Actor Saumya Tandon refuses to talk about the fundraiser she had started to help her late Bhabi Ji Ghar Par Hain! co-star Deepesh Bhan’s family when we contact her first. She makes it clear she doesn’t want any “publicity out of this”. When prodded to share how much time it took for them to finally collect the required amount of Rs. 50 lakh, she reluctantly opens up. 

“Deepesh was a very important character in our show, and I had a good rapport with him. He was always respectful. His death was a shock because he didn’t drink or have any bad habits. He had put all his life’s earnings into buying a house in Mumbai after he got married three years ago,” Tandon shares.

The actor recalls that Bhan had faced trouble getting a home loan. Eventually, he managed to get a Rs. 50 lakh loan. “He left behind his wife and a newborn, who had no means to pay off the loan. He didn’t take the option of insurance on his loan, because it would have cost him extra. His wife doesn’t work, her father had died and her brother was unable to assist,” Tandon tells us, adding that people around her dissuaded her by saying this would not yield any results.

However, Tandon went ahead anyway: “We managed to collect Rs. 30 lakh in just three days. That reinstated my belief in humanity. People keep saying there is more bad, but I will say there’s more good in this world.”