Kruttika Desai: My world turned upside down after my husband passed away just before the lockdown

Kruttika Desai

, who is currently essaying the role of Suman, the family matriarch in

Pandya Store

, suffered a personal setback after she lost her husband, Bollywood actor/director

Imtiiaz Khan

on March 16, 2020, just five days before the country went into lockdown.

Talking about the difficult time, Kruttika says, “My world turned upside down after my husband passed away suddenly. There were pros and cons to the lockdown, because in a way, it was nice to have that peace and heal quietly at home with my daughter Ayesha. I needed time to deal with this tragedy and the lockdown gave me that time. On the other hand, just a few days after he passed away, my daughter and I were left all alone — no one could come and visit us or comfort us in our time of grief. We had to come to terms with our loss alone.”

Ask her how she has dealt with the loss and she says, “It was tough, but the way he said goodbye was heartening. He said, ‘Chalo Kruttika, I am going now’ and closed his eyes. He conveyed so many things through his eyes in those last moments, and bestowed his love and strength on me. That gave me the courage to move on and become stronger for my daughter, who was very close to him.”

Kruttika, who was known as the Mangla of Buniyaad in the 80s, went on to do many interesting shows like A Mouthful of Sky and Zameen Asmaan, Mere Angne Mein. She reveals how she met Imtiiaz after he cast her for a play he was directing in 1988. At that time, Kruttika was 23 and Imtiiaz was 41. She says, “We started rehearsing together and fell in love so organically that it became obvious we would tie the knot. He was a talented, charming and intelligent man. I realised once I got to know him better that the age gap didn’t matter at all.”

Ask her if she would look for a companion after a few years and she says, “No, I don’t think I want to have a companion now. My life partner was enough. I am happy and blessed to have had him.”