She was a wonderful person: Sooraj Pancholi on Jiah Khan

Sooraj Pancholi was pronounced not guilty by the special CBI Court in the Jiah Khan case on April 28. Jiah died by suicide in 2013 and Sooraj was charged with abetment soon after. Immediately after the judgement, he posted a statement where he said that the last decade has been painful for him and his family, but he was positive that the truth will eventually win.

The 30-year-old actor, in his interview with a leading media house, discussed his decade-long trial coming to an end. He said it was a huge weight off his shoulders and now he can live his life. He added that even when he was in a relationship during the last decade, he couldn’t give 100 percent as his future was uncertain.

“No matter what you have in life, peace is what you need the most, beyond fame, money and success. I have not been at peace for the past 10 years. Every night before I slept, I thought about this. As I woke up, I thought about it,” he said.

He said the case impacted not just him but his entire family: his father (Aditya Pancholi), mother (Zarina Wahab) and sister (Sana).

Sooraj also opened up about the relationship he and Jiah Khan shared. Calling her ‘a beautiful girl who had done a few films’, Sooraj shared that he sent a friend request to Jiah on ‘Facebook’. He said that they were in a relationship for only five months and he was unaware of ‘the magnitude of what she was going through’. He claimed that the late actor was under immense pressure to provide for her two younger stepsisters, mother and her partner.

“She was the only earning member and she wasn’t getting the kind of work that would help her in doing so,” he said.

He claimed that Jiah had tried to slit her hand in 2012 and he had called her mother Rabia in London, requesting her to come to India immediately. He said that Rabia, however, didn’t show up for months.

“Was this a normal parent-child relationship? I was there for her and during that time, we fell in love. She was a wonderful person but my love for her wasn’t enough. She needed familial love,” he said.

He added that Salman Khan, who produced his debut ‘Hero’, was the first person he called after getting cleared. Sooraj said that Salman has done a lot for him, but he won’t exploit the relationship for work.