Zarina Wahab claims Sooraj Pancholi broke up with Jiah Khan a month before her death: ‘She was depressed because of…’

Zarina Wahab spoke about her son Sooraj Pancholi dating late actor Jiah Khan before she died by suicide in 2013. Talking to Nayandeep Rakshit, she stated that Jiah was depressed when she took her life, but it was due to facing rejection from the Telugu film industry. She also spoke of the call Sooraj received but could not answer. (Also Read: Sooraj Pancholi says Salman Khan trusted him during trial in Jiah Khan case: ‘He has experience of media trial’)

Zarina Wahab on Sooraj Pancholi-Jiah Khan

Zarina was asked about Sooraj’s relationship with Jiah, and she claimed that the two had broken up a month before the death. She said, “A lot of people don’t know this, so I want to clarify it. The friendship or whatever they had…Salman was about to launch him (Sooraj), so I asked him to put a stop to it. He broke it off with her (Jiah) because her mother also wasn’t happy about it. She asked if she could meet him sometimes, and he agreed to, only as a friend. They had broken up a month before the incident took place.” 

Zarina then claimed that Jiah was dejected because she was rejected ‘on the spot’ for a Telugu film. “She was about to try her luck in Telugu films, but she got rejected on the spot. She was supposed to act with Gopichand; they took Rakul Preet in that film later on. She tried to call Sooraj, but he was busy and couldn’t pick up her call. By the time he got back to her that night, she was already dead. Now, isn’t it wrong for people to blame him? Only God knows what happened to her. Maybe she couldn’t handle that rejection in the south well. He went through a lot for 10 years; he was in his early 20s. I cannot explain what we went through as a family,” she said. 

Jiah Khan’s case

Jiah, who was best known for starring in Nishabd and Ghajini, was found dead at her home in Mumbai on 3 June 2013 at age 25. Based on a letter that was seized a week later, Mumbai Police booked Sooraj for abetment to suicide, and he was arrested. The letter mentioned her troubled relationship with Sooraj, alleging that he mentally and physically abused her. In 2023, a special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court acquitted Sooraj in the case. “Due to paucity of evidence, this court can’t hold you (Sooraj Pancholi) guilty, hence acquitted,” said Judge AS Sayyed of the special CBI court in Mumbai.