THIS Actor, Once Amitabh Bachchan's Competition, Was Rumoured To Be Gay, Wife Left Him Penniless

THIS Actor, Once Amitabh Bachchan's Competition, Was Rumoured To Be Gay, Wife Left Him Penniless

A veteran actor has opened up about the challenges he faced in both his career and personal life, including rumours about his sexuality, financial struggles, and difficult professional choices. In a candid interview, he shared details about the highs and lows of his journey in Hindi cinema.

The actor is Deepak Parashar, who rose to fame in the 1980s after establishing himself as a model. He was initially promoted as a fresh competitor to Amitabh Bachchan, but he said he had no role in the media comparisons and even cleared the air with Bachchan personally. Despite early promise, his career took a turn, and he later worked in B-grade horror films directed and produced by the Ramsay brothers. “Don't blame me for that. You have to blame the senior Mr Ramsay," he said.

“Mr Ramsay had quite a few sons, and they were all making movies. I did one son's movie, and the other six of them followed. Being an emotional person, I couldn't say no to them. I did those films knowing that they are not A-grade films… My emotions overtook me, and that is the reason I couldn't say no to them. And yes, I did get typecast also, but let's not forget that I also met with an accident at that time, where I almost had my leg amputated," he told Vickey Lalwani.

He revealed that the accident also affected his personal life and was a major reason his wife divorced him. “When I met with this accident, she was eight months pregnant. When I came to India (from Dubai) with 380 stitches in my leg, I found a drastic change in her outlook towards me. Slowly, an emptiness evolved in the relationship. One day, she had the courage to come and tell me, ‘I married you only for glamour'."

Parashar said his ex-wife took everything, including their daughter, leaving him financially strained. “My mother needed some money, so I asked her to take some from the cupboard. She opened it, and there was nothing there. I told her to take some from the bank locker, but that was also empty. All the gold, the jewellery, the cash… It was gone. She'd taken everything and left me penniless."

He also addressed rumours about his sexual orientation, which have followed him for years. “First of all, I've not declared my sexuality to anyone because I don't feel the need to. I am certainly not gay, at all. There is nothing wrong in being gay, there are so many people who are gay in this industry. Their careers haven't been tarnished, so I refuse to believe that my career was tarnished because of a statement, which I have not made."

He explained that his earlier comments about being open to love were misunderstood. “I fall in love with everyone. Gender means nothing to me. For me, insaan achcha hona chahiye. Dil achcha hona chahiye. They should be genuine with me. Gender makes no difference to me, which many people have misinterpreted and misconstrued in the past."

Reflecting on his career, Parashar acknowledged the difficulty of returning to films after time away. “After being away from the limelight for three or four years, it's very difficult to make a comeback," he said.

Deepak Parashar, born on April 2, 1952, in Pune, is an Indian actor and former model best known for his roles in Insaaf Ka Tarazu (1980), Nikaah (1982), and Sharaabi (1984). He also appeared as a contestant on Bigg Boss in 2006. He was born to Shobha and Vishvanath Parashar in a Punjabi Hindu family and grew up in Delhi, where he graduated from Delhi University. Notably, film director Mohan Kumar was his maternal uncle, which gave him an early connection to the film industry.

During his college days, Deepak won the title of Mr. Delhi and later went on to become the very first Mr. India/India Prince in 1976, alongside Nafisa Ali (Miss India) and Poonam Dhillon (Miss Delhi). He rose to fame through the “ONLY VIMAL" suitings campaign in the late 1970s, which made him a familiar face across the country.

He transitioned to acting in the early 1980s and appeared in several popular Hindi films such as Sharaabi, Insaaf Ka Tarazu, Nikaah, Purani Haveli, and Aap To Aise Na They. Among these, Nikaah remains his most memorable film, while Insaaf Ka Tarazu is regarded as one of his strongest performances in a supporting role.

On television, Deepak Parashar appeared in Kahiin To Hoga and portrayed a Mughal emperor in Chandramukhi. He also played Mahendra Malhotra in Doordarshan's popular serial Swabhimaan. In 2006, he joined the first season of Bigg Boss but was evicted in the second week.

Deepak married Sarita in 1985, and they had a daughter together. However, the marriage ended in 1987 when their daughter was just five months old.

In 2024, Parashar revealed that he was once romantically involved with actress Zeenat Aman, his co-star from Insaaf Ka Tarazu, during the late 1970s when she was separating from her husband, Sanjay Khan. Their relationship, however, was short-lived, and both later married different people.

Source: News18
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