couple', the last with her boyfriend Rahul. A number of her friends and family claimed that her relationship with Rahul was the reason behind her extreme step. Stories were floated by her acquaintances that Rahul lived off her money, was verbally abusive and also that Rahul's ex-girlfriend had once assaulted Pratyusha. It was also reported that Pratyusha had been unable to find work of late and was not financially well-off.
Reported reasons: Severe financial distress, tumultuous relationship
Legal status: Pratyusha's mother filed a case against Rahul for abetment of suicide, intimidation and assault. While Rahul has to appear before the police at regular intervals, he was granted anticipatory bail by the Bombay High Court. Pratyusha's parents claimed that the actress wanted her current relationship to work out as she didn't want her image to be affected, as she had earlier too, had a bad relationship. In September 2013, Pratyusha had filed a complaint against her then boyfriend, businessman Makrand Malhotra, accusing him of verbal abuse and threatening her and her family. Makrand had filed a counter complaint against the actress and her father accusing them of threatening him. Later, Makrand and Pratyusha had patched up. And after the news about Pratyusha's suicide, Makrand was one of the first persons to reach Kokilaben Hospital, where she was brought.
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Kuljeet Randhawa, model-turned-TV actress
Age: 30 (Died February 8, 2006)
Kuljeet Randhawa acted in the hit TV show 'Hip Hip Hurray', and later in 'CATS', before making her mark as a tough cop in the crime thriller 'Special Squad'. The former Gladrags model hanged herself in her apartment in Juhu on the morning of February 8, 2006. At the time of her death, Kuljeet was acting in the TV show 'Kohinoor' and had just completed a film called 'By Chance'. She left a suicide note saying she was 'unable to cope with life's pressures' and said 'no one is to be blamed for this and it is entirely my decision'. However, a few people from the industry blamed her boyfriend and former co-star Bhanu Uday, saying that their tumultuous relationship was the cause of her death.
Reported reasons: Financial distress, depression, tumultuous relationship
Legal status: Kuljeet's family didn't file any charges against Bhanu as she had given him a clean chit in her suicide note. The police recorded Bhanu's statement, but the case was closed.

Nafisa Joseph, model-turned-TV actress
Age: 26 (Died July 29, 2004)
Eighteen months before Kuljeet Randhawa, her 'CATS' co-star, former model Nafisa Joseph ended her life by hanging herself at her Versova flat. Nafisa had started her modeling career at the age of 12 and won the Miss India crown by her 19th birthday. After a brief modelling career, she moved to TV, first hosting shows on a music channel and then acting on the TV show 'CATS', the Indian adaptation of Charlie's Angels. In 2004, her marriage to boyfriend Gautam Khanduja was called off after Nafisa discovered that Khanduja was already married. She ended her life soon after and her parents filed a case of abetment of suicide against Khanduja.
Reported reasons: Tumultuous relationship, depression
Legal status: The Bombay High Court stayed the trial against Khanduja in November 2005 until January 2006. Khanduja claimed that there was no evidence to indicate that he was responsible for Nafisa's suicide.

Kunal Singh, film actor
Age: 30 (Died February 7, 2008)
Kunal Singh made his debut in the 1999 sleeper hit, 'Dil Hi Dil Mein', opposite Sonali Bendre. However, his subsequent films failed at the box office. In 2008, he was found hanging from a ceiling fan, by his co-star and friend Laveena Bhatia in his flat in Mumbai. Reports claimed that the actor, who was already married, was having an affair with Laveena and it was his family's resistance to the affair that led him to suicide. Bhatia was detained by the cops, but was later let off. Kunal's family, however, alleged that he was murdered as the body had injury marks. His father blamed the land mafia, adding that Laveena had given a false statement as she'd been threatened. The case was later transferred to the CBI, but the investigators found no foul play.
Reported reasons: Family's resistance to affair

Jiah Khan, actress
Age: 25 (Died June 3, 2013)
Jiah Khan skyrocketed to fame at the age of 19 with 'Nishabd', Ram Gopal Varma's 2007 adaptation of 'Lolita', in which she starred opposite Amitabh Bachchan. She later played supporting roles in films like 'Ghajini' and 'Housefull'. On June 3, 2013, she was found hanging from a ceiling fan at her Juhu residence. Initial investigations led to the arrest of her boyfriend Sooraj Pancholi, the son of actors Aditya Pancholi and Zarina Wahab. According to the police, a letter written by Jiah to Sooraj right before her death held him responsible for her depression. It also talked about an abusive relationship and a terminated pregnancy.
Reported reasons: Depression, abusive relationship
Legal status: In Dec 2015, the CBI filed a chargesheet against Sooraj, accusing him of abetting the actress' suicide. According to the chargesheet, the actress committed suicide after a tiff with Sooraj over a misunderstanding. The chargesheet also mentioned that Jiah had undergone an abortion in 2013. In January 2014, the Mumbai Police had filed a chargesheet in the case, but the case was transferred to the CBI after Jiah's mother Rabia claimed that the police had conducted a shoddy probe and that her daughter was murdered. However, even the CBI found it to be a case of suicide. Rabia filed a plea to change the offence against Sooraj from abetment of suicide to rape and murder. In May 2016, the Bombay High Court lifted the stay on Sooraj's trial stating that the investigation could not go on forever. On May 19, after the Supreme Court refused to intervene in the case, Rabia once again moved the Bombay High Court, asking that the investigation be transferred from CBI to a Special Investigation Team. The Supreme Court, meanwhile, has ruled that the trial will resume in June.
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Viveka Babajee, model
Age: 37 (Died June 25, 2010)
Viveka was a Mauritian model and actress. She won the titles of Miss Mauritius World 1993 and Miss Mauritius Universe 1994, following which she moved to India where she featured in several music videos in the 90s, and walked the ramp for prominent fashion designers in the country. On June 25, 2010, she was found hanging from the ceiling fan in her apartment in Mumbai. Before her suicide, Viveka had called her mother in Mauritius and told her 'I'm going far!' and hung up. The last entry in her diary, which was found next to her body, said, 'You killed me, Gautam Vora', referring to her ex-boyfriend. She had broken up with Vora a few months earlier and also suffered setbacks in her business, both of which reportedly pushed her into depression.
Reported reasons: Depression, tumultuous relationship, financial distress
Legal status: Vora had filed for anticipatory bail and it was granted by the Mumbai court. There was not enough evidence to press abetment charges against him. It was concluded that Viveka had been depressed even before meeting Vora and had had bad relationships in the past.

