AHMEDABAD: The heart of Gujarat’s film fraternity broke as the mystery surrounding missing filmmaker Mahesh Jirawala ended in tragedy, with his mortal remains handed over to his grieving family days after the devastating plane crash in Ahmedabad.
Maheshbhai Girdharbhai Kalawadia, fondly known in the industry as Mahesh Jirawala, had left his home in Naroda’s Muralidhar Heights on his Activa scooter, never to return. A director known for his gentle demeanour and creative vision, the 34-year-old vanished without a trace as chaos engulfed Meghaninagar following the horrific Air India crash on 12 June.
As the smoke cleared and the city mourned, Mahesh's absence grew more haunting. His brother, Kartikbhai Kalawadia, reported him missing at Naroda Police Station. Hopes clung to chance, until technical surveillance revealed a chilling clue: Mahesh's phone had gone silent near the crash site. The suspicion of his involvement in the crash began to surface, but the family, clinging to denial, couldn’t accept that Mahesh could be among the dead.
Police urged caution and clarity. Senior officers persuaded the family to provide a DNA sample to rule out possibilities. Reluctantly, a sample from Kartikbhai was taken. The family was adamant—this couldn’t be Mahesh. The thought of losing him in such a sudden, senseless tragedy was simply too much to bear.
Then came the confirmation that shattered their last threads of hope. The forensic DNA report returned a positive match, the body recovered from the crash was indeed Mahesh’s. But the nightmare wasn’t over. His wife Hetalben and family still couldn’t accept the findings. Their grief refused logic, and they pleaded with the police to dig deeper before they would receive his body.
In an extraordinary act of diligence and empathy, the police pressed on. Investigators traced Mahesh’s last known movements, scouring CCTV footage. Then came the breakthrough, the charred remains of an Activa scooter near the crash zone, matched through its engine and chassis number to Mahesh’s vehicle. It was the final, painful piece of evidence.
That confirmation pierced through the family's disbelief. With heavy hearts, they finally accepted the unthinkable, Mahesh Jirawala was gone, a victim not only of fate, but of a disaster that shook an entire city.
In death, as in his films, Mahesh left behind a story full of emotion, longing, and unanswered questions. Only this time, the ending was tragically real.