Raj Kaushal death: 'Mandira Bedi acted swiftly, but it was too late,' says late filmmaker's friend Sulaiman Merchant
Last rites of Raj Kaushal were performed by his wife Mandira. Actors Ashish Chowdhry, Ronit Roy and other celebrities were present at Raj's funeral.
The sudden demise of actor Mandira Bedi's husband and filmmaker Raj Kaushal has shattered everyone. From close friends and family to members of the film and TV industry, everyone took to social media to pay their condolences when the news broke early Wednesday (June 30) morning.
He is survived by his wife Mandira, son Vir and daughter Tara. According to reports, the filmmaker suffered a heart attack. The last rites of Raj Kaushal were performed by Mandira in Mumbai. Actors Ashish Chowdhry, Ronit Roy, Dino Morea and other celebrities were present at the filmmaker's funeral.
In a recent interview, Mandira's close friend and music composer Sulaiman Merchant opened up about what happened a few hours before Raj's demise.
In an interview with ETimes, Sulaiman revealed that the producer had told his wife Mandira Bedi that he was having a heart attack upon which the latter acted immediately and called up their friend Ashish Chowdhry who landed up at their house as soon as he could.
"Raj was feeling uneasy in the evening, he took an antacid tablet (then)," Sulaiman said.
He continued, "Time rolled by into the night, and around 4 am, Raj felt more uneasy. Raj told Mandira that he was getting a heart attack. Mandira acted swiftly and called Ashish Chaudhary, who rushed to their place. Mandira and Ashish put him in the car but he was losing consciousness. I think they drove off, taking him to the Lilavati Hospital if I'm not wrong. But in the next 5-10 minutes, they realised that he had no pulse. Before they reached the doctor, it was too late."
Sulaiman disclosed that Raj has had a heart attack before. he said, "I think he was 30-32 then. But they took a lot of care after that attack, and he'd kept fine since then."
Expressing his deepest pain in losing of friend of over 25 years, Sulaiman said, "I have lost a friend of 25 years. I knew him since the days he was assisting Mukul Anand on 'Dus'. I had gone to his house once during the pandemic, many months back. Salim and I gave music to his first film Pyaar Mein Kabhi Kabhi. It doesn't get more shocking than this."
Raj had directed 'Anthony Kaun Hai' (2006), 'Shaadi Ka Laddoo' (2004) and 'Pyaar Mein Kabhi Kabhi' (1999). He last produced 'My Brother… Nikhil' in 2005.
Mandira Bedi married Raj Kaushal on February 14, 1999. She gave birth to a boy named Vir on June 19, 2011, and in October 2020, the couple adopted a girl of 4 years and named her Tara Bedi Kaushal.