Tunisha Sharma death: Blame game begins after actor’s suicide

Tunisha Sharma

If the families of deceased actor Tunisha Sharma and her ex-boyfriend Sheezan Mohammed have been attempting to hold one another accountable for ruining her personal life, those associated with her professional commitments are also now coming under the scanner. The Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) has suggested that Ali Baba: Dastaan-E-Kabul producers Alind Shrivastava and Nissar Parvez be held accountable for their "carelessness", and inability to "easily save the life" of Sharma who killed herself in the midst of a shooting schedule.

The federation's BN Tiwari says, "An FIR should be registered against the producers. We could have easily saved the life of this actor, had we paid attention to what was happening. They had neither an ambulance nor a counsellor on the set. It is imperative to have a counsellor who can speak to the actors to support and examine them. In due course of time, this will become a norm. It is important to make actors feel comfortable." Tiwari suggests that had an ambulance been present on the set, the deceased actor could have been brought to the hospital sooner.

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While the producers did not respond to mid-day's questions pertaining to the allegations till press time, producer JD Majethia, chairman, television and web, of the Indian Film and TV Producers Council calls his demands impractical. "It would be irrational to keep an ambulance waiting in each of the 200 sets where shows are filmed, daily, waiting for an incident to occur. An ambulance should be used in an emergency," he says, adding that a sensible solution would be to collaborate with hospitals in the vicinity to ensure that care is received in time.

"It was an unfortunate incident, but we need to raise awareness around mental health. Performers won't feel comfortable speaking about it to a counsellor who is constantly present on the site. We can schedule monthly meetings instead."