Raj Kiran

QAMYAB – THE FORGOTTEN GEMS OF BOLLYWOOD

Qamyab is our humble tribute to all those lesser-known actors, one hit wonders and junior artists who we see umpteen times but don’t know about; beyond their faces. These actors have been an integral part of Bollywood but didn’t get their due. This series is our sincere attempt to put a name to these faces, familiarize them to our readers and celebrate their achievements in life – however big or small. We believe that every artist contributes in his/her own way to the cinema’s success. Qamyab will explore the unknown lives of such actors and artists as we believe even these forgotten gems of Bollywood deserve their due recognition today.

In Bollywood, there are actors who become rising stars but not all can achieve the pinnacle of superstardom. Most of them fade away from the limelight after tasting a short-lived success. They either switch to television or find success in a different profession altogether. But Raj Kiran was an exceptional case of a rising star crashing down to an abysmal low and then just disappearing forever!!

Born on 19th June 1949 as Raj Kiran Mahtani in a Mumbai based Sindhi family, his passion for acting was evident right from school where he would participate in plays and dramas. During one of his acts, he was noticed by well-known producer B.R. Ishara who cast a young Raj Kiran in his film Kaagaz Ki Nao (1975) opposite debutant Sarika.

Though Kaagaz Ki Nao was not a commercial success, Raj Kiran’s work was appreciated by the critics. He signed a few films like Shikshaa (1979), Patita (1980) and the highly controversial Kissa Kursi Ka (1977). These films couldn’t do much at the box office.

1980 was a great year for Raj Kiran when Subhash Ghai’s Karz brought him tremendous recognition as an actor. Till date, he is remembered for Karz as the guy who gets reborn as Rishi Kapoor. After the success of this film, Raj signed many films like Manokaamnaa (1980), Nakhuda (1981), Bulundi (1981), Baseraa (1981), Bezubaan (1982), Star (1982) and Sun Meri Laila (1983). But more than these films, it was Mahesh Bhatt’s semi-autobiographical Arth (1983) which got immense acclaim for Raj. His scintillating performance in the song ‘Tum itna jo muskura rahe ho’ won him many fans.

Surprisingly in spite achieving reasonable success, Raj Kiran was not getting offers for main leads. He also took some wrong decisions like leaving Rajiv Rai’s Yudh (1985) after which the much-coveted dual role went to newcomer Anil Kapoor.

Gradually, Raj Kiran got relegated to supporting or character roles. Some of his notable movies include Mazdoor (1983), Ghar Ek Mandir (1984), Raaj Tilak (1984), Hip Hip Hurray (1984), Aaj Ka Daur (1985), Ghar Dwaar (1985), Faasle (1985), Arjun (1985), Teri Meherbaniyan (1985), Ilzaam (1986), Mard Ki Zabaan (1987), Pyar Ka Mandir (1988), Waaris (1988), Ek Naya Rishta (1988), Ghar Ho To Aisa (1990), Police Public (1990), Pyar Ka Devta (1991) and Karz Chukana Hai (1991).

The steady downfall in his career drove Raj to alcoholism and acute depression. Reportedly, the actor also went through a domestic crisis at the same time and at one instance, was admitted to Byculla Mental asylum in Mumbai for some time. This was later confirmed by his ‘Arth’ director Mahesh Bhatt. Sometime in 1996, Raj Kiran faced arrest for trespassing in to Sai Baba Ashram at Bangalore in an alleged inebriated state. He spent thirty-four days in jail before his father bailed him out. Post 1996, Raj Kiran just disappeared from the film industry and no one knew about his whereabouts. He was rumoured to have migrated to USA with his family but nothing could be confirmed. His sudden appearance affected Dilip Kumar’s magnum opus Kalinga in which he was playing the thespian’s son. The film was abruptly shelved later.

Raj Kiran’s last appearance in a mainstream Bollywood film was a blink and miss role in Sanjay Kapoor-Juhi Chawla starrer Kartavya (1995). His last release was the delayed C-grader Chudail No 1 (1999) in which he played a small role of a police inspector.

Raj Kiran’s disappearance remained a mystery till 2011 when Deepti Naval, his co-actor from Hip Hip Hurray and Ghar Ho To Aisa, started a search for him on Facebook. She wrote “”Looking for a friend from the film world his name is Raj Kiran – we have no news of him – last heard he was driving a cab in NY city if anyone has any clue, please tell . . .” (sic). There were rumours floating around the same time that Raj is no more. In June 2011, Rishi Kapoor on a trip to America, called up Raj Kiran’s brother Govind Mahtani who informed him that Raj was in a mental institution in Atlanta since last few years. He was funding his own stay there by working within the institution.

Shortly after Rishi Kapoor’s disclosure, Raj Kiran’s daughter Rishika issued a public statement refuting his claim and stated that her father was missing since many years and she and her mother are on lookout for him with assistance from New York City Police Department (NYPD) and private detectives. The exact status of the actor still remains unknown.

Two months after Dilip Kumar’s death in 2021, producer Sangita Ahir claimed to have about eight hours footage of Kalinga which she planned to edit and release in digitised format. If this happens, we might see Raj back on big screen one last time.

In a career spanning hundred films, Raj Kiran has given some memorable performances. He conjured an amazing chemistry with co-actor Shoma Anand when they appeared in many ‘80s family dramas as the couple who break a joint family. Known mainly for Karz and Arth, Raj Kiran is a mystery today. His is indeed a sordid tale of an actor who found some success and then suddenly lost everything to become a name in the missing list!!