SSR's gym buddy Payal Ghosh: How could he commit suicide?

Sushant Singh Rajput. Image sourced from mid-day archives

Upcoming Bollywood actress Payal Ghosh, who says she worked out in the same gym with late actor Sushant Singh Rajput for almost four years, recalls the latter as a shy and lighthearted person. Payal also raises doubts over the theory that Sushant had committed suicide.

"I have seen his prescription on TV, the kind of medicines he was having. These are basic medicines given for panic and anxiety attacks. A person having panic attacks goes through a fear of death. I can say this from personal experience because I have battled this condition. How can a person having fear of death commit suicide? His death is still a mystery to me," Payal told IANS.

"I also find it difficult to believe that a person like him was battling depression in his last days. In fact, when I watched television flashing the news of his suicide, I could not believe it at first, thinking it was fake news," the actress added.

Payal revealed that she has battled depression and panic attacks in the past, and undergone treatment for the same, and hence she has a knowledge of which medicines are used for treatment in such cases. She has spoken up on this subject earlier on social media.

"I used to go to the same gym with Sushant. Initially, he was very shy, didn't talk much especially with girls and would focus on his workout. But after we started talking, he became very friendly. Sushant, a few other friends and I were a group that would workout together. Post workout, we would sit in the gym cafe and chitchat over protein shakes or coffee. It was fun!" recalled the actress.

"Sushant was a very lighthearted boy. He was simple and down to earth. This is after he had made his Bollywood debut with 'Kai Po Che'. We have worked out in the same gym for around four years. However, he stopped coming to our gym after 2017. We lost touch after that," she added.

Not only did Payal know Sushant from the gym, but she claims she was also neighbours with Sushant and Ankita Lokhande when they lived in their Lokhandwala apartment.

"He also used to stay in the same building with me when he was living in with Ankita in Lokhandwala and working in a television serial. We were not good friends when he was my neighbour. It was just a hi-hello relationship. Our friendship started later at the gym," informed Payal.

Going down memory lane, the actress recalled: "In the gym, Sushant shared a cordial relation with everyone, he would smile and greet everyone, including the housekeeping staff. He would often chat with the trainers, discussing fitness. He would sometimes greet me by ruffling my hair."

"Now when people claim that he had an attitude problem, I find it hard to believe. He was just the opposite -- humble and down to earth. It is a bad practice to say things you feel like about a person who is no more," she concluded.

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