Latest news with #Arth
India.com
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- India.com
This actor once challenged Amitabh Bachchan, Rishi Kapoor, worked in many superhit films, disappeared mysteriously, never found again, his name was...
Born into a Sindhi family, Raj Kiran Mahtani debuted with B.R. Ishara's Kaagaz Ki Nao in 1975. Over the next two decades, he lit up the screen in over 100 films, including Karz, Basera, Arth, Raj Tilak, and Ek Naya Rishta. By 1980, he had already acted in eight films in one year, earning industry respect and audience love alike. Known for both emotional depth and complex, grey-shaded roles, Raj was a powerful on-screen presence through the '70s and '80s. His stardom was as good as those of Amitabh Bachchan, Rishi Kapoor and other stars of that time. When did the storm begin? Though he had a successful run, the '90s weren't kind. The work dried up. Typecast into side roles and battling dissatisfaction, Raj became visibly frustrated. 'If I can't do something remarkable in films, I'll leave it altogether,' he told Sunday Magazine — words that would turn prophetic. Did depression drive him away? Multiple reports suggest Raj Kiran struggled deeply with mental health issues. The fading spotlight and stagnating career weighed heavily. Eventually, he stopped showing up — both on screen and in life. His sudden disappearance has remained one of Bollywood's most tragic unsolved tales. What did his family say? For years, his family kept his whereabouts private. His daughter once said, 'He was a private man.' But curiosity never faded — fans and colleagues kept asking: Where is Raj Kiran? Rumours flared when actor Rishi Kapoor claimed he went looking for Raj in New York. Allegedly, he was told Raj was in a mental institution. Rishi wanted to meet him, but his brothers reportedly refused. Actress Deepti Naval also shared a heartfelt post about her efforts to find him, confirming the industry hadn't forgotten.
Hindustan Times
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Guru Dutt's legacy is not a style you can copy, it's a wound you must survive: Mahesh Bhatt
Mumbai, Guru Dutt's legacy is not of awards but of silence, the kind that lingers on after the screen fades to black, says Mahesh Bhatt about the legendary filmmaker who "let beauty crumble into truth". Guru Dutt's legacy is not a style you can copy, it's a wound you must survive: Mahesh Bhatt Dutt, regarded as amongst the greatest filmmakers of Indian cinema with films such as 'Pyaasa', 'Kaagaz Ke Phool' and 'Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam', would have been 100 on July 9. He was found dead, possibly from a cocktail of sleeping pills and alcohol, in 1964 when he was just 39. "He took the aching mess of human life, and turned it into poetry that could pierce even silence. Those of us who came after we carried forward the wound. We do not celebrate a hundred years of Guru Dutt. We return to him,' Bhatt told PTI. The filmmaker said he was captivated when he first saw a large photograph of Dutt at Raj Khosla's office. 'Guru Dutt's legacy isn't made of awards, posters, or reels. It is made of silence. The kind that enters a room after the screen goes black and stays. He was our Vyasa . "Guru Dutt took private anguish and gave it mythic proportions. He lit his characters with compassion and contradiction. He let the poet in him rage. He let the woman feel to the point of tears. He let beauty crumble into truth. 'Waqt ne kiya' that ageless song from 'Kaagaz ke Phool' is a throbbing wound. His legacy is not a style you can copy. It is a wound you must survive,' Bhatt told PTI. The filmmaker-producer said he was working on his 1982 acclaimed film 'Arth' when poet-lyricist Kaifi Azmi remarked that he had inherited Dutt's pain as a protege of Khosla. 'We were working on a song for 'Arth'. Jagjit Singh was shaping the early melody of 'Tum Itna Jo Muskura Rahe Ho'. Kaifi saab sat quietly, listening not just to the tune, but to the wound behind it. And then, in his unmistakably gentle voice, he said to me: 'Tumne Guru Dutt ka dard virasat mein paaya hai. Pain is your legacy'. "He wasn't romanticising it. He was naming it. I had been Raj Khosla's assistant, and Raj Khosla had been Guru Dutt's assistant. That was the line. Not one of fame, but of fracture, not of ambition but ache, wounds passed down like sacred relics. He was right.' The 76-year-old writer-director said he carried the wound into his own work. "Arth", "Saaransh", "Daddy" and "Zakhm", Bhatt said, weren't just films but echoes and testament to what Kaifi Azmi saw that day. "Proof that pain, if you dare not flee it, becomes your voice. And if that voice refuses to lie—it becomes cinema." Bhatt remembers the first time he watched the 1957 masterpiece 'Pyaasa' in a theatre, and how deeply it touched his soul. 