{"id":7678,"date":"2026-09-08T07:28:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T07:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hernet.news\/?p=7678"},"modified":"2026-09-08T07:28:00","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T07:28:00","slug":"from-overnight-stardom-to-starting-again-rahul-roys-fight-to-rebuild-his-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hernet.news\/?p=7678","title":{"rendered":"From Overnight Stardom to Starting Again: Rahul Roy\u2019s Fight to Rebuild His Life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Rahul Roy once represented the dream of overnight Bollywood stardom. His breakthrough performance in the 1990 romantic blockbuster Aashiqui<\/em> transformed him into one of the most recognisable faces of the era almost instantly. Decades later, however, the actor finds himself facing a very different reality\u2014one shaped by illness, financial uncertainty, reduced opportunities and the difficult task of rebuilding his career from the ground up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For millions of young Indians in the early 1990s, Rahul Roy was synonymous with romance. Aashiqui<\/em>, with its hugely popular soundtrack and emotional love story, turned him into Bollywood\u2019s quintessential \u201cchocolate boy.\u201d The success opened the doors to several other films, including Junoon<\/em>, Phir Teri Kahani Yaad Aayee<\/em> and Yaad Aayee<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the extraordinary popularity of his early career did not guarantee an equally smooth journey in the years that followed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A major turning point came in 2020, when Roy suffered a serious brain stroke while working on the film LAC: Live the Battle<\/em> in Kargil. The medical emergency dramatically changed the course of his life and career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roy was subsequently taken for treatment and underwent a prolonged period of medical care and rehabilitation. At one point, his condition was serious enough to require intensive care. In later interviews, he recalled the uncertainty that followed the stroke, including doubts about whether he would ever be able to walk normally or speak properly again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For an actor whose professional identity had always been closely connected with appearing in front of a camera, even these basic abilities suddenly became uncertain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The years following the stroke became a long period of recovery. Roy has described the five years after the incident as almost a prolonged interruption in his professional life. While he concentrated on regaining his health, opportunities to work became limited, creating another challenge\u2014how to support himself financially while rebuilding his physical abilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That struggle recently came into public view after videos of Roy performing at wedding celebrations circulated widely on social media. In the footage, the actor can be seen dancing and performing to songs associated with his earlier career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of receiving universal sympathy, however, the videos also attracted online ridicule and trolling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roy\u2019s response was straightforward: there should be no shame in working to earn a living.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He explained that he has expenses and financial responsibilities of his own, and that after his stroke, finding regular acting work became considerably more difficult. When opportunities came his way, he accepted them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Roy, performances at wedding events have sometimes earned him between \u20b9200,000 and \u20b9400,000. For him, such appearances are not simply about entertainment or nostalgia; they are also a means of making an income while he works towards rebuilding his professional life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His remarks have highlighted an often-overlooked reality of the entertainment industry: fame can be temporary, while financial responsibilities remain long after the spotlight fades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The actor has also been open about the ways his personal life and financial circumstances have changed over the years. He has spoken about an ongoing legal dispute involving his brother and an amount reportedly worth around \u20b93 million. He has expressed a desire to see the matter resolved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His financial situation was also affected by his divorce. Roy has said that he transferred a substantial portion of his assets to his former wife during the separation, leaving him with the task of rebuilding his financial foundation later in life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet Roy does not appear to view his current circumstances solely through the lens of loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, he describes the present phase as a new beginning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In one of his recent reflections, Roy said he was trying to build his \u201cempire\u201d again at the age of 60. The statement captures the central theme of his current journey: after achieving extraordinary recognition at a young age, he is once again attempting to establish himself, this time with decades of experience behind him and the lessons of a difficult period shaping his outlook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His recovery has also brought major changes to his lifestyle. Roy has said that he gave up smoking after his stroke and significantly altered his diet. He has described following a largely vegetarian and vegan-oriented lifestyle and avoiding foods including onion, garlic and dairy products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He has also said that he currently takes eight different medicines every day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While these dietary choices are personal decisions, Roy\u2019s broader recovery has involved medical treatment, rehabilitation and significant adjustments to his daily routine. His experience illustrates how recovering from a major health crisis can require not only physical rehabilitation but also a complete restructuring of everyday life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through the difficult years, Roy says he was not entirely alone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several colleagues from the Hindi film industry have remained supportive of him, including Karisma Kapoor, Raveena Tandon and Pooja Bhatt. He has also maintained connections with his Aashiqui<\/em> co-stars Anu Aggarwal, Deepak Tijori and Avtar Gill, as well as director Mahesh Bhatt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Roy has particularly spoken about Salman Khan\u2019s support during his medical treatment and recovery, saying the actor provided financial assistance during a difficult period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More recently, he has said that filmmaker Farah Khan and actor Archana Puran Singh also offered support after his financial circumstances became public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, after years away from regular work, Roy is gradually returning to acting. He is expected to appear in a new project titled Super Badshah<\/em>, offering him another opportunity to reconnect with the profession that made him famous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His journey from Aashiqui<\/em> heartthrob to a survivor rebuilding his career is a reminder that celebrity does not shield people from illness, financial hardship or personal setbacks. The difference lies in how they respond when the spotlight disappears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rahul Roy\u2019s story is no longer simply about the actor who became famous overnight. It is about a man who lost years of his career to a devastating health crisis, faced financial uncertainty and public ridicule, and is now attempting to construct a second chapter on his own terms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For someone who once reached the heights of Bollywood fame almost instantly, starting again may be an unusually difficult challenge. But Roy\u2019s message remains clear: the journey is not over simply because the first chapter has ended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A news by Alisha Pradhan, General Secretary, HerNet Foundation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rahul Roy once represented the dream of overnight Bollywood stardom. His breakthrough performance in the 1990 romantic blockbuster Aashiqui transformed him into one of the most recognisable faces of the era almost instantly. Decades later, however, the actor finds himself facing a very different reality\u2014one shaped by illness, financial uncertainty, reduced opportunities and the difficult […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":7675,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-5"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hernet.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hernet.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hernet.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hernet.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hernet.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7678"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hernet.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7678\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7682,"href":"https:\/\/hernet.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7678\/revisions\/7682"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hernet.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7675"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hernet.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hernet.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hernet.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}