Asif Basra was very sincere to his art, remembers Pratik Rajen Kothari

The news of actor Asif Basra's death by suicide has only come as the latest shock to the Hindi film industry in 2020.

Basra was reportedly found hanging at a residential complex in McLeodganj, Himachal Pradesh.

Having made his mark through films like Black Friday (2007), Jab We Met (2007) and, more recently, the Amazon Prime web-series Paatal Lok (2020) and Hostages (2020), the actor was a familiar face and appreciated for his work. In fact, Basra had enjoyed a professionally successful 2020 despite the turmoil around with critically acclaimed work in Paatal Lok and Hostages (Season 2).

As police investigate the reasons for his death, several of his peers have expressed shock and sadness. Directors Hansal Mehta and Rahul Dholakia and artistes Renuka Shahane, Emraan Hashmi, Manoj Bajpayee, Randeep Hooda and Shruti Seth were among the many who were shocked by the news.

Actor-director Pratik Rajen Kothari, who had the fortune of interacting with Basra during the latter's long career, said, "It is a very odd, surreal feeling." Pratik had been working on the trailer for his late father Rajen Kothari's last film as director, Das-Capital: Gulamon Ki Rajdhani. The film, incidentally, features Basra in an important role.

"I remember being a fan after watching Jab We Met," the young filmmaker said. "It was just one sequence at the station with Kareena [Kapoor]. I later watched him on stage and was mesmerized. Das-Capital was happening at a similar time, and we were thrilled to have him on board."

Asked if he had spoken with the actor in recent months, Pratik said, "I haven't spoken to him for a while. But I intended to call him up and convey the news [about the film's forthcoming release]."

Praising Basra and expressing surprise and confusion at his suicide, Pratik Kothari said, "As a person, he came across as someone who was very sincere to his art. You could see it in theatre also. It is very transparent on the stage. I remember that he was sceptical of the Bihari lehja [accent] for our film. He spent a lot of time with our writing team over the dialogues. He was very meticulous with his preparation. He was a very sincere actor."

Pratik mourned that the team of Das-Capital had lost several members even before the film could be released. "I am shocked, to say the least," he said. "This is the fourth person we have lost on this journey. My dad is no more. We lost Sitaram Panchal, Virendra Sharma, who played a part in our film, and now Asif sir."