When Shekhar Suman went through the ‘greatest tragedy’, son Ayush’s death: ‘Heartbreaking’ | Bollywood News

Shekhar Suman has often described himself as fortunate to have found success in the entertainment industry with relative ease. His very first film was Utsav, in which he shared the screen with Rekha, and his career took off soon after. However, just a few years into his rise, tragedy struck. His elder son, Aayush, was diagnosed with a rare heart ailment. Doctors reportedly gave him just eight months to live, but Aayush survived for another four years. When he died in 1995 at the age of 11, Shekhar and his wife, Alka, were left devastated. The loss pushed both of them into a prolonged period of grief and depression.
In an Instagram post last year, Shekhar reflected on the difficult years that followed Aayush’s death.
“We had just come out of the greatest tragedy of our lives, having lost our elder son Aayush to a rare heart ailment. Things were very difficult. Alka and I went through severe depression and despair for years. Adhyayan was and is our great source of strength. He became the reason to live. We see Aayush in him. Addy was too small to understand the magnitude of this tragedy. Alka was stronger than me. I crumbled and did not want to live. But Alka gave me a lot of support and kept the family together, standing like the Rock of Gibraltar.”
Shekhar Suman with his first born Aayush
Speaking to ABP News in 2024, Shekhar spoke about the lengths he went to in the hope of saving his son. “There hasn’t been a religious place I didn’t visit or medicine I didn’t try. There can be nothing more heartbreaking than a parent seeing their child dead; the wound has only deepened with time.”
‘We cried for four years before he went away’
Even after Aayush’s death, Shekhar and Alka found it difficult to move on. In an interview with Bollywood Bubble, Shekhar recalled the years his family spent living with the knowledge that they could lose Aayush at any moment.
“It was 1989 when my son was terminally ill. That was the end of Shekhar Suman, my career. I thought it was the end of my life. Each day that passed, I sat next to my son, holding him in my arms, thinking that one day he was going to go away. We cried for about four years before he went away. He was given eight months’ time, but he survived for four years. It was the most trying time of my life. I have been through a lot.”
Shekhar Suman with his family
Shekhar also recalled how the tragedy affected his younger son, Adhyayan, who was just three years old when Aayush died.Story continues below this ad
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“I remember very clearly when Aayush was lying on an ice slab and we had kept Adhyayan away. That evening, he came and saw his brother lying there. He saw everybody crying. He was three and was taken away. A couple of days later, he came to me and said, ‘Bhaiya comes to my window and talks to me.’ I didn’t want to probe it further. But something within him changed. He has been carrying this baggage since then.”
The family continues to remember Aayush, Shekhar said. “Every day, we talk to him. We think about him. I don’t know why God did this to us. To console you, people say all kinds of things, like, ‘Yeh karma hai pichhle janam ka.’ But all the seers we have met said that he will definitely give darshan and return to our home.”
According to Shekhar, both he and Alka continued to hope that they would somehow meet their son again.Story continues below this ad
‘Did you meet Aayush?’
In the same interview, Shekhar recalled an incident that he described as deeply unsettling. He said that in 2009, when he was contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Patna Sahib, his wife Alka visited the Kashi Vishwanath Temple while he was away campaigning.
“At one point, Alka went to Baba Vishwanath Temple. I was campaigning and had my phone in my pocket. I had forgotten to put it on silent, and it started ringing. Normally, no one speaks in the middle of a speech. I could have ignored it or answered and said, ‘I’ll call you later.’ But instead, I said, ‘Bolo.’” When Alka asked if he knew what had happened, Shekhar said his first thought was, “Did you meet Aayush?” “She said, ‘How did you know? I met him right outside the temple. But how did you know?’”
Shekhar said Alka later told him that a young boy had knocked on her car window and asked for money. Without looking at him, she handed him Rs 10. According to Shekhar, the boy responded, “Itne se mera kya hoga?”
The words reportedly stunned Alka because Aayush had faced several dietary restrictions during his illness and was often given small portions of food. He would apparently say the same thing: “Itne se mera kya hoga?”Story continues below this ad
When Alka looked at the boy, Shekhar claimed, she believed she was seeing Aayush. Overwhelmed, she reportedly reached into her purse to give him more money, but he had disappeared the time she looked up.
Shekhar said he believed the incident was a brief meeting between Aayush and his mother. The account remains a personal experience shared the family and cannot be independently verified.
Shekhar and Alka’s appearance on Raaz Pichhle Janam Ka
In their search for answers and a possible connection with their son, Shekhar and Alka also appeared on the reality show Raaz Pichhle Janam Ka in 2009. Hosted Ravi Kishan and aired on NDTV Imagine, the show was built on the premise that one could connect to their past life and sessions on the show were conducted Mumbai-based psycholog Trupti Jayin. The sessions used hypnosis to explore what practitioners described as memories of previous lives or incarnations.
During his session, Shekhar attempted to understand what he believed could be a past-life connection with Aayush. He was taken back to England in 1873, where he claimed to have been an Englishman whose son died in a fire at the building where they lived.Story continues below this ad
At the end of the session, Shekhar said, “I know wherever my son is, I will meet him. After I leave, I will meet him and hug him. He is waiting for me, and so am I. I don’t want to lose him again.”
The show later faced criticism and questions over the credibility of its claims. After two seasons, Raaz Pichhle Janam Ka went off air.
DISCLAIMER: This article shares personal reflections on family loss, emotional hardship, and grief. The experiences and personal beliefs expressed are those of the individual and are presented for informational and human-interest purposes only, rather than as medical, psychological, or professional advice.