'Guru Dutt is not a memory for me. He is a wound that never healed. He's not a figure from the past, I carry him inside me. His cinema invaded me as a boy sitting in the front stalls of Citylight cinema. 'Pyaasa' didn't entertain me; it undressed me. It showed me what it meant to ache without apology,' Bhatt said. 'Even today, when the lights dim and I hear the rustle of silence before a scene, it is his ghost I meet. He is the one who taught me that sorrow, when surrendered to, becomes your signature. He is less my inspiration and more my inheritance,' he said. Bhatt said filmmakers like Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Vishal Bhardwaj, and Mohit Suri, carry forward the same passion that Dutt embodied in their unique way. 'Guru Dutt cannot be reproduced, only echoed. There are filmmakers who carry a similar hunger for truth and beauty like Sanjay Leela Bhansali, in his obsessive pursuit of the lyrical frame, and Vishal Bhardwaj, in his willingness to explore pain through music and poetry, Anurag Kashyap, when he lets his darkness speak without disguise, Mohit Suri in how he listens to silences and centres the unseen through his use of music,' he said. 'These filmmakers may walk different roads, but like Guru Dutt, they understand that cinema, when it dares to feel deeply, becomes poetry in motion and that perhaps, is how the flame continues to burn. Not loudly, but faithfully,' Bhatt said. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Time of India
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
When Raj Babbar opened up on painful moments after Smita Patil's demise: ‘Never had enough time to plan things for Prateik'
Actors and 's love story was far from straightforward. It was an emotional maze, filled with intense feelings, unspoken worries, and moments of tender togetherness. Their relationship began on the sets of 'Bheegi Palkein', where Raj, who was already married to theatre actor Babbar, found himself drawn to Smita's fearless nature and striking individuality. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Their bond quickly became the talk of the industry. Smita was known for her powerful performances in films like 'Manthan', 'Arth' and 'Mirch Masala', and her deep-rooted commitment to meaningful cinema. Raj, meanwhile, balanced his theatre pursuits with mainstream films, and was seen as someone who lived life with passion. Together, they shared a connection that was intense, complicated, and yet beautifully human. 'I wish she were around to see her son growing' In 1986, Raj and Smita welcomed their son Prateik. For a while, it seemed like their family was finally taking shape. But life had other plans. Just days after Prateik was born, Smita passed away due to post-partum complications. Raj once opened up about this painful time while talking to Looking back at their short time as parents, he shared, 'She was a great human being. We never had enough time to plan things for our son Prateik. I guess he will be doing films shortly. He is already getting calls from various producers and directors. I have given him a free hand to do that. I wish she were around to see her son growing.' An evening that changed everything Raj also recalled the evening when everything turned upside down. He said, 'The most painful moments of life are those which come unexpected. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now One fine evening, when I was getting ready to go for a function I saw her quivering. I touched her and found that she had a fever. I called the doctor and he told me that she needs immediate hospitalisation. I took her to hospital and she was being removed to the intensive care unit.' It all happened so suddenly, 'Thoughout the journey from home to hospital, she kept apologising and I told her that everything would be okay. She looked at me with tears in her eyes. Her look said it all. The doctor came out after an hour and said she had gone into a coma.' Memories that never fade Even though years have passed, Raj has never forgotten Smita. In fact, her memories still live on in him every single day. He spoke from the heart when he said, 'I was part of her and she was part of me. It is natural that you miss a person who was your heart and soul throughout your life, no matter how brave you may say you are. She and her memories will continue to be part of me till my last day.'
