Debuted with Kajol, a rival to three Khans; this Bollywood star saw his father murder whole family, 'vanished' for years
Here's the latest update from the Bollywood world:
The early 1990s saw a boom in Bollywood with many young actors starting their careers or finding their feet. As the older stars gave way to this younger lot, the three Khans became the frontrunners in no time. But for a while, they had competition in Rahul Roy, Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar, and Suniel Shetty, to name a few. Among them was one star, who battled a personal tragedy just to get where he was.
Adding to this, Star Kamal Sadanah was a bright young prospect in Bollywood in the early 90s. The star who saw his family murdered Kamal Sadanah debuted in Bollywood in 1992, the same year that Shah Rukh Khan and Akshay Kumar began their journey. Kamal’s debut movie, Bekhudi, also marked a 17-year-old Kajol’s debut. The movie was not a success, but he later found success with Rang. The 1993 rollout, also starring Divya Bharti, established Kamal as a bankable star. With his boyish looks, the 21-year-old was considered a rival to the three Khans as a viable romantic lead. One may assume that Kamal found success easily. But his path to this ‘overnight’ stardom was a tough one.
Meanwhile, In 1990, on the day Kamal was celebrating his 20th birthday, tragedy befell his household. As Kamal was busy preparing for his birthday party, his father, producer Brij Sadanah, shot and killed his wife and daughter (Kamal’s mother and sister). He shot at Kamal and then turned the gun on himself. Kamal was shot in the neck but survived.
Notably, In 2023, he recalled the night in an interview with Siddharth Kanan. “ "It is traumatic. To see your family being killed in front of your eyes. I was also shot. I had a bullet go from one side of my neck and come out from the other side. I have survived that. There is no logical reason for me to survive. It's almost as (if) the bullet dodged every nerve and came out from the other side. And I survived without any problems. No physical problems,” he shared.
As per the latest buzz, After Rang, Kamal signed a string of films, but all of them failed at the ticket-window. In 2005, he directed Karkash, a vehicle aimed to relaunch his career. But the movie tanked, too. The following year, he remade his father’s movie, Victoria No 203. But that too did not work at the ticket-window. And Kamal ‘vanished’ from Bollywood.
In further updates, He told HT in 2021 that he spent his time away upgrading his skills and learning new filmmaking craft. “At that time, I got back into production. I made independent films and directed and edited them. I did a course about visual effects, which I had to use while filming Roar: Tigers of the Sundarbans (2014). That was also amazing. Then I also did a course in animation, following which I started a small studio, which specialised in pre-visualisations.”
On top of that, In 2022, after being away from acting for close to two decades, Kamal returned to the big screen with a supporting role in Revathi’s Salaam Venky, reuniting with her first co-star Kajol. The following year, he had a minor role in Pippa, where he played Field Marshall Sam Manekshaw.
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