Tried To Prevent My Son From Committing Suicide: Kabir Bedi Says He Was 'Emotionally Devastated'

Actor Kabir Bedi has opened up about the tragic death of his son Siddharth, who died by suicide in 1997.

New Delhi: Actor Kabir Bedi has recently spoken up about the tragic death of his son Siddharth, who died by suicide in 1997. Bedi attended the Sahitya Aaj Tak event in Delhi to promote his forthcoming book, Stories I Must Tell. It is the actor's autobiography which depicts the ups and downs of his life.

During the discussion during the event, he disclosed that he experienced financial setbacks while his son was battling schizophrenia. He was compelled to address this period of his life because the veteran actor wanted to include both his triumphs and failures in his memoirs.

“Whatever I have written in the book is from my heart. I have written about my tragedies in detail as well. Nobody objected to it because whatever I have written is the truth and they know that. There is nothing to hide there,” he said at an Aaj Tak event.

Kabir Bedi said that the loss of his kid had "emotionally devastated" him and left him feeling a great deal of guilt.

“I have had my share of ups and downs, bankruptcy and mistakes which I have written in the book. I suffered great losses due to bad investments. All of this happened when my son was dealing with schizophrenia. I tried to prevent my son from committing suicide but I couldn't and I felt guilty. At the same time, I went through financial disasters. I would go to auditions and did not know what to do. I lost a lot of work due to that. I was emotionally devastated and from there how I built myself again is all a part of my journey,” Bedi stated.

Siddharth was Kabir's child from his first marriage with Protima, a classical dancerIn the 1990s, Siddharth attended Carnegie Mellon University for his studies. He was later diagnosed with schizophrenia. When he was 26 years old, he died by suicide.

In the book, Kabir Bedi also talked openly about his relationships. He brought up a chapter about Parveen Babi, the veteran actor he dated for a while. The actress suffered from mental illness till her death at the age of 50. After battling mental illness, Parveen died at the age of 50. 

Meanwhile, with 'Hulchal', Kabir Bedi made his Bollywood debut in 1971. He achieved fame on a worldwide scale in the 1980s with his Italian Tv show 'Sandokan'.