"Shocked beyond understanding. Cannot imagine the pain you must've been going through @itsSSR. My heart and prayers go out to your family. Rest in peace," Uthappa said in a tweet.
The Karnataka batsman said it is completely fine to be not be mentally fine and one should always open up and communicate to others about what's going on in the mind. The cricketer's remarks came in the aftermath of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death.
Uthappa, a key member of India's title winning 2007 World T20 campaign under MS Dhoni, had recently revealed that he too battled clinical depression and thought of committing suicide for nearly two years during his the early part of his career, a phase when cricket was perhaps the only thing that kept him from "jumping off a balcony".
"I cannot reiterate this enough. WE NEED TO SPEAK ABOUT WHAT WE FEEL WITHIN. we are stronger than we understand and IT IS COMPLETELY OKAY TO NOT BE OKAY. #depression #MentalHealthMatters," Uthappa added.
Rajput, 34, hailed from Bihar and was educated in Patna and New Delhi, before shifting to Mumbai.
Rajput made a mark of his own in a relatively short career by essaying some challenging roles in Bollywood hits like "Kai Po Chhe", "Shuddh Desi Romance", the biopic "M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story", "Kedarnath" and "Chhichore", among several others.
Bollywood fraternity, leading sportsmen and the nation at large mourned the tragic death of the actor, with social media flooded with condolences for the deceased actor.