Being a Bollywood star today comes with a whole lot of perks, the least of which is fame. The financial stability that comes with being a successful actor is a relatively new thing. Even as recently as three or four decades ago, not all ‘hit’ actors led such a charmed life. Many, in fact, found it difficult to sustain themselves once the success faded. One such name was Raj Kiran, once a successful name in the Bollywood films of the 80s, and now, untraceable.
Who is Raj Kiran?
Born in 1949, Raj Kiran made his Bollywood debut in 1975 with BR Ishara’s Kaagaz Ki Nao opposite Sarika. In the early phases of his career, he took both lead and supporting roles and appeared in both hits and flops. It was in the early 80s that his career really took off when he starred in eight back-to-back successful movies, which included Karz, Baseraa, Arth among others. He is best known as the original Ravi Verma in the seminal hit Karz, which made him a known face but also typecast him as a romantic lead. He experimented with characters of grey shades in the mid-80s in films like Justice Chaudhary and Ek Naya Rishta.
Raj Kiran’s career slowdown
In the 90s, Raj Kiran’s career hit a rough patch as newer romantic heroes arrived on the scene and the landscape of films changed. As film offers dried up, he made his TV debut with the 1994 Shekhar Suman-starrer Reporter. He acted in a couple of more serials after this and two lowbrow small-budget horror films as well. But by the end of the 90s, his career was almost over.
Raj Kiran’s mental health issues and disappearance
After his career declined, Raj Kiran went into depression and faced some domestic crises s well. In the early 2000s, he was admitted to Byculla Mental asylum in Mumbai. From then on, the actor disappeared. Years later, his former friend Deepti Naval appealed to people on Facebook, looking to find him. She said she had heard he was driving a cab in New York. In 2011, his Karz co-star Rishi Kapoor said that he had heard from Raj’s brother that he was in a mental asylum in Atlanta. However, Raj Kiran’s daughter denied this and said that the family is still looking for him. The actor’s whereabouts are currently unknown.
