Dibyendu Bhattacharya: The regret that I couldn’t come to India cremate my mother will live with me

Actor Dibyendu Bhattacharya, whose mother died last week due to cardiac arrest, will “live with the regret that I couldn’t be with my mother when she breathed her last”, or perform her last rites. And he blames the pandemic for it.

The actor was shooting in Turkey for Ribhu Dasgupta’s untitled film and despite trying hard, he couldn’t travel to India. Back after a complicated and a long travel due to the restrictions, he’s trying to accept the reality.

“I finished my part and just took the flight back home. This is the first time that I’ve come to my house in Kolkata and my mother wasn’t there to greet me. It feels like a void, and an internal emotional war,” says Bhattacharya, who reached Kolkata on May 27.

Recalling the moment he got to know about her demise, he says, “I couldn’t believe or understand what was happening, and thought she’s having trouble breathing and is still alive. I got it when my sister broke down and made me accept it.”

It was work which helped him cope up with this shock, as The Mirzapur 2 actor shares, “Agar mein shoot na kar raha hota toh mere liye yeh jhelne mushkil ho jata. I was away from my mother because of work, and agar main woh bhi nahi karta toh main sab kho deta.”

While he lost his mother to cardiac arrest, Bhattacharya argues that she died of pandemic only.

“It’s because of the pandemic and lockdown that she couldn’t go for regular checkups, or get her tests done. Online bhi kitna hi dhang se hoga check up. We’re losing so many people like this and nobody is keeping a count of deaths that are happening because of this reason,” concludes the Undekhi actor.