Gully Boy rapper MC Tod Fod’s mom says he had two heart attacks in four months: ‘Had surgery but he never used to rest’

The mother of rapper Dharmesh Parmar, who recently died at 24, has said in an interview that he had suffered two heart attacks in the last four months. She also shared that Dharmesh, aka MC Tod Fod, was very excited for his Holi special performance in Nasik. The cause of his death is still not known. Dharmesh had featured in Zoya Akhtar’s film Gully Boy and had lent his voice to the song India 91. He was associated with the Mumbai based hip hop collective called Swadesi. (Also read: Gully Boy rapper MC Tod Fod dies at 24, Ranveer Singh and Siddhant Chaturvedi are heartbroken)

Dharmesh reportedly died on Sunday, March 20 but the news of his death surfaced two days later. Gully Boy stars Ranveer Singh and Siddhant Chaturvedi, as well as director Zoya Akhtar mourned his death.

Speaking with Dainik Bhaskar in an interview, Dharmesh’s mother said, “Dharmesh had had two heart attacks before this. He had gone with his friends for a Ladakh trip where he got his first heart attack four months ago. We got to know about it when he had his second heart attack at home a few months ago. He underwent a heart surgery as well but he never used to rest. He was crazy for rap and loved music more than his own life. My child is now gone, and I could not do anything to save him.”

She added, “Perhaps he knew he was not going to return home. He celebrated the festival of Raksha Bandhan just a day before Holi (when he left for Nasik). He has two younger sisters. I do not know what came on his mind, but he celebrated Rakhi, not just with his sisters, but also his aunt’s daughters.”

Directed by Zoya Akhtar, Gully Boy was inspired by the lives of Indian street rappers Divine and Naezy. It was a coming-of-age story about an aspiring street rapper (essayed by Ranveer Singh) from Mumbai’s Dharavi slums. Siddhant Chaturvedi played the role of Ranveer’s mentor MC Sher in the film. The film also featured Alia Bhatt, Kalki Koechlin, Vijay Varma, Amruta Subhash, and Vijay Raaz in important roles.

MC Tod Fod was among the 54 contributors, along with Divine, Naezy, Sez on the beat, Rishi Rich, Dub Sharma, Jasleen Royal, Ace, Ishq Bector, MC Altaf, 100 RBH, Maharya, Noxious D, and Viveick Rajagopalan in the 18-song soundtrack of the film.