Indian Express
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Bollywood star who worked with Rishi Kapoor, Shabana Azmi was arrested for trying to enter an ashram, has been missing for 20 years despite Rishi trying to find him
Bollywood movie stars enjoy the riches and fame that come with their profession but if, unfortunately, their life takes a turn that isn't as glamorous, all of this can turn tragic, and something similar happened with yesteryear star Raj Kiran. Raj is still fondly remembered for his work in films like Karz and Arth, and during the 1980s, he appeared in a bunch of films which helped him get established as the new star on the block. However, life as he knew it, wasn't as kind to him and a few years later, Raj went missing. After many leading roles, Raj started appearing in supporting roles in the early 1990s, before he disappeared from the films. After being locked up in Bengaluru Central Jail for nearly a month in 1996, he appeared in some other films as well. It was, perhaps, during this time that director Mahesh Bhatt met him at a mental health facility, and a few years later, Raj went missing, and even his family couldn't find him. To date, there is no trace of Raj and no one knows if he is alive or dead. Raj Kiran made his debut with the 1975 film Kaagaz Ki Nao, and was soon seen in the film Kissa Kursi Ka, a political satire which was banned during the Emergency. It was his role in the 1980 film Karz, starring Rishi Kapoor, that Raj stepped into the spotlight. He had a supporting role in the film but the success of Subhash Ghai's film did wonders for him as well, and soon he started landing major roles. In 1982, he scored another win when he appeared in Mahesh Bhatt's Arth as the man who is ready to support the woman he loves, even if she doesn't choose him. After this too, Raj appeared in a plethora of films across the decade but somewhere in the mid 1990s, he took a break from the movies. In 1996, a crime reporter found him at Bengaluru Central Jail where he was imprisoned for trespassing the Puttaparthi Sai Baba Ashram, and it appeared that his family members didn't even know about it. As per Deccan Herald, he hired a tractor and a ladder and tried to break into the ashram at night. A few days after the news was reported, his father bailed him out. The following year, in 1997, Raj gave an interview to Cineblitz, where he said that the matter was 'blown out of proportion.' 'The trauma that I faced when I was put in jail, is indescribable. You can never understand the fear one feels, when you are told that you cannot be bailed out. I spent 34 days in jail and sitting there, I was not sure if I would ever be free. That is a very scary feeling,' he said. ALSO READ | Bollywood's biggest hairstylist died penniless, family was left with 'nothing to eat' despite counting Bachchans, Kapoors as friends At the time, it was said that Raj had spent some time in America with his brother Govind, and was planning to go back. But, it was somewhere after this, perhaps, that director Mahesh Bhatt, who worked with Raj in Arth, met the actor at a mental health facility in Byculla, Mumbai. Bhatt, in a 2011 chat with Rediff, shared that he met Raj 'many years ago when he was in the psychiatric ward of Masina Hospital. He was not the Raj Kiran I had interacted with. This was a sombre-looking, depressed individual and with great difficulty he communicated with me. There was no joie de vivre, no energy that he exuded every time he met us; his friends, that is.' Mahesh said that after Raj came back from the hospital, he got in touch with the director. 'We tried to give him some work, a role here and there but once the word gets around that you are mentally unstable, nobody wants to touch you with a barge pole,' Bhatt said and shared that it was after this, that Raj moved to the US and started staying with his brother Govind. After his move to the US, Raj stayed with his family for some time but one day, he went missing. After reports surfaced in 2011 that he was in a mental health facility in Atlanta, as actor Rishi Kapoor had found out, his daughter Rishika came forth and explained that this wasn't the case, and that he was still missing. 