Mumbai: Actor Mandira Bedi’s husband Raj Kaushal passed away earlier this week after suffering a massive cardiac arrest. It was heartbreaking to see a grieving Mandira performing the last rites of her husband and even carrying the bier to the crematorium. In an interview now, their close friend and music composer Sulaiman Merchant talked about what happened a few hours before Raj’s demise.

In an interview with ETimes, Sulaiman, who has been friends with Raj and Mandira for years, revealed that the producer had told his wife that he was having a heart attack. The music director said that Mandira acted immediately after seeing Raj’s condition and called up their friend Ashish Chowdhry who landed up at their house as soon as he could. Sulaiman revealed that when they were in the car heading for the Lilavati Hospital, Raj lost his pulse and died even before he could be given medical treatment.

Sulaiman explained: “Raj was feeling uneasy in the evening. Well, he took an antacid tablet. Raj told Mandira that he was getting a heart attack. Mandira acted swiftly and called Ashish Chaudhary, who rushed to their place. Mandira and Ashish put him in the car but he was losing consciousness. I think they drove off, taking him to the Lilavati Hospital if I’m not wrong. But in the next 5-10 minutes, they realised that he had no pulse. Before they reached the doctor, it was too lateRaj was feeling uneasy in the evening. Well, he took an antacid tablet. Raj told Mandira that he was getting a heart attack. Mandira acted swiftly and called Ashish Chaudhary, who rushed to their place. Mandira and Ashish put him in the car but he was losing consciousness. I think they drove off, taking him to the Lilavati Hospital if I’m not wrong. But in the next 5-10 minutes, they realised that he had no pulse. Before they reached the doctor, it was too late.”

Raj has had a heart attack before in his 30s after which both he and the entire family took the best care of his health. Sulaiman said, “I think he was 30-32 then. But they took a lot of care after that attack, and he’d kept fine since then.”

A popular ad filmmaker and producer, Raj Kaushal was known as a lively and healthy man in his social circuit. He and Mandira married in 1999 after which they welcomed their first child in 2011. The couple adopted a daughter later and named her Tara Bedi Kaushal.

May his soul rest in peace!