Raj Kiran (actor)

Raj Kiran Mahtani (born 05 February 1949) is a former Indian actor who is recognised for his work in Bollywood. Born in a Sindhi family in Bombay, he made his debut in B. R. Ishara's Kaagaz Ki Nao (1975) and appeared in more than 100 films until the mid-90s. Later he disappeared from the industry and was thought to be living as a recluse in the United States but conflicting reports from 2011 indicated his whereabouts were unknown.

Career
Raj Kiran made his debut opposite Sarika in B. R. Ishara's Kaagaz Ki Nao (1975). In 1980, he had eight releases and his career picked up. He was appreciated in leading roles in films such as Shikshaa (1979), Maan Abhiman (1980) and Ek Naya Rishta (1988). as well as supporting roles in Karz (1980), Baseraa (1981), Arth (1982) and Raaj Tilak (1984) to name a few. While Raj Kiran was often typecast as a kind-hearted romantic because of his chocolate good looks he has also played some roles with gray shades as in Justice Chaudhury (1983). During the 1990s, his film career slowed down. He made his television debut in the much acclaimed TV series Reporter (1994) also starring Shekhar Suman.

Personal Life
Raj Kiran is rumored to have gone into acute depression when his career declined and faced several domestic crises and was admitted to a mental asylum in Mumbai. He was later rumoured to have been living as a recluse in America. Deepti Naval tried to look for the missing actor through Facebook writing on her timeline "Looking for a friend from the film world his name is Raj Kiran – we have no news of him – last heard he was driving a cab in NY city if anyone has any clue, please tell . . ."

In June 2011, Rishi Kapoor, on a trip to the United States made a phone call to the missing actor's brother Gobind Mahtani, and was told that Raj Kiran was in a mental asylum in Atlanta but was not given more details. However Raj Kiran's daughter Rishika subsequently issued a public statement negating the reports of Raj Kiran being found in Atlanta. She clarified that their family has been searching for him with the assistance of New York police and private detectives for years.

Television

 * Reporter (1994)
 * Aakhir Kaun (1996)
 * Aahat (1997–98)