Shikha Joshi, model-turned-actress
Age: 40 (Died May 16, 2015)
Model-turned-actress Shikha Joshi was best known for a small role in the 2013 National Award-winning film BA Pass. On May 16, 2015, she committed suicide by slitting her throat with a kitchen knife in her Mumbai flat. The flat's owner, Madhu Bharti, and Joshi's friend Pushpa Parmar were also present in the house. Bharti recorded a video message of Joshi's on her mobile phone on their way to the hospital while she was still alive, which served as the actress' suicide note. In the message, Joshi named a cosmetic surgeon who had performed a breast augmentation surgery on her in 2011 along with 'many married men' as the ones responsible for her death. Her husband Riyaz Pathan had arrived at the scene 10 minutes later, only after which was she taken to the hospital, where she was declared dead.
Reported reasons: Financial distress, depression
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Archana Pandey, model
Age: 26 (Died Sept 26, 2014)
Mumbai-based model Archana Pandey killed herself at her Mumbai residence. Police said that she had been dead for at least three days and her body was found after her neighbours complained of a foul smell emanating from the house. In her suicide note, she named her boyfriend Omar Asif Pathan, alleging that he abandoned her when she was in need and that he had physically exploited her in the name of love. Police said that Archana had been suffering from depression for a few months before her death ever since her brother had been arrested by the Gujarat police in a cheating case. Her relationship issues added to that. Pathan was arrested by the police on charges of abetment to suicide. He was later released on bail.
Reported reasons: Depression, relationship issues

Vishal Thakkar, TV actor
Missing since January 2016 after being branded a rapist
Vishal Thakkar has been missing since January this year. It has been close to four months since he went missing, but the Mumbai Police hasn't been able to trace him. In October last year, the actor's girlfriend accused him of raping her, but later withdrew the case and the couple even patched up. The couple had stopped for a tea break at a hotel while they were on their way back to Mumbai from Ahmedabad. Vishal told his girlfriend that he had to meet a friend and he left, after which she tried calling him, but in vain. His parents later filed a missing person's complaint at Mulund Police station in Mumbai on January 6, but till now, there hasn't been any trace of the actor. It was reported that the rapist tag had hampered the actor's work prospects in the industry and he wasn't getting roles. This had made him depressed.
I get one patient daily who is from the glamour industry: Mumbai-based psychiatrist
As many come to Mumbai hoping to make it big in Tinseltown, not everyone tastes success. As the reality hits them, many are in denial and
suffer from depression, leading to suicidal tendencies, say Mumbai-based psychiatrists, who regularly treat clients from showbiz.
Since they come from distant places, they don't have family support. They don't have anybody to fall back on. Though there is easy availability of money in the entertainment industry, the flow of income is not consistent. To add to this, TV and film stars have to keep up with a certain lifestyle. The bigger problem is that these stars stop coming for subsequent sessions. They start taking alcohol and drugs and reach a stage where they are beyond help. Sadly, they all are in the age group of 20 to 35.
' Gaurav Kulkarni, Bandra
The stars find it hard when their popularity starts waning. It causes stress and depression. They are trapped in a rat race. Female stars suffer more because they have a smaller span of time to attain success. Men play lead roles till 50, but despite being beautiful and fit, 30-plus actresses find it difficult to bag lead roles. Once you are out of work, there is no source of income. As we saw in an actress' case two years ago, as extreme measures, they take to prostitution to make both ends meet or eventually commit suicide.
' Ketan Parmar, Borivali East
Everybody thinks if SRK could do it, so can we. But this profession not only needs talent and hard work, but a fair amount of luck as well. Here, you are as good as the last film or the last TV soap. You may be busy for 20 days with rigorous shooting and then suddenly you don't have enough work for the next three months. Since they are popular, they can't take the option of doing ordinary jobs. When depression hits, they are too scared to see a doctor and instead, take to alcoholism or substance abuse. Plus they don't have any family support. I get one patient daily who is from the glamour industry. And that's just the tip of the iceberg as for every one person who sees a doctor, there are probably five people who don't. We have more female patients and that's probably because men think they are too strong to seek medical help.
' Anjali Chhabria, Juhu