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.
Kamal Sadanah debuted in Bollywood in 1992, the same year that Shah Rukh Khan and Akshay Kumar began their journey. Kamal’s debut film, Bekhudi, also marked a 17-year-old Kajol’s debut. The 1993 release, 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. In 2023, he recalled the night in an interview with Siddharth Kanan.
The film was not a success, but he later found success with Rang. One may assume that Kamal found success easily. But his path to this ‘overnight’ stardom was a tough one. 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.
“ “It is traumatic. No physical problems,” he said.
Kamal Sadanah’s career
After Rang, Kamal signed a string of films, but all of them failed at the box office. But the film tanked, too. But that too did not work at the box office. And Kamal ‘vanished’ from Bollywood. The following year, he had a minor role in Pippa, where he played Field Marshall Sam Manekshaw.
In 2005, he directed Karkash, a vehicle aimed to relaunch his career. The following year, he remade his father’s film, Victoria No 203. 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.
