Pratyusha Banerjee rose to fame as Anandi in Balika Vadhu and was at the peak of her career when she reportedly died by suicide. It’s been seven years since, but her close friend Preet Kaur Nayak still finds it difficult to come to terms with. In an exclusive chat with Bombay Times, the Imlie actress told us, “I was introduced to Piyu (Pratyusha) by Sara Khan and we hit it off instantly. We got on like a house on fire whenever we met and would have a lot of fun together. We would go for karaoke nights. Despite being terrible singers, we would sing confidently, as we knew we had each other by our side, even though we had our listeners in splits for sure. I haven’t seen a more giving and loving friend than her.”
Pratysha had once expressed to Preet that she wanted to get married and have kids. “She always wanted to get married and start a family. However, since she was too young, I suggested to her that she should concentrate on work for the time being. She would tell me that work wasn’t her priority. Having a settled married life was something she truly desired,” said Preet.
Recalling the unfortunate incident of April 1, Preet got emotional. She said, “A cousin called my husband Vishal Nayak and informed him about Pratyusha. We thought it was a very bad April Fools Day prank. We reprimanded our cousin, but it turned out to be true. I was shattered when I was told Piyu was gone. She was young and had a bright future. My eyes well up whenever I think about the incident. It was tragic, shocking, and heart-breaking.”
Preet and Pratyusha also shared screen space in Adhuri Kahaani Hamari. Regarding their last meeting, Preet shared, “There was something amiss. She was worried about many things, and I explained to her that this is just a temporary phase.”
Just one day before Valentine’s Day in 2016, they planned to meet, but they had cancelled the plan due to the hectic schedule. “We decided to meet some other day. Unfortunately, we never got another opportunity to meet,” said Preet, adding, “Sometimes you take friendship for granted. You want to believe that your friend won’t leave you, but this was like a lesson. A friend might not share with you the trouble they are going through. However, when they ask you to catch up wanting to pour their heart out, consider it a sign that you need to be there. Even if you can’t do much just be there, at least they know you have their back.”
