Can you really miss someone you’ve never even met?

Death is inevitable. Sad as it is, as painful as it, it is the biggest reality of life. It cannot be denied; it cannot be avoided, it has to be faced. In a way, it is funny that the biggest reality of life is death. And what’s even more fearful than death of own is the death of a close one. It leaves just about the biggest void in your heart; a void you cannot fill with anyone or anything else. It is irreplaceable.

The first time I had to deal with death in family was when I was quite young. It was our maternal grandmother. I don’t think I quite grasped the concept of death during the time, or the emotion of it and it still haunts me somehow. I remember my cousin saying that now; we will never be able to see her or never be able to touch her ever again. Death in the family, of a close person you know is traumatizing. But what about the death of someone you did not know personally? Can you really miss someone you’ve never even met?

There have been a lot of deaths in 2020, some due to the pandemic and some due to other reasons. We wish peace for everyone who has had to lose their lives due to one reason or another and heartfelt condolences to people who have had to lose their close ones. The reason I bring up this topic today is a death in the film industry which you all must be familiar with. It has been everywhere on social media. He is a hardworking, brilliant, multi-talented, humble, down to earth person. Notice, I’ve used ‘is’ and not ‘was’ because he lives on through his legacy. I assume all these things from his interviews, things people have been saying, his social media posts. I’ve never met Sushant Singh Rajput personally. And yet, his death has been affecting me in some way. Yes, you can miss someone you’ve never even met.

Sushant’s death has been causing chaos on the social media; people have been deeply affected. I never gave him much thought prior to this, if I were to be honest. I used to watch the television series, the one he started his career with. And I knew about his shift into the film industry but I hadn’t really watched most of his movies. Yet, his death seemed like a shock. And now, I have come to know so much more than I ever did. I now know that he was an extremely talented person who dropped out of his engineering college; he aced some of the most difficult entrance exams, he could write with both hands, he was into astrophysics, he owned a telescope, he was learning to fly an aero plane and much more. I now see his charming witty self in movies that he played so gracefully. I can see his little quirks. I can see that infectious smile. I wish more people would have loved and respected him earlier. He deserved to have such love. I guess the reason most people fill this as a personal loss is because Sushant Singh Rajput is like just any other person, a normal person who chose to pursue his dreams. And that is what makes him so relatable.

I do not want to get into the cause of his death; we all know that is being argued upon and the truth is bound to come out eventually. Now, when I watch his movies, I know that there will never be another new movie of his, another new song of his, another new interview of his. But those are the same things which will shine his presence. He will live on through his movies, his songs, his interviews; such is his aura.