Shanthi Priya left acting for love, married actor from big film family; lost him 10 years later: ‘He passed away on the dining table, just had a hiccup…’

In an exclusive conversation with SCREEN, Shanthi Priya recalled the time they first met. “It was for an event. We were supposed to do dance rehearsals when I met him. I looked into his eyes and had this special feeling. He came from a huge film family, but he never had that attitude in him. He dressed in a very simple manner. Eventually, we got to know each other and within a year of our first meeting, we tied the knot.”

Explaining her reason behind leaving films soon after marriage, the actress shared, “I just got married and I wanted to enjoy my married life. I wanted to give my best to it. Bombay was completely a new place for me and I was from South India and he was a mix of Maharashtra and Bengal, so I wanted to learn all that and give my all to it. It wasn’t ever like they asked me to stop acting or such.”

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Shanthi Priya was happily married to Siddharth and they had two sons together. They were living a normal life until in 2004 when Siddharth suffered a massive heart attack and died on spot.

Recalling that chilling moment, Shanthi Priya shared: “It was shocking. It was evening… dinner time. As usual he was performing his fatherly duties. He was teaching something about importance of sharing to my younger son. We were all at the dinner table. Me, him and our two sons when he suddenly had a hiccup and he dropped his head.” Shanthi and the kids couldn’t process what just happened with them.

She added: “For him, it was beautiful but for us, it is unforgettable moment. I couldn’t think or do anything. It was my first time seeing someone having a heart attack. My maid came, she tried a couple of things to bring him back to life. We had a doctor staying upstairs, we called him. Somehow, we put him on the sofa. He tried all kind of things, injected something, but we couldn’t revive him. The doctors declared him dead. I was stuck. I didn’t know how to react. I didn’t know whether to express my feelings or to take over the responsibilities.”

The incident changed Shanthi Priya. The shock of losing her husband made her cold. “I suddenly started to push people away. I shooed them. I didn’t cry. Didn’t want to feel helpless. I didn’t want to seek help from anyone. After all the rituals were over, I suddenly realised that ‘oh, he is not with us anymore.’ My mom asked me whether I want to return to her; I refused. I kept a strong face while sulking inside.”

The shock even brought a change in her lifestyle. She was struggling mentally. Sharing her experience, Shanthi said: “I was off colours. I only wore white. I had some kind of things going on in my head. One day, when my mother came to me, she was shocked to see me like that. Looking at my kids, she yelled at me for behaving like living dead. She said: ‘Do you think your kids deserve this? You are the only parent they have. I was uneducated and single mother and yet managed to give good life to you and your siblings, in your case, you are financially strong, independent and educated.’ This hit me hard. This brought me back to my senses. It was then I pulled myself, looked at my children and said, ‘they don’t deserve this.'”

During her tough time, it was her family who stood with her like a rock and continue to be so.

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