'I Couldn’t Even Look At My Family': Sooraj Pancholi Recalls Trolling & Trauma During Jiah Khan Case
Actor Sooraj Pancholi opens up about the emotional impact of the Jiah Khan suicide case, revealing how it changed his relationship with family and affected his career.
Actor Sooraj Pancholi, whose life took a drastic turn following serious allegations in connection with Jiah Khan’s death, has opened up about the emotional and personal toll the case took on him. In a recent interview with SCREEM, Sooraj reflected on the long legal battle and its deep impact on his mental health and family life.
"We Couldn’t Make Eye Contact": Sooraj on Family Struggles During Trial
Speaking about how the prolonged case affected his relationship with his family, Sooraj said,
“My equation with my family is better than ever now because there was a point in our lives where we couldn’t make eye contact with each other and speak because there was so much pain each one of us was going through. Now we can look at each other and smile at the past. When something like that happens to a family, we, of course, get close. We were not that close before the incident, but after that, it brought us very close.”
He also shared that he often felt misunderstood and sidelined by the industry and the media but credited his support system for helping him stay strong.
“Even during the low phase, I was always positive because I had people around me who were a good support system. Ups and downs are a part of a person’s life, not every day can be a happy day. The trolling, the news, the bashing, being pointed at, not getting work, being pushed on the side, seeing other people go much ahead of you — everything gets to you. You have to be strong for yourself, there is no way out,” he added.
Jiah Khan’s Death and Legal Case Background
Jiah Khan, best known for her roles in Nishabd and Ghajini, was found dead at her Mumbai residence on June 3, 2013. Her body was discovered by her mother. Following the incident, Sooraj Pancholi, who was in a relationship with Jiah at the time, was arrested on charges of abetment to suicide.
The case was largely based on a six-page letter believed to have been written by Jiah, detailing her alleged “intimate relationship, physical abuse, and mental and physical torture” by Sooraj Pancholi. According to the investigating agency, the contents of the note indicated emotional turmoil that allegedly led her to take her own life.
Sooraj, son of veteran actors Aditya Pancholi and Zarina Wahab, consistently denied all allegations and was finally acquitted of the abetment to suicide charges in 2023, a decade after the case began.
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