Kamal Sadanah talks about losing best friend Abis Rizvi to Istanbul terror attack

Tragedy continues to haunt actor-filmmaker Kamal Sadanah. Twenty-seven years after losing his family to a mindless shooting (by his father Brij Sadanah, who shot himself), he lost his best friend Abis Rizvi to another one on New Year’s Eve in Istanbul.

Recalls  Kamal, “He was my dear friend, mentor and guide. When the news of the massacre in Istanbul reached us, I didn’t connect it with Abis, although I knew he was holidaying in Istanbul. Then I  read Sushma Swarajji’s tweet which said two Indians had died in the carnage. It named Abis as one of the dead.”

That’s when it hit him. “I realised I had lost my friend in the most bizarre way possible. I mean, we think of terror attacks as something that happens to others. Now it’s reached our doorstep,” says Kamal.

He added. “I lost my entire family in one night. I thought  I had seen enough loss and tragedy to see me through this lifetime. I was wrong. There’s no end to the pain. Now I’ve lost my friend. Abis was engaged to my sister before she was killed by my father,” reveals Kamal.

After Namrata’s death, Kamal and Abis anchored each other’s shattered lives, came closer than before and continued to look out for each other. “He was the kindest, most generous and giving man. Why did he have to go in such a brutal way? Abis was from a family that believed in a better world, a better society. I guess he wasn’t destined to see it,” says Kamal.

“As soon as my wife heard about Abis, she wanted to fly back with our children to be with me. But because of the New Year rush, they haven’t been able to get tickets. They’ll join me soon. We need to be with Abis’ wife and child. His son is only four years old. What do I tell him? That his father will never come back?”