Remembering legendary icons we lost this year

Unfortunately, this year, we’ve had to witness the passing away of our beloved celebrities.
This year has been plagued by sudden accidental deaths and suicides. Irrespective of the nature and cause of these deaths, even the slightest utterance of the word ‘death’ is disastrous to hear.

Another important aspect to address in today’s round-up is the rise in the number of suicide cases. Suicide occurs more often that not in older people when compared to the younger demographic and sadly, we denounce this. From the perspective of public mental health, suicide is the main issue to address.

Let’s do a short overview of the most devastating cataclysmic celebrity deaths which occurred this year.

SUPERSTAR KRISHNA
Actor Ghattamaneni Krishna, who was popularly known as superstar Krishna, died due to cardiac arrest on November 15. The actor, who was 79 years old, passed away just a couple of months after his first wife, Indiramma, breathed her last on September 28. Krishna began his career in 1965 with Thene Manasulu, and went on to become one of the top actors in the industry with over 350 films to his credit. His death was described as the end of an era, as he was one of the last pillars standing from Telugu cinema’s golden era.

QUEEN ELIZABETH II
Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning British monarch, died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8. She became Queen in February 1952 and reigned for 70 years. She died at the age of 96. The queen was buried next to her late husband, Prince Philip, in St. George’s Chapel. With the Queen’s death, her eldest son, King Charles Ill was anointed as the new monarch of England.

TWITCH BOSS
The former Ellen DeGeneres show DJ died by suicide on December 13, Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner. Following news of Boss’ death, countless celebrities took to social media to share their condolences—including DeGeneres. Law enforcement sources tell Stephen’s wife Allison Holker ran into an LAPD station and she was frantic because she said Stephen had left home without his car — something that was not like him at all. A short time later paramedics got a call for a medical emergency at an L.A. hotel and they found Stephen there, dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene!

CHALAPATHI RAO
Chalapathi Rao, who had been a prominent presence in Telugu cinema for six decades, died on December 25 due to cardiac arrest. He was 78 years old. The actor, who made his debut through Gudachari 116 in 1966, has acted in more than 270 films. As soon as word of Chalapathi Rao’s demise spread, his colleagues in the business and admirers turned to social media to express their condolences.

TUNISHA SHARMA
Tunisha Sharma, allegedly died by suicide on the sets of her television show in Vasai near Mumbai on December 24. In regards to her death, actor Sheezan Khan, has been arrested as part of an investigation and former girlfriend Tunisha Sharma. According to reports, it seems like he was in touch with another woman who was his ex-girlfriend, the police claimed. The police said Sheezan was talking to his another ex-girlfriend on WhatsApp but later deleted all his chats with her!
Even, actor Kangana Ranaut took to instagram stories and shared her thoughts on the recent death of Tunisha Sharma.

LATA MANGESHKAR
The Bharat Ratna who enchanted the world with her mellifluous voice passed away on February 6, 2022. She was suffering from age-related health issues. A favourite of all generations, Mangeshkar’s contributions to the music industry has been infinite. Not just a recipient of the highest civilian award, the Nightingale of India had several feathers to her cap from Guinness World Record, 15 National Awards, four Filmfare Special Awards, and many more.

SIDDHU Moose Wala
May 29 was a shocking day for music lovers, especially Punjabi music fans. Singer-politician Sidhu Moose wala was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Punjab’s Mansa district this day. The incident took place when the attackers blocked him and fired more than 30 shots at his vehicle killing him on the spot.

VIKRAM GOKHALE
Vikram Gokhale, one of India’s finest actors, passed into the ages on November 26 at the age of 77. He spent most of his life working in theatre, Hindi films and Marathi films, giving us these gems to remember him by. Gokhale worked right till the end, never slowing down and certainly, never stopping. The film fraternity got together to return their love for him with a special prayer service, where they showed the world just what his contribution to cinema was and what he meant to them.

JEAN-LUC GODARD
Jean-Luc Godard reinvented cinema countless times over the course of seven decades. He died on September 13, 2022, at the age of 91. His movies broke traditional cinema forms and heralded the radical new wave film movement of the 1960s. The filmmaker used assisted suicide, which in his case was medically and legally validated. Godard suffered from multiple disabling pathologies!

RAJU SHRIVASTAV
Comedian Raju Srivastav passed away in Delhi. He was 58. He was admitted to AIIMS, on August 10, after he suffered a heart attack. Raju Srivastav was on ventilator support for 15 days, after which he regained consciousness. However, on September 1, after he ran a fever as high as 100 degrees, he was out on ventilator support again. Raju Srivastav’s chief advisor Ajit Saxena said that despite best efforts by the doctors, the comedian could not be saved!

BAPPI LAHIRI
Popular music composer and singer, Bappi Lahiri died on 16 February 2022 due to underlying health issues. ‘Bappi Da’ had numerous chartbusters to his credit, not just in Bollywood but also in Bengali, Telugu and Kannada movies. He died on February 15 in Mumbai, of obstructive sleep apnoea at the age of 69.

SHANE WARNE
Shane Warne’s death on March 4 shocked the cricket fraternity and fans. The 52-year-old was found unconscious in his Thailand resort. An autopsy later declared that he died of natural causes!