Mumbai: Sunjay Kapur, the well-known Indian auto magnate and Karisma Kapoor’s former spouse, collapsed on an English polo pitch on June 12, 2025; the shock rippled across social media long before the news agencies sorted their alerts. Photographs of his last swing at the ball soon crowded the feeds beside hushed tributes from business colleagues.
The fatal episode unfolded at the Guards Polo Club during an afternoon match against the Sujan side. Eyewitnesses reported he accidentally ingested a bee, went into immediate anaphylaxis, and then suffered a sudden cardiac arrest that even a medical team already on standby could not reverse. He was 53 years old.
Three days before that match, he had typed a brief reflection for his followers on “Your time on Earth is limited.” Leave the what-ifs to the philosophers and instead dive headfirst into the why-nots. Under the tagline ‘Progress demands bold choices, not perfect conditions’ and a #MondayMotivation tag, the post began ricocheting through inboxes the instant word of his passing broke.
Just hours before he was killed in the accident, Sunjay Kapur sent a brief post on X. He wrote that the news of Air India Flight AI-171 crashing near Ahmedabad was terrible and added, ‘My thoughts and prayers are with all the families affected.’ That final note now hangs in the air like an unreturned phone call.
Kapur was not only the chairman of Sona Comstar but also a familiar face on polo fields. He captained the Aureus team and chased the ball with that combination of caution and bravado common to people who make heavy metal as well as light sport. His passing bruised three worlds at once—business, equestrian and Hindi cinema.
Marketing veteran Suhel Seth heard the news in England and immediately posted, ‘Deeply saddened at the passing of @sunjaykapur. Om Shanti.’ Knowing Seth’s style, that spare, ritual phrase must have hit his followers like a cold slap.
A few hours later, the Doon School Board of Governors, where Kapur once studied and later served, circulated its own remembrance. His commitment to making the game of polo accessible to the wider school community, they wrote, leaves a lasting legacy. Something about that word ‘accessible’ softens the steel image of a tycoon, as if he was always more interested in opening gates than his own trophy case.
Hours after the news broke, the tweet itself began to feel like a premonition. Social media users zeroed in on the coincidence: What if he knew he had only three days left? Someone else simply typed, ‘Life is so unpredictable.’ Aaj hai Kal Nahi.
Sunjay Kapur married actress Karisma Kapoor in 2003, and their union lasted until 2016; the couple welcomed two children, Samaira and Kiaan. In later years he wed entrepreneur Priya Sachdev, with whom he had a son named Azarias and helped raise her daughter, Safira.
His sudden passing, coupled with that unnerving last message, has prompted many to pause and think about how easily everything can change. Friends, family, and colleagues are sharing stories and tributes, trying to celebrate the person while coming to grips with the absence.
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