By Anandpreet Kaur | India |
These are the final hours of the life and times of Deep Sidhu, a Panjabi actor who catapulted into an influential youth voice in the year-long Indian farmers’ protests, as captured by his girlfriend Reena Rai.
Actor cum political activist Sandeep Singh Sidhu perished in what is officially reported as a car accident a day after Valentine’s Day when he was driving Mahindra Scorpio on the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) highway. Reena, seated next to him in the car as they travelled from Delhi to Panjab, survived.
“My beloved Deep, now that your Bhog has touched the world and your soul is at rest, I’m letting the world into a tiny piece of our life,” Reena said in an Instagram entry yesterday (25 February 2022), capturing events leading to the tragic Feb 15 incident.
She wrote: “In 120 hours, I flew to India, celebrated Valentine’s Day, got into a fatal car accident, lost the love of my life, ended up in the hospital, and flew back home broken.”
Towards the end of the 875-word entry, she said: “The only comfort I have is knowing your death has inspired a generation to pick up your cause and to shape the future of Punjab. You always told me that great change requires great sacrifice.” The note was accompanied by a couple of photos of them together.
Deep and Reena became a hit jodi (couple), as badged by some media, after they co-starred in the 2018 film Rang Panjabi, followed by shooting of another project titled Desi. Rang Panjabi was Reena Rai’s debut film after she won the Miss South Asia beauty pageant in 2014.
Below is Reena Rai’s full message:
120 Hours.
That’s all the time it took from living a life full of joy and love to experiencing heart wrenching loss. In 120 hours, I flew to India, celebrated Valentine’s Day, got into a fatal car accident, lost the love of my life, ended up in the hospital, and flew back home broken.
I know everyone has a lot of questions and I’ll do my best to answer them.
Deep and I fell in love after meeting on the set of Rang Punjab in 2018. Deep was the most loving, compassionate and selfless person that I had ever met. His passion for life was contagious. Our friendship grew throughout the making of the movie. During breaks from filming, we would spend hours chatting about our lives, friends, families, and dreams. After Rang Punjab wrapped, we stayed in touch and our friendship blossomed into love. We became inseparable. Deep and my family shared laughs together exploring San Francisco and attending my sister Rummi’s wedding. Deep and I would also visit his brother Mandeep’s family in Ludhiana and would stay up late playing with his kids. Our future together was beginning to take shape.
Last Sunday, I flew into Delhi to begin a few projects and celebrate Valentine’s Day with Deep since we missed celebrating it last year. It was a magical day that I will always hold dear to my heart. The next day we decided to head out to Punjab before heading home to Mumbai. We packed up our luggage, loaded the Scorpio, and headed out. Deep and I chatted for some time and then I decided to take a nap since I was still jet lagged. I reclined my seat back, took off my shoes, and fell asleep. All I remember next is being thrown violently from the seat, hitting the airbag, and landing in the foot rest. My back felt like it was on fire and I was in complete and utter shock. I looked up and saw Deep not moving. I prayed to Waheguru and asked him to give me the strength to help him. I kept yelling “Deep, Wake Up!” I was finally able to get up and move his chin towards me. The right side of his face was completely covered in blood. I felt faint, leaned back and started yelling for help. A bystander came and pulled me out of the Scorpio and laid me on the ground.
While lying there, I had someone call Mandeep and begged whoever was around to help Deep. He was stuck in the front seat and the car cabin was crushed around him. After the first ambulance arrived, I was put in there for what felt like 30 minutes. I watched as bystanders and paramedics frantically tried and were finally successful in freeing Deep from the Scorpio. The paramedics rushed Deep into the second ambulance and we were both transported to the hospital. I kept asking anyone I saw how Deep was doing and everyone kept telling me he was okay. Something in my heart was telling me differently and I kept calling out for him. My family in the US didn’t tell me about Deep’s passing until I was able to have a family member next to me in the hospital. Finally, after about five hours, my cousin arrived at the hospital from Punjab. At my family’s direction, I was transferred to the National Heart Institute in Delhi to get more tests done. It was there that my family told me Deep had passed. Heartbroken and in shock, I was discharged from the hospital. At the urging of my family, I flew back to the US to receive medical care and am now recovering at home from a spinal fracture. My family hopes that a complete inquiry will be made into Deep’s cause of death and ways to prevent this tragic accident from happening to anyone else.
As I sit here writing this post and watching Deep’s Bhog, the outpouring of love the world has shown for him has been so comforting to me and my family. We miss him dearly. I would like to thank all of the Sangat that have showed Deep so much love and respect. I also want to thank everyone in the world who has held prayers and candlelight vigils to honor Deep. He really did believe you all were his family and I know he is watching all this from above in awe.
To my Deep, I’m dead inside without you. I miss you so much. You promised me you wouldn’t leave me in any lifetime but you left me here all alone. I’m broken. I’m sad. I’m mad. Why did you leave me? I just want you in my arms and to hear you whisper I love you my jaan. The only comfort I have is knowing your death has inspired a generation to pick up your cause and to shape the future of Punjab. You always told me that great change requires great sacrifice. So go my jaan, fulfill your destiny. Inspire the world. I’ll miss you and will forever love you. Soul mates don’t leave each other. I’ll see you on the other side.
Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa
Waheguru Ji Ki Fateh
RELATED STORY:
Actor and farmers’ protest lightning bolt Deep Sidhu dies in car crash (Asia Samachar, 16 Feb 2022)
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