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In the wake of veteran actor Rituraj Singh’s recent death, actor Anup Soni, a close friend, fondly remembered their bond that spanned decades. “It is really shocking that Rituraj is not there. He is really sad and shocking; I’m still in disbelief. “I didn’t know he had a pancreatic disease,” he says in a broken voice. Also read | Rituraj Singh dies at 59: Milap Zaveri and Shweta Basu Prasad remember the actor
‘I first saw him when I was in my first year’
“The connection with Ritz (Rituraj Singh) was pure. I first saw it when I was in my first year at the National School of Drama. I was acting in a play at the Shri Ram Center with Barry John. Rituraj and Manoj Bajpayee were there and I really loved the play; That’s how I first remembered it. When I came to Mumbai, he was already acting in Banegi Apni Baat and many others,” reflects Soni.
The actor’s journey with Singh blossomed in Mumbai, where they both embarked on their acting careers. “I had to do a show called Safar with him,” he continues, “Me, Irrfan bhai (the late actor Irrfan), Ritz, Deepika Deshpande, Kitu Kitwani and Karan Shah, we were all together. That’s where the friendship with him began.”
‘The bond was like a guru’
Recalling Singh’s guidance and camaraderie during their collaboration, the 49-year-old expresses admiration for his mentorship. “I was just starting out and was very new at the time, but the others were already established by then. I was an absolute newcomer in front of him and he always guided me, he never had an attitude of being a senior. We connected well because we both had theater experience at NSD. The bond was like that of a guru,” he shares and adds, “He used to tell me, ‘Keep working, kaam karoge toh log dekhenge (If you work, people will watch you)’.”
Their friendship transcended professional hierarchies and evolved into a beloved companionship. “Senior junior ke baad hum dost hogye the (We became friends after starting as senior-junior). I never called him sir or anything like that, always Ritz. We had a great time and kept meeting up even after that as we had many friends in common,” Soni tells us.
“We even recently had a scene together in the film in Satyamev Jayate. We were in Lucknow for two days and chatted about the good old days. “He is someone I have known for years,” she concludes.