Once bigger than Shah Rukh Khan, this star had no work for years, couldn't foot hospital bills; now works in indie films
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The early 90s were a period of change of guard for Bollywood. The heroes who had ruled in the 80s - Amitabh Bachchan , Vinod Khanna, and Rishi Kapoor - were ageing or past their prime. New stars like Sanjay Dutt and Sunny Deol had taken over, but an increasingly younger population was on the lookout for soft, romantic stars. Even as the three Khans were still a few years from reaching their peak, other actors were vying to fill the void. Among them was one name who was billed as the next superstar. An overnight sensation, this man vanished almost as quickly as he shot up.
Adding to this, Billed as the next superstar in 1990, this star's life took an unexpected turn. The man who was bigger than Shah Rukh Khan In 1990, even as Dil, Ghayal, and Kishen Kanhaiya topped the Bollywood ticket-window charts, Mahesh Bhatt’s Aashiqui arrived as a breath of fresh air. The movie’s music and fresh lead pair became the talk of the town as the unheralded movie became a smash hit. Rahul Roy , who debuted with the movie, was an overnight sensation. The movie’s success allowed him to sign over a dozen films in a short amount of time. He found more success with Pyaar Ka Saaya the following year and critical acclaim in Junoon in 1992. At this point, the then 26-year-old was considered one of the brightest prospects among the young stars in the industry, ahead of contemporaries like Shah Rukh Khan , who was still looking for a solo hit and Aamir Khan, who was re-establishing his footing after a spate of flops following Dil.
Meanwhile, But things changed in 1993. The Khans pulled away. All three of them starred in industry-defining hits over the rest of the decade. Rahul Roy, on the other hand, gave 13 consecutive flops from 1993 to 2000. This even included one as a villain (Gumraah starring Sridevi and Sanjay Dutt). But over the past seven years, the star has starred in two flops and 11 box-office disasters, eroding his goodwill. This led many producers to shelve projects with him, and Rahul found himself out of work in his 30s. His shelved films included Tune Mera Dil Le Liya with Raveena Tandon, Dil Diya Chori Chori with Karishma Kapoor, Mahesh Bhatt's Kalyug, Vajra with Raveena Tandon and Shilpa Shirodkar, and Jab Jab Dil Mile with Karishma Kapoor and Nagma. He was cast as the male lead in mentor Mahesh Bhatt's Khilona, but it was shelved as well. He eventually moved to television, doing supporting roles in a couple of shows.
Notably, It took him five years to return with Meri Aashiqui in 2005, but a string of box-office failures followed. In 2007, he won the inaugural season of the reality show Bigg Boss, but it did not help his career. In 2010, after half a dozen more flops, health issues led Rahul to temporarily give up acting.
As per the latest buzz, In 2020, Rahul, then 54, suffered a brain stroke, following which he was hospitalised. The star underwent brain and heart angiography, followed by a 6-week ICU stay, which left him with little means to support his medical care. Salman Khan as per reports reached out to him to help him with his medical expenses. “I want to thank Salman because whatever bill was pending, Salman cleared it in February,” Rahul’s soul sister, Hari Maa Priyanka, told Bollywood Hungama in 2020. The star lauded his colleague’s generosity, saying he had been really good to him.
In further updates, In 2022, after a prolonged recovery period, Rahul Roy returned to the big screen, but this time in supporting roles. In recent years, Rahul has appeared in festival-favourite films such as Kanu Behl’s Agra and Nitin Kumar Gupta’s Walk. The star continues to live in Mumbai.
On top of that, Abhimanyu Mathur is Deputy Editor, Entertainment at Hindustan Times. With almost 15 years of experience in writing about everything from films and TV shows to cricket matches and elections, he inhales and exhales pop culture and news. Currently, he watches movies and TV shows and talks to celebrities for a living, while occasionally writing about them as well. A journalism graduate of Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, Delhi University, Abhimanyu began his career with Hindustan Times at the age of 20, swapping classrooms for newsrooms at an early age. He began his journey in the early days of digital journalism, later switching to the madness of print journalism. Work has led him to far off places like Japan and Jordan, as well as to the interiors of Haryana and the Indo-Pak border. He dabbled in city reporting in places like Meerut, Gurgaon, and Delhi, covered the Olympics and Cricket World Cups, before finding his calling in entertainment and lifestyle during the pandemic. A Rotten Tomatoes Certified Movie Critic, he is equally at home covering stories on ground as he is interviewing celebrities and studios, and sometimes prefers to shepherd teams in delivering traffic through the day. Even as his role has evolved from reporter to supervisor over the years, his first love remains writing (and of late, talking on camera). With a good understanding of cinema and its trends, and a keen eye for detail, he continues to spark conversations around showbiz for readers around the world. Read More
Source: Hindustan Times