“I have led a full life. I don’t have any regrets except that I didn’t take care of my health, which I should have. And, I am paying a price for it. But not to worry, I will live long.” It was a promise actor Ashiesh Roy would often make to his sister, Conica Halder. But unfortunately, he couldn’t keep it. The 55-year-old passed away following kidney failure on Tuesday.

“A lot of people must have dismissed Ashiesh’s death as a rumour, because it was so sudden. I have not been able to accept it either, as I had spoken to him even on the day of his demise,” a shattered Conica tells BT, a day after she bid farewell to her younger brother.

Recalling the events of that day, she shares, “He was scheduled to undergo a dialysis that morning. He said that he was feeling weak, and when I asked him to call the doctor, he told me not to worry. I don’t think his (domestic) help understood the seriousness of the situation. If I had been informed, I could have called a doctor and an ambulance in time and he could have been given oxygen support. But, that call wasn’t made to me. His dialysis technicians told me that he didn’t turn up that day. They also said that they could have saved his life, had he contacted them soon.”

Conica says that Ashiesh’s health started failing in 2017, after their mother’s death. “He was devastated after she passed away... House-helps cooked whatever they wished to and his eating habits became irregular. That affected his health, and he developed hypertension and blood sugar. I would always tell him to keep his sugar levels in check. He was also a bit depressed and started cutting off from his friends at that point. In May 2020, he suffered from renal failure, but overcame it. When I visited him last month, he was thinking of a kidney transplant, which was overruled by his doctor. Ashiesh was very particular about his dialysis and never missed it. He was planning to move to Kolkata and stay near me,” she adds.

“Ashiesh had a lot of shoots lined up, but I don’t have the heart to tell anyone that he is no longer with us. I can’t utter those words,” she signs off.