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ShareMumbai: Bappi Lahiri, who'd gone to LA to meet the Jackson brothers, speaks about the anguish the family faced during Michael Jackson's last few days.
During the last few months, Michael Jackson aka Mikaeel was on a toxic diet of financial worries and an ever-failing health. With all the tell-tale signs of acute depression, the Peter Pan of pop music had almost given up food according to his family.
All the visitors to the Jackson family at their LA home came back with stories about the family's anguish about the pop star's rapid weight loss and worsening general condition. One of them was Bappi Lahiri who had met Jermaine Jackson to invite the Jackson Five for a concert in Mumbai. They agreed, but they had a clause.
"Michael had started eating like a bird and his health was failing. When I met Jermaine for the concert, he said that the family is so worried about Michael's failing health that they might cancel the concert last minute and that I should be prepared for that," says Bappi, who met the Jackson family a couple of months before Michael's death.
The Jackson family was carefully guarding every detail about Jackson's health as the media the world over howled how the self-styled King of Pop had multiple ailments to endure -- skin cancer, a liver condition that urgently required a transplant and his depression that seemed to worsen by the day.
"The family was worried about whether Michael will be able to take the stress of a performance. It was something that Jermaine admitted indirectly. But it seemed that Michael ignored the family's pleas to start treatment in favour of one last tour that he wanted to have. His brother's fearful eyes told me that they are scared about this much-hyped last tour. As it turned out, it was to be his last. His last wish," Bappi adds.
Naturally, the Jackson Five concert has now a huge question mark hanging over it.
