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Indian actor Kushal Punjabi died of an apparent suicide on Friday. He was 42.
Punjabi, who starred in shows such as Ishq Mein Marjawan and Hum Tum and the movie Salaam-e-Ishq: A Tribute to Love with Priyanka Chopra, was found hanging inside his Mumbai apartment according to local reports. Police found a suicide note.
His parents had repeatedly tried to reach him by phone since Thursday, and when they were unable to, they contacted his friends. When they themselves failed to reach him, they used a spare key to enter his apartment, where they found his body. They then called the police, the Times of India reported.
According to reports, Punjabi is also survived by his sisters, his wife, a foreign national who works for a shipping firm in China, and their three-year-old son Kian, who lives with her.
Members of the Bollywood community, including Punjabi’s friend and fellow Indian TV star Karanvir Bohra, took to social media to publicly mourn the actor.
“Ur demise has shocked the hell out of me. I’m still in denial @itsme_kushalpunjabi,” Bohra wrote on Instagram. “I know you are in a happier place, but this is unfathomable. The way you lead your life really inspired me in more ways than one….but what was I to know. Your zest for dancing, fitness, off-road biking, fatherhood and above all that, that smiling face of yours, your happy-go-lucky nature your warmth all that was so genuine.”
“I’m gonna miss you so much #kushlani,” he added. “You will always be rememberd as a guy who lived a full life. #dancingdaddy #fit #lifeenthusiast #biker #smilingface #onelifeliveitright #restinpeace #omnamoshivaya.”