If you were a Bollywood buff in the 1990s, you would not have missed seeing Chandrachud Singh on the big screen. The actor, who shared screen space with stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai and Tabu, used to work in Bollywood films before he had to take a backseat after a fatal injury in the early 2000s. (Also read: This actor was once Rajinikanth’s competitor, suffered paralysis, then started a business 3300 crores)
Chandrachud’s life and career
Chandrachud belongs to a distinguished family as his father Baldev Singh is a former MLA from Khair (Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh) and his mother Krishna Kumari Devi is the daughter of the Maharaja of Bolangir in Odisha. He completed his schooling from Doon School, Dehradun and higher education from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi University.
He prepared for UPSC entrance exam because he wanted to become an IAS officer. However, she soon gave up those dreams and made her acting debut in Joy Augustine’s 1996 romantic film Tere Mere Sapne opposite Arshad Warsi and Simran. The film was produced by Amitabh Bachchan’s banner ABCL. The same year he received critical praise for his performance as a terrorist in Gulzar’s period political thriller Maachis, in which he was cast opposite Tabu.
Chandrachud appeared in several major films in the following years, including Mansoor Khan’s 2000 romantic action drama Josh alongside Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai. He was also seen in Kundan Shah’s 2000 romantic drama Kya Kehna opposite Preity Zinta, Raj Kanwar’s 1999 action film Daag: The Fire and the 2001 comedy Aamdani Atthani Kharcha Rupaiya, in which he reunited with Tabu.
career decline
However, Chandrachud suffered a fatal injury while skiing in Goa in the early 2000s. Due to this, he became unable to do long shoots and workouts, which led to weight gain and missed film offers. In an interview with Mid-Day in 2020, Chandrachud recalled that phase of his career. “I went through a period of disillusionment, but it was soon followed by a feeling of dedication. When you are introduced into the industry with a film like Maachis, your expectations become high. But I could showcase my capabilities only on the basis of the offers that came to me. I am happy with the little work I have done. “I didn’t want to sell myself short.”
Chandrachud made a notable comeback after years with Ram Madhvani’s 2020 gangster show Aarya on Disney+ Hotstar, in which he played Sushmita Sen’s husband. She was also seen opposite Akshay Kumar in Ranjit Tiwari’s 2022 psychological crime thriller Katputli, which also streamed on Hotstar.
