'Paatal Lok' actor Asif Basra found hanging at Mcleodganj home; suicide suspected

Lalit Mohan
Tribune News Service
Dharamsala, November 12

Actor Asif Basra on Thursday allegedly committed suicide at Mcleodganj, Dharamsala. Asif was found hanging on the roof of his house by his UK-based girlfriend. 

He was 53.

As per the available information, the theatre actor had leased two houses in Mcleodganj. 

On Thursday morning, at around 10:30 am, Asif took his dog out for a walk. When he did not return his girlfriend went, and looked for him. 

She found his dog roaming about freely. Later, she found Asif hanging on the roof of his second house. 

The actor had hung himself with his dog's leash.

When contacted the Superintendent of Police Kangra, Vimukt Ranjan, he said, that the police were informed about the death of Asif Basra through his girlfriend. From the preliminary investigation, it seems like Asif was suffering from depression, and committed suicide by hanging himself with his dog's leash. A case has been registered, and investigations are on, he concluded. 

The body has been sent for post-mortem.

Asif Basra was a popular face in the film as well as television industry.

The news of the sudden death of the character actor, which comes months after Bollywood star Sushant Singh Rajput was found hanging at his residence in Mumbai on June 14, led to shock in the industry with several of his colleagues expressing their grief.

"What? This is too shocking!! Shot with him just before Lockdown!!! Oh My God!!!" tweeted actor Manoj Bajpayee.

Director Hansal Mehta was equally stunned. "Asif Basra! Can't be true... This is just very, very sad." In his over two-decade career, Basra played supporting parts in many critically-acclaimed features such as "Black Friday", "Parzania" and "Outsourced".

Among his notable roles in Hindi cinema was his brief but standout performance as a cunning stall owner in Imtiaz Ali's 2007 film "Jab We Met", alongside Kareena Kapoor Khan and Shahid Kapoor.

He played the father of Emraan Hashmi's Shoaib Khan in Milan Luthria's "Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai" (2010).

His most recent outing was in Amazon Prime Video's smash-hit series "Paatal Lok".

Among the others who condoled his death were directors Onir and Rahul Dholakia.

"In shock. Can't believe that we have lost him. #asifbasra Used to meet him so often at the park jogging. He would tell me not to jog sideways,I might loose balance and hurt myself," Onir tweeted.

Dholakia, who directed Basra in the National Award winner "Parzania" and in the Sanjay Dutt-starrer "Lamhaa", said Basra was a "wonderful actor and a jovial fellow".

"I mean why would he?? Very Sad - had directed him in Parzania (Chagan), in Lamhaa ( the Darzee ) and also in society... Very sad to hear about his passing !! #asifbasra Hope you are at peace," he added.

Casting director Mukesh Chhabra tweeted, "This can't be true Asif Bhai, we have done so much work together from 'Kai Po Che' to 'Hostages 2'. I can not believe this! Whatttt is happening??????????? #asifbasra".

Basra's sudden death is the latest blow for the industry, struggling to get back on its feet after the lockdown that came into effect in March to curb the spread of COVID-19.

After Rajput's death—which ignited discussions on the nepotistic nature of the industry and its gate-keeping attitude but took an entirely different angle after the actor's family filed an FIR against his girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty – TV actor Samir Sharma was found hanging in his Mumbai home in August, Sharma was best known for his roles in “Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi” and “Left Right Left”. — With PTI

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