'He is not in Atlanta. We have been looking for him for over eight years. We have involved the New York police and hired private detectives to find him. But he's not been found,' she told Mid-day. Rishika shared that he was last seen in new York and mentioned that it was 'very out of character for him to not inform us about his whereabouts.' She further added, 'He was the most loving father. Yes, he suffered from a bit of mental illness before he disappeared. We wanted to deal with this on our own, but those false reports forced me to come out in the open. I think this is totally unfair on my mother.' ALSO READ | Star of Bollywood's Golden Era died penniless due to flamboyant lifestyle, influenced Amitabh Bachchan and won praise from Mahatma Gandhi At the time, Rishi told Subhash K Jha in an interview that he had been in touch with Raj's brother Govind and it was Govind who told him that Raj was at a mental health facility in Atlanta. 'I was so relieved when Govind told me Raj was alive. But he was confined to an institution in Atlanta due to health problems.' In the same interview, Rishi shared that as per Govind, Raj was looking after his own treatment by working at the institution. Rishi shared that Raj's family members were not in touch with him anymore and as much as he tried to find him, he couldn't get in touch with the actor. Rishi was told that since Raj had invested well, he wasn't facing any financial difficulty. In 2011, actor Deepti Naval, who also worked with Raj in the film, Hip Hip Hurray, put up a Facebook post urging people to look for Raj as she had heard that he was last spotted driving a cab on the streets of New York. It's been years since anyone heard from the actor. Even by his daughter's admission in 2011, where she confessed to last seeing him in 2003, it has been over 20 years since anyone heard about his whereabouts.
Time of India
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Shabana Azmi reveals the real-life inspiration behind her role in short film 'Auntyji'
Veteran actress Shabana Azmi has a rare glimpse into the roots of one of her most talked-about performances. She revealed that her character in the short film "Auntyji", directed by Adeeb Rizvi, was inspired by a real-life woman. Taking to Instagram, Azmi shared a photo of the woman and credited her as the muse behind the role. Alongside the image, she wrote, "The lady whom I took inspiration from for my role in #Adeeb Rizvi's short film #Auntyji." In the image, Shabana Azmi is seen warmly posing with her hand placed on the woman's shoulder-a gesture that reflects both admiration and affection. Released in 2018, "AuntyJi" was a touching short film that beautifully captured the power of unexpected connections. The 20-minute narrative followed the story of Parveen, a lonely Parsi widow played by Shabana Azmi, and Geetika, an acid attack survivor portrayed by Anmol Rodriguez. Despite coming from entirely different worlds, their chance encounter led to an emotional exchange of dreams, pain, and personal beliefs. What began as a brief meeting soon blossomed into an unlikely but deeply meaningful friendship. The film served as a gentle yet powerful reminder to live life on one's own terms, chase dreams unapologetically, and look beyond appearances to find common ground. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Switch to UnionBank Rewards Card UnionBank Credit Card Apply Now Undo The short film also starred Akanksha Thakur , Mohit Hiranandani, Dhananjay Kapoor, and Gaurav Kamble , among others. Speaking of Shabana Azmi, the National Award-winning actress stepped into the world of cinema in 1974 with her debut film, "Ankur." Over the past five decades, she has carved an extraordinary path in the industry, building a prolific filmography of over 160 titles-largely within the realms of independent and neorealist parallel cinema. Reflecting on her journey in cinema, veteran actress Shabana Azmi described it in one word while speaking to IANS-"Arth". The acclaimed performer considers the film a turning point, marking the start of her deep connection with the women's movement and shaping her perspective both on and off screen. "I think 'Arth,' because I think that's the one that started my involvement with the women's movement," said Shabana Azmi. Shabana Azmi unfurls Indian flag in Australia's Melbourne ahead of Independence Day: '...An honour I never believed I could have'
