Kushal Punjabi (23 April 1977 – 26 December 2019) was an Indian film and television actor. He won the TV reality game show '' Zor Ka Jhatka: Total Wipeout'', the Indian version of US game show '' Wipeout'' in February 2011, taking home the prize of .
Punjabi had been in movies such as
Farhan Akhtar
Farhan Akhtar (born 9 January 1974) is an Indian actor, director, screenwriter, playback singer, producer, and television host who works in Hindi films. Born in Mumbai to screenwriters Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani, he grew up under the influe ...
Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal
''Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal'' ( en, Get Set Goal) is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language sports drama film produced by Ronnie Screwvala and directed by Vivek Agnihotri for UTV Motion Pictures. The film stars John Abraham, Bipasha Basu, Arshad Warsi and Boman ...
'', and Cinevistaa's '' Sssshhh....'' He had also appeared in a number of television series, most recently in '' Ishq Mei Marjawan'' on Colors TV, where he plays an advocate. In addition, he has participated in several reality shows, including '' Fear Factor, Mr. & Miss TV, Paisa Bhari Padega, Nautica Navigators Challenge, Ek Se Badhkar Ek'', and '' Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa''.
He had been a professional
modern jazz
Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early-to-mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo, complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerous changes of key, instrumen ...
and
hip hop dance
Hip hop dance is a range of street dance styles primarily performed to hip hop music or that have evolved as part of hip hop culture. It is influenced by a wide range of styles that were created in the 1970s and made popular by dance crews in ...
r and choreographed the Gladrags Manhunt Megamodel and Mrs. India contests as well as various fashion shows and music videos. He choreographed and directed the 'Star Walk' Fashion event for UMEED (a NGO for children).
Early life and family
Punjabi was born on 23 April 1977 into a Sindhi family. His father is from
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...
, his mother is from
Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India ...
, and he was born and raised in
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...
. As a child, Punjabi was extremely active and started cycling, skating, swimming and dancing very early. In the coming years he played football, and swam for his school and college. He loved travelling and being outdoors, and his spirit of adventure made him an apt candidate for adventure sports which he did with great passion. His love of dance theatre and music helped him in becoming a serious actor, and he went on to do more than 20 TV shows, 5 films, and numerous music videos and commercials.
Career
He started his career as a dancer and model, and participated in ''
Gladrags Manhunt Contest
''Gladrags'' is an Indian magazine which features modeling and related events. Every year they conduct the Manhunt and Mega model Contest, a unisex pageant in India. At the contest the most appealing male and female models are selected as winne ...
'', in 2000. He also appeared in the music album of Shweta Shetty pop song Deewane To Deewane Hai in 1997. His television career began with the TV series '' A Mouthful Of Sky'' in 1995 for DD Metro channel, followed by ''
Love Marriage
A love marriage is one which is driven solely by the couple, with or without consent of their parents, as opposed to arranged marriage. While there is no clear definition of love marriage, the term was in common use globally during the Victorian ...
'' in 2002 on Zee TV, and also appeared in a number of series like ''
Don
Don, don or DON and variants may refer to:
Places
*County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON
*Don (river), a river in European Russia
*Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name
*Don, Benin, a town in Benin
*Don, Dang, a vill ...
'' in 2006 for Star One, ''
Santaan
''Santaan'' () is a 1993 Indian Hindi-language drama film, produced by D. Ramanaidu of Suresh Productions and directed by Dasari Narayana Rao. It stars Jeetendra, Moushumi Chatterjee, Deepak Tijori, Neelam, with music composed by Anand–Milin ...
'' from 2007–2008 for Star Plus, '' Kasamh se'' in 2006 for Zee TV, '' Sssshh...Phir Koi Hain'' for Star One and ''King Aasman Ka Ek Raja'' for Sony TV. He appeared as Sub-inspector in CID: Special Bureau, detective-crime TV series, ''
CID
CID may refer to:
Film
* ''C.I.D.'' (1955 film), an Indian Malayalam film
* ''C.I.D.'' (1956 film), an Indian Hindi film
* ''C. I. D.'' (1965 film), an Indian Telugu film
* ''C.I.D.'' (1990 film), an Indian Hindi film
Television
* ''CID'' ( ...
