Bangalore: Actress Saira Khan, who played the female lead in controversial film Kamasutra 3D passed away on Friday morning.

The young actress died due to a cardiac arrest. Saira featured in Rupesh Paul's directorial Kamasutra 3D by replacing Sherlyn Chopra as the female lead. The director expressed deep grief at the sudden death of Saira.

"It was difficult for Saira to sign the film because she came from a very conservative Muslim family and to make a debut with such a bold film after all the fuss in the media about it was in itself challenging. It took us months to finally get her on board, but the wait was worth it as nobody else could've done justice to the movie like her," Rupesh Paul said in a statement.

Saira's demise remained unnoticed by most of the media, which upset the director even more.

 

Controversial film ‘Kamasutra 3D’ actress Saira Khan no more

"I found out about the news and was shocked. Later, I noticed that nobody had reported it and that was even more shocking. She deserved to be recognised for her performance and for her to remain unknown despite her brilliance is even more hurtful. It's a time of mourning for us and I hope she rests in peace." Rupesh added.

Saira had been a part of a few regional movies before Kamasutra 3D and was in the running to get her big break with the 86th Academy Award-nominated movie.