It was too late by the time 24-year-old Kannada film actor Hemant realised his addiction to smoking had proved fatal. Even as he was battling for life at the M.S. Ramaiah Narayana Hrudayalaya Hospital, he decided that he should leave a message behind.
And he did it literally by scribbling two words: “Don’t smoke” – on a piece of paper, his doctor V.S. Prakash said. Doctors and nursing staff at the hospital said he asked for a pen and paper from his relative and scribbled the terse message.