Actor and director Rajesh Dhruva was among those to break the news of TV actor Sampath J Ram’s death on Sunday. However, contrary to reports stating that the 35-year-old was in “depression” and had “financial troubles”, Dhruva has come out to urge fans to not believe such rumours. In a video posted on Instagram, he called Ram a “broad-minded” personality who would never stop scouting for opportunities and always had a plan B in mind, in case something he envisioned didn’t work out.

Dhruva, on Sunday, shared the news of Ram’s death through a Facebook post in Kannada that loosely translates to, “We don’t have the strength to bear your separation, so much is left [to be done]. There is still a lot of time to make your dreams come true, we have to see you in big stages. Come back please.”

Though the cause of death is reported to be suicide, Dhruva reveals it was an “accident”. “Around 2am on Sunday morning, I got a call from a few mutual friends of ours, saying something is wrong and we have to rush to the hospital. At first, I thought it was some kind of a prank. But, when I reached Nelamangala hospital, I realised what had happened. Sampath’s sister had brought him in,” he says, adding, “He and his wife had a minor argument. He threatened to kill himself if she didn’t talk to him. He didn’t mean to… Things went wrong.”
Dhruva, who has known Sampath since the beginning of the latter’s show Agnisakshi almost 10 years ago, is extremely sad to lose a friend. “He was such a happy person. He had no issues in life. He had a lot of opportunities lined up as well. He was critically acclaimed in the industry and we always talked about the kind of films we’d do [in future]. He wanted to explore various film industries, not just Kannada. He had a lot left to do but he went away too soon,” he concludes.
Actor Vaisshnavi talks to us about late co-actor Sampath J Ram, who played the role of her brother in Agnisakshi
Vaisshnavi reveals she hadn’t met the actor since Agnisakshi ended, two years ago. “He had called me for a party and even his wedding, but I couldn’t attend due to work commitments. I spoke to him over the phone and wished him all the luck. It hasn’t even been a year since he got married. In fact, from what I know, his wife is currently five months pregnant. I don’t know what drove him to do this at this point of time. I haven’t received any confirmation on why he took this step. He was a go-getter and never let work get the best of him. He was the kind of guy who always took up opportunities. He was even running a business on the side,” she shares.
When asked whether the pressure in the Kannada TV industry could be a driving factor, Vaisshnavi rubbishes the same, saying: “Pressure exists everywhere. It only impacts if you let it. Sampath was not the kind of person to let pressure get to him. It was definitely some other reason. I’m at a loss of words as to what it could be.”