Actor Nimrat Kaur has opened up about the trauma of losing her father, Major Bhupender Singh, in Kashmir when she was only 11 years old. Nimrat recalled how her mother, who was in her early to mid-30s at the time, was left to raise her and her sister after the tragedy.

Major Bhupender Singh, an Indian Army officer, was posted in Kashmir when he was abducted and killed by terrorists in January 1994. He was later posthumously awarded the Shaurya Chakra.

Nimrat Kaur recalls losing father at 11

In a recent conversation with ANI, Nimrat Kaur said her mother was very young when their world changed overnight.

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She said, “My mom was very young when we lost my father in Kashmir. She was literally in her early to mid-30s. So, the world she knew collapsed. We were just two young girls she was bringing up. We had family around us to support us at the time, especially from my maternal side. But, having said that, the life we knew was over.”

Nimrat said it was the two daughters who gave her mother the courage to rebuild their lives.

“It was really, really traumatic for her. I think the reason she went on and found the courage to bring herself together was because she recognised that these two kids had an entire life ahead of them. I think that’s what gave her the courage,” she said.

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Nimrat Kaur says father was kidnapped by men posing as soldiers

Recalling the circumstances surrounding her father’s death, Nimrat Kaur said Major Bhupender Singh was kidnapped while returning from an official duty.

“He was actually kidnapped on a normal day of work. He was going somewhere for a duty that he had been assigned and then, on his way back, he was kidnapped by people who posed as soldiers. They were wearing army fatigues and he was taken away,” she said.

Nimrat said the terrorists made several demands over the following seven days, including the release of people held captive in India.

“There were some ridiculous demands. They demanded the release of other people who were in captivity in India, and other ridiculous demands that came up over a period of seven days,” she said.

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The family was visiting Major Bhupender Singh in Kashmir at the time. Nimrat recalled that she, her mother and sister were initially in Verinag but were later moved to Srinagar after the situation became unsafe. On the seventh day, they received news that he had been killed.

Recalling what she had learned about the conversations before he was killed, she said, “He told them that, ‘I have a family, I have two girls.’ I know that he was thinking of us in his last thoughts. That was all that I think he would have wanted to come back to.”

‘I saw my father leave for work, then saw him in a coffin’

Nimrat Kaur said the circumstances of her father’s death left the family without any sense of closure. “I saw my father leave for work that morning. I just remember him leaving and then, after that, the next time I saw him was in a coffin. So, there is no closure there,” she said.

The actor added that the passage of decades has not erased the pain of the loss.

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“It’s a strange feeling even after all these years because, technically, you feel like it’s been so long. It’s been a few decades, but nothing quite repairs that. Not for my mom, not for my sister, not for me, and not for the rest of the family.”

Nimrat Kaur credits her mother for rebuilding their lives

The Lunchbox actor also spoke at length about her mother’s resilience and the way she raised two daughters after losing her husband.

“I really feel like the way my mother has brought us up and the way she has rebuilt her life and rebuilt our lives after that, I don’t know of many women who would be able to do that single-handedly and so respectfully and in such a dignified way,” she said.

After Major Bhupender Singh’s death, Nimrat Kaur, her mother and sister moved to Noida, where her maternal grandparents lived.