Actor who signed 47 films in 11 days after successful debut, lost stardom post flop films; aided by Salman Khan after health crisis
Breaking into the glitzy, glamorous world of Bollywood is not easy for any actor. However, some are lucky enough to carve their niche and create a place for themselves in the hearts of fans with their first film. One of such actor was Rahul Roy who stirred the industry with his blockbuster debut in the 90s.
Rahul Roy made his acting debut with Mahesh Bhatt’s blockbuster 1990 film, Aashiqui, alongside debutant Anu Aggarwal. The film brought him significant acclaim and recognition. Talking about it in an interview with Bollywood Hungama last year, Rahul revealed that nobody approached him for six months after the film’s release. However, in the next 11 days, he signed 47 films.
“For six months, I didn’t get anything. But then in 11 days, I signed 47 films,” he said, further recalling that he was paid Rs 30,000 for the film which did great business at the box office. The veteran actor also revealed that he would share a part of his salary with Mahesh Bhatt as an expression of gratitude for the successful launch in the industry.
It won’t be wrong to say that Roy had destiny by his side, as he was finalized for the role within a few minutes of meeting Bhatt. After the film’s release, he visited Metro Cinema without bodyguards, accompanied by Mahesh Bhatt and Mukesh Bhatt. He recalled in the same interview that people cheered for him and threw coins at him after his character was introduced with the song Saanson Ki Jarurat Hai Jaise
His successful first film was followed by Ghazab Tamasha, Sapne Sajan Ke, Phir Teri Kahani Yaad Aayee, Game, Gumrah, Majhdaar, Naseeb, and Achanak, but none of them could match the mammoth success of his first film. One factor for these films’ debacle can be the audience’s expectations of something as impressive as Aashiqui.
Despite the fact, Rahul never lost hope and continued working hard to continue his passion in acting. He has been a part of television shows like Kaise Kahoon and Karishma-The Miracles Of Destiny. Nevertheless, these couldn’t do many wonders for him until controversial reality show, Bigg Boss happened to him in 2006.
While the show is best known for stirring controversies, Roy maintained his dignity by being a silent spectator. Following the support from his fans, he emerged as the winner of the first season.
Though Rahul witnessed a lot of ups and downs in his professional journey, his personal life also challenged him at every step. The actor took a hiatus from Bollywood and moved to Australia for his wife Rajlaxmi Khanvilkar. It was revealed that the actor washed dishes there, but the couple got divorced in 2014 and the actor came back.
In the year 2020, he suffered a brain stroke during the shoot of his film, LAC-Live The Battle in Ladakh due to extreme weather conditions. During the testing times, it was his soul sister Priyanka Roy and brother-in-law Romeer Sen who looked after him.
During a conversation last year with the above-mentioned portal, Priyanka held the film’s director Nitin Kumar Gupta responsible for the brain stroke. According to her, the unfortunate incident could’ve been avoided had be been careful and not neglected the Aashiqui star’s health condition. She also shared that Salman Khan helped them by paying the pending hospital bill, without creating any noise about it.
Rahul was last seen in 2019’s Cabaret on Zee 5 and his 2023-released film, Agra was screened at the Cannes Film Festival Directors’ Fortnight last year.
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