Back in the 2000s, many supermodels or beauty pageant winners forayed into Bollywood to make a name for themselves. There are many examples of it within the industry including Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Sushmita Sen. But, there is one such actor who has been a part of the film industry for 23 years now but still could not find success the way he desired. This actor always managed to grab more headlines for his personal life than his professional achievements. We are talking about none other than Arjun Rampal, who began his career with modeling, entered Bollywood, and worked with superstars, but could never become a mainstream star.
Arjun Rampal made his acting debut in 'Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat' (2001) opposite Suniel Shetty, Aftab Shivdasani, and Kirti Reddy. He has a degree in economics with honours from Hindu College, Delhi. He was spotted at a party by designer Rohit Bal which kickstarted his modeling career.
Though Arjun Rampal's debut film was a super flop, a career breakthrough came in the year 2002 with 'Aankhen', which proved to be a commercial hit. In his career of over 23 years, Arjun Rampal has worked in over 40 films. Out of this, he once gave 14 flops in a row which further derailed his career.
There was a time when Arjun Rampal even struggled to pay rent. However, his landlord came into his life as a blessing. Arjun Rampal was once quoted as saying, "I had no source of income in that period of time. I was living in Seven Bungalows (in Andheri, Mumbai) at that time, I had a wonderful landlord, Sardarji. He’d come on the first of every month, and he’d look at me and I’d look at him. He’d say, ‘Nahi hai (You don’t have the money, do you)?’ And I’d shake my head. He’d say, ‘Koi nahi, tu de dega (Never mind, I’m sure you’ll pay me).’ He was the sweetest man; you need those kinds of breaks in your life."
Arjun Rampal struggled to work in a hit film for a long time in his career but it was Shah Rukh Khan who gave it a new direction. His supporting role in 'Don' (2006) won him the much-desired commercial and critical success. In 2007, Arjun Rampal again worked as an antagonist in Shah Rukh Khan's 'Om Shanti Om' which further helped his career.
In 2008, Arjun Rampal arguably gave his career's best performance in 'Rock On' for which he also won a National Award for Best Supporting Actor.
But despite his professional success, Arjun Rampal garnered much attention in his personal life.
Arjun Rampal and former model Mehr Jesia tied the knot in 1998. They have two daughters -Mahikaa and Myra. The couple who always looked so in love hit a rough patch and, in 2018, announced their separation after 20 years of marriage.
Before his divorce was finalised in 2019, Arjun Rampal announced to the world that his girlfriend, Gabriella Demetriades, was pregnant with their first child. Their son was born in July next year. The couple then became parents again and welcomed their second child, a boy, in July 2023.
Arjun Rampal welcomed his fourth child at the age of 50. His estimated net worth is over Rs 100 crore.
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