Today is the 70th birthday of yesteryear Hindi film actor Raj Kiran.

Today is the 70th birthday of yesteryear Hindi film actor Raj Kiran.

“Nothing comes free in life — success comes with a huge cost”, This is absolutely true in actor Raj Kiran’s case as he faded into the oblivion 17 years back and was assumed to be dead by many.

Many would remember Raj Kiran as the good-looking actor who essayed the role of pre-incarnated Rishi Kapoor in ‘Karz’. He played the supportive friend to Shabana Azmi in Mahesh Bhatt’s ‘Arth’, and made “Tum itna jo muskura rahe ho” a legendary song with the actress.

No one would deny that this good-looking actor with intense eyes had a good screen presence through which he left an indelible impression on the viewers.

Raj Kiran entered Hindi film industry in the mid-1970s and worked in about 100 films, but mostly in character roles. Despite being talented and cast in blockbusters like ‘Karz’, ‘Arth’, ‘Kaagaz Ki Nao’, ‘Ghar Ho To Aisa’, Ghar Ka Sukh’, ‘Ilzaam’, ‘Faasle’, ‘Aaj Ka Daur’, ‘Teri Meherbaniyan’, ‘Ghar Ek Mandir’ and ‘Yeh Kaisa Insaf?,’ he couldn`t attain the pinnacle of success and stardom.

As it was destined to be, Raj Kiran’s golden days were numbered. The actor failed to strike a balance in his professional and personal life and his relationship with his wife turned sour.

Raj Kiran, who was at the peak of his career in 1970s and 80s, went missing for almost a decade and then later was assumed dead even by friends.

Thanks to the relentless efforts by his fellow actors like Rishi Kapoor and Deepti Naval that he was finally traced, and more importantly found ‘alive’. Raj Kiran was found alive in a mental institution in Atlanta in 2011 and it was indeed great news for all cine-lovers.