Veteran actor of the Indian film industry, Raj Babbar, has given many tremendous films in his career and is also active in politics. Along with this, the personal life of the actor has also been in a lot of discussion. Today, on 23 June, Raj Babbar is celebrating his 73rd birthday. On this special occasion, let's have a look at his personal life and filmography.
Started acting career in theatre
Raj Babbar was born on June 23, 1952 in Tundla, Uttar Pradesh, which falls in the Firozabad district. The actor had a passion for acting since childhood, due to which after his initial education in Uttar Pradesh, he came to Delhi and took admission in NSD. From here, he learned the tricks of acting and through theatre, the actor sharpened his acting skills and started his cinematic career in the year 1977.
The actor's first film was 'Kissa Kursi Ka', which satirised the then government by showing the story of the Emergency period in India. However, the actor got special recognition from the film 'Insaaf Ka Tarazu' released in the year 1980, in which he played the role of a rapist. Raj Babbar is an actor who set a different example in other roles apart from hero and villain. This art of his has made the audience his fan. Talking about some of the major films of the actor, they include films like 'Prem Geet', 'Umrao Jaan', 'Mazdoor', 'Mehndi', 'Haqiqat', 'Nikaah', 'Agar Tum Na Hote', 'Aaj Ki Awaaz', 'Salma', 'Aaj', 'Ghayal'. Apart from films, the actor has also played a brilliant role in TV serials 'Bahadur Shah Zafar', 'Mahabharat' and 'Maharaja Ranjit Singh'.
Raj Babbar and Smita Patil's love story
Smita and Raj met during the shooting of 'Bheegi Palke' in 1982, which later turned into love. However, he was already married at that time. After some time, both of them decided to live together. Raj left his wife Nadira and started living with Smita, which was criticised a lot. However, after some time, Smita and Raj got married. Smita's parents were not at all happy with this decision. Writer Maithili Rao has also mentioned the love story of Smita Patil and Raj Babbar in the biography of the actress. According to the book, Smita's mother was against their relationship and said that how can Smita, who fights for women, break someone else's home.
However, after marriage, the love between the two did not last long, as there were differences between them. After some time, Smita gave birth to a son and he was named Prateik Babbar (now Pratiek Smita Patil). The actress went through a very difficult phase during delivery and her health deteriorated and she breathed her last at the age of 31, just 15 days after the birth of her son. Raj was devastated after Smita's death and after some time, he went back to his first wife Nadira.
Raj Babbar and politics
After doing wonders in the world of cinema, Raj Babbar entered politics in the year 1989. He started his political career by joining the Janata Dal. Later, the actor joined the Congress Party. He was a member of the Rajya Sabha from 1994-99. Also, let us tell you that the actor has been a member of the Lok Sabha thrice and a member of the Rajya Sabha twice. Apart from this, he has also been the state president of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee.
