"Prima facie it is a case of suicide but we are investigating"
Police have said that actor Asif Basra committed suicide after he was found dead at a private guest house in Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh on November 12, 2020.
Officers say that they discovered the 53-year-old’s body hanging at the property.
It was reported that Asif had leased a property in McLeod Ganj sometime in 2015 and visited the place regularly.
After the actor’s body was recovered by police, it was sent for a post-mortem.
Kangra Senior Superintendent of Police Vimukt Ranjan said:
“Film actor Asif Basra was found hanging in a private complex in Dharamshala.
“A forensic team is at the spot and police is investigating the matter. Prima facie it is a case of suicide but we are investigating the cause. The body has been sent for post-mortem.”
The tragic news comes five months after the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
Filmmaker Hansal Mehta was one of the first to express grief after hearing of Asif Basra’s death.
Manoj Bajpayee also expressed his shock, saying:
“What? This is too shocking!! Shot with him just before Lockdown!!! Oh My God!!!”
What? This is too shocking!! Shot with him just before Lockdown!!! Oh My God!!! https://t.co/alfYTGxChH
— manoj bajpayee (@BajpayeeManoj) November 12, 2020
Asif had featured in numerous Bollywood hits, from Black Friday in 2004 to 2007’s Jab We Met. During his almost 20-year-long career, Asif had major roles in the likes of Krrish 3, Hichki and Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai.
He also featured in several international films like Outsourced and One Night with the King, which starred Omar Sharif and Peter O’Toole.
Asif Basra’s last Bollywood film was in The Tashkent Files in 2019 while his last acting role was in the web series Hostages. The second season premiered in September 2020.
The show’s season two director, Sachin Krishn, revealed his shock at Asif’s sudden death. He said:
“I am stunned by the news. I don’t know the full facts.
“He was such a jovial person on sets. In fact, we used to envy his life because he would stay in the hills and come to Mumbai only to shoot.
“He was not only a fine actor but more importantly, a beautiful person. It feels like a personal loss.”
Sachin revealed that after the second season of Hostages premiered, he tried to contact Asif but the actor never responded.
“I got in touch with every actor after Hostages season two, so I was trying to get in touch with him too.
“I would ask my associates to reach out to him, but there would be no response. I would think, ‘What’s wrong with him?’ and later thought maybe I offended him.
“In this industry, you feel maybe the actor wasn’t happy the way the graph of his character was shown. But now, I am shocked.”
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