Siddharth (Sushant Ray)

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.

You can call him a nepo-kid (in today’s parlance) as he was grandson of the legendary actor- director V. Shantaram who launched him in films but still despite being born with a silver spoon in his mouth to an illustrious family, Sushant Ray aka Siddharth couldn’t make it that big in Bollywood. We will take you through his life journey which had its ups and downs aplenty.

Born as Sushant Ray on 19th July 1963, his mother was Charusheela, the daughter of V. Shantaram and father was Dr. Subrato Ray, a Bengali economist, who had a Ph.D. from Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata. He was also a famous sitar player. In fact, Charusheela and Dr. Ray had met in one of the recording sessions and fell in love. As a child, Sushant lived in a comfortable house in Dadar, Mumbai along with his parents. His father, Dr. Ray was the then Chief Economic Advisor of Bombay Port Trust.

Sushant was interested in acting right since childhood and so his grandfather cast him in a blink and miss role as a school student in his Marathi film Zunj (1975). This was followed by Shantaram’s Chaani (1977), which is often referred to be Sushant’s debut movie as a child actor. The same year, he played a small role in Jait Re Jait as well. His first adult role was in Esmayeel Shroff’s Thodisi Bewafaii (1980) starring Rajesh Khanna and Shabana Azmi where he was cast opposite an equally young Padmini Kolhapure. Though the film was a moderate success, Sushant didn’t sign any more films till 1986 when he appeared as the main lead in V. Shantaram’s last directorial Jhanjhaar (1987) with Padmini Kolhapure again as his co-star. The film became a box office disaster and couldn’t do anything for Sushant’s career.

In between Thodisi Bewafaii and Jhanjhaar, Sushant invested his time in completing his education and even did cadet training from Bhonsla Military School, Nagpur in 1981 and then, obtained his graduation degree in fine arts.

Sushant’s next two releases were his home production Marathi movies called Ashi Hi Banwa Banwi (1988) and Balache Baap Brahmachari (1990). Out of the two, Ashi Hi Banwa Banwi became one of the biggest blockbusters of Marathi cinema while Balache Baap Brahmachari was a modest success. Unfortunately, the focus in both the movies was on the comic acts of Ashok Saraf and Laxmikant Berde and thus, Sushant Ray couldn’t capitalize on its success.

Sushant waited for a few years and decided to rebrand himself as Siddharth for his next Hindi film titled Vansh (1992) in which he had a powerful lead role along with Sudesh Berry. Adapted from director Mani Ratnam’s Tamil movie Agni Natchathiram (1988), Vansh became a box office hit and gave tremendous recognition to Siddharth as well as Sudesh. Their performances as step brothers – one a goon and the other a cop – was acclaimed by critics and audience alike.

Siddharth’s next release in 1992 was the multistarrer Panaah where he got to work with veterans Naseeruddin Shah and Pran. The film was a critical success but couldn’t work much at the box office. The same year, Siddharth’s much anticipated Yudhpath, where he was pitted again with his Vansh co-actor Sudesh Berry, was released. Unlike Vansh, Yudhpath crashed badly and it affected both the actor’s career. His subsequent releases that year – Tilak and Ganga Ka Vachan – were also box office flops. He played a cop in both these movies.

In 1993, Siddharth appeared in quite a few movies like Parwane, Khoon Ka Sindoor, Pehchaan and Baazigar. Interestingly, his two films – Parwane and Baazigar – released on the same day in Diwali 1993. He played the main lead in Parwane and a supporting character in Baazigar. While Parwane bombed at the box office, Baazigar became a super hit.

Siddharth’s performance as the friendly cop who tries to help Kajol investigate her sister Shilpa Shetty’s death in Baazigar found appreciation. His song ‘Chupana bhi nahi aata’ from the film is still fondly remembered and crooned. Baazigar remains his most memorable act after Vansh.

Andhaa Intequam is another movie he did in 1993 where he met Shanti Priya; love blossomed between the two and they got married within a few years. Shanti Priya is the sister of actress Bhanupriya and she has worked with stars like Mithun Chakraborty (Phool Aur Angaar, Meherbaan and Mere Sajana Saath Nibhana) and Akshay Kumar (Saugandh and Ikke Pe Ikka).

Siddharth had signed quite a few films from 1992 to 1995 but most of them ended up getting shelved which impacted his career significantly. His only notable films which made it to theatres were Hafta Vasuli (1998), Military Raaj (1998) and Bicchoo (2000).

In the new millennium, Siddharth switched over to villain roles and appeared in Raj Kumar Kohli’s Jaani Dushman: Ek Anokhi Kahaani (2002) and Mahesh Manjrekar’s Pitaah (2002) where he played the rapist. However, both these films failed at the box office. Particularly, Jaani Dushman remains a heavily trolled film for its unrealistic script and pathetic CGI.

Siddharth was said to be a heavy drinker as well as chain smoker and this took a toll on his health. In a shocking incident, he succumbed to a massive heart attack on 8th March, 2004 at the young age of just forty-one years. He is survived by his actor wife Shanti Priya and two sons Shubham and Shishya Ray who were less than five years old during his demise. Recently, Shanti Priya revealed that Siddharth was planning to migrate to Australia with family just before his demise. His son’s birthday was on 12th March and he casually mentioned to him the previous night that he wouldn’t be there for his birthday as if he had a premonition. He passed away on 8th March while eating his food on the dining table. Siddharth’s last Bollywood release was Charas (2004) which released a few months after his death.

In a career spanning three decades, Sushant Ray or Siddharth managed to make a mark in Marathi as well as Hindi films. He is mostly known for his performances in Vansh and Baazigar. In majority of his Bollywood films, he played a police inspector and the Khaki uniform truly suited him. It is unfortunate that he couldn’t build his career and went away so soon…