‘The show must go on. But it’s easier said than done,” says actor Sapna Thakur, who talks about returning to the sets of the TV show Ali Baba: Dastaan-e-Kabulafter the death of co-actor Tunisha Sharma, who died by suicide on one of the show’s sets last week.
“The moment I reached the set, I felt heaviness in my chest. I don’t know what to call it,” says Thakur, adding, “It is very difficult to give words to the feeling which was there on the set. It seemed like a heavy weight was tied to us, and we were walking with that weight.” Thakur had shot some scenes on Thursday last week.
After Sharma’s death, the male protagonist of the show, Sheezan Khan has been in police custody on the charges of abetment of suicide, with several reports coming around their relationship and alleged break-up.
Describing the atmosphere on the set, Thakur reveals that people weren’t talking much and it was unlike usual. “The whole team is yet to come out of the shock. Going back on the set to shoot came with a heavy feeling. The feeling was not very nice. It is very easy to say that the show must go on, but when you face and undergo it, you realize how difficult it is,” she says.
When she got the call to report on the set, the first question that Thakur had on her mind was – ‘Are we shooting on the same set?’ And she heaved a sigh of relief on being informed that the team is shooting on some other set.
“I asked because I don’t want to go on that set. We have so many memories there. I went for the shoot because we were not shooting on the same set. I don’t know when I will be next called to shoot as there are many changes which are being planned after Tunisha’s shocking death,” she informs.
When it comes to the unfortunate and shocking incident, Thakur says she is still living in denial.
“She was always happy and dancing on the set. We never saw her sad or even quiet on the set. She was always chirpy, singing and dancing around. She was from my hometown, Chandigarh, and we used to talk in Punjabi. Khud mein excited rehti thi. I am shocked to know that she was in depression, and was dealing with a stressful situation,” says the actor, who posted a video with Tunisha on Instagram, which has now gone viral.
On the reports around her relationship with Sheezan, Thakur maintains silence and just says, “We are also getting to know the depth of their bond with the reports that are coming now.”