Mumbai, Sep 4 : Telly star Nishant Malkani worked closely with late actor Sushant Singh Rajput in their early days as actors on the small screen. Nishant says he has refrained from commenting on Sushant Singh Rajput or his death so far because many people have looked at it as a way of getting publicity. "I did not like to comment in the beginning, because initially people were speaking about his death just for publicity, and I don't think that's good. It is immoral in my eyes to seek publicity through someone's death. But now that the initial fever is over, only the real genuine people can come out and share their thoughts about Sushant," claimed Nishant. Nishant played the lead role of Anukalp Gandhi in "Preet Se Bandhi Ye Dori Ram Milaayi Jodi" around the same time as Sushant was becoming a household name playing Manav Deshmukh in "Pavitra Rishta". Both the shows were aired on the same channel. "Sushant and I were a part of Zee TV in 2010 and 2011. My show used to air at 9 pm while his was at 9.30 pm. We did a lot of 'maha' episodes and events together, and thus interacted during shoots. I knew him during that period. Later, I quit Zee TV and he also quit television for films, so we lost touch. But what I remember is that he was a humble, hardworking and talented guy. He was somebody who would take charge of a scene and deliver it the way the writers wanted," Nishant recalled. The CBI is currently investigating Sushant's case now and Nishant asserts that the guilty should be punished. "Forget about being an industry colleague, I think as a human being I feel that if someone took his life then the culprit needs to come out and should be punished," he said. Nishant also spoke about actress Kangana Ranaut and her gutsy attitude while taking a stand in Sushant's case. "I think most of the time, Kangana says the right thing in a blunt manner, because of which many people do not like her. But I respect her and I think she is saying all the right things, and is also throwing light on the problems in the industry. I admire her for that and look up to her," said Nishant. /IANS