'' (on Sony TV) from 2003 to 2004 and had a small role in the TV series, '' Kkusum''. In 2004, he appeared as a lead in '' Dekho Magar Pyaar Se'' (on STAR Plus), an Indian adaptation of popular Venezuelan TV series, ''
Mi Gorda Bella
Mi Gorda Bella (English title: My Sweet Fat Valentina) is a Venezuelan telenovela created by Carolina Espada and produced by Radio Caracas Televisión in 2002. This telenovela lasted 178 episodes and was distributed internationally by RCTV Interna ...
'' and also in popular comedy TV series, ''
Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa
''Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa'' () is a 1994 Hindi-language coming-of-age romantic comedy film directed by Kundan Shah, starring Shah Rukh Khan and Deepak Tijori. It also featured Suchitra Krishnamurthy (in her Hindi film debut) and Naseeruddin Shah. P ...
'' on Zee TV. His other shows were ''Antariksh'' in 2008 for Star Plus, '' Yeh Dil Chahe More'' in 2006 for Star One, '' Hum Tum'' in 2008 for Zee Next and ''Rishta dot com'' on Sony TV in 2010 for Yash Raj productions. He also appeared in STAR Plus TV series, ''
Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat
''Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat'' () is a 1996 Indian Hindi-language drama film written and directed by Ashok Gaikwad.
The film marked the Hindi film debut of actress Rani Mukerji. Starting in 1995, principal photography took place in Gangtok and wa ...
'' from 2008 to 2010. In 2010, he did a cameo in
SAB TV
Sony SAB (formerly SAB TV) is an Indian pay television channel owned by Culver Max Entertainment.
History
Sony SAB was launched as SAB TV by Gautam Adhikari and Markand Adhikari under their company Sri Adhikari Brothers (thus the acronym) on ...
's ''
Gutur Gu
''Gutur Gu'' is a silent comedy broadcast on the Indian satellite television channel SAB TV, produced by B. P. Singh and directed by Prabal Barua. It was also India's first silent comedy series. Its cast include, Sheetal Maulik and Sunil Gro ...
'', India's first silent comedy series. He then bagged a prominent role in Cinevista's '' Sssshhh...'',
Farhan Akhtar
Farhan Akhtar (born 9 January 1974) is an Indian actor, director, screenwriter, playback singer, producer, and television host who works in Hindi films. Born in Mumbai to screenwriters Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani, he grew up under the influe ...
Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal
''Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal'' ( en, Get Set Goal) is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language sports drama film produced by Ronnie Screwvala and directed by Vivek Agnihotri for UTV Motion Pictures. The film stars John Abraham, Bipasha Basu, Arshad Warsi and Boman ...
'' (2007).
He was a trained dancer-choreographer and worked as a dancer/trainer with
Shiamak Davar
Shiamak Davar is an Indian choreographer, noted as one of the first to bring contemporary jazz and western forms of dance to India.Mr. & Ms. TV'' (2007), '' Fear Factor'', ''Fun on the Run'' and '' Ek Se Badhkar Ek'' (2008) on Zee TV, and in 2011 won the TV reality game show ''Zor Ka Jhatka'', the Indian version of ''Wipeout!'', which started with 28 contestants, in an obstacle course set in Argentina, and was hosted by Shah Rukh Khan, and was shooting for Balaji Film's '' Rock the Shaadi'' as 1 of the 3 main leads. He also made a wild card entry in the dance reality show '' Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa''.
Death
Punjabi was found dead at his residence in Bandra, Mumbai on 26 December 2019. The cause of death was reported to be
suicide by hanging
Suicide by hanging is the intentional killing of oneself (suicide) via suspension from an anchor-point such as an overhead beam or hook, by a rope or cord or by jumping from a height with a noose around the neck.
Hanging is often considered ...
. He died at the age of 42. He was suffering from depression. Before committing suicide, he distributed his property among his parents and son, as stated in his suicide note.