| Nimbus's Sarhad Paar, directed by Raman Kumar and starring Sanjay Dutt, Tabu, Mahima Choudhary and Chandrachur Singh, is being readied for a January 2006 release, except for one glitch — Chandrachur can't be traced.
He has been missing for the last couple of years. While some say he's suffering from a debilitating illness, others say it's a thyroid disorder, and some allege that he is mentally unbalanced. Can't be traced
Says Vivek Vaswani, group advisor, Nimbus Motion Pictures. "I don't know where Chandrachur is. He's a friend of mine and I've know him since our Josh days, but he has completely disappeared.
Dr Akash Khurana (Managing Director, Nimbus Motion Pictures) and I have tried to trace him for more than a year now. We have sent him letters, called him umpteen times, but there has been no response.
He has about a dozen telephone numbers, but he cannot be traced through them. He doesn't WANT to be traced. I hear he is suffering from thyroid problems, living in Delhi for the last two years and teaching there." Used to sleep 12 hours
Why hasn't Chandrachur responded to any communication? "We don't know. We have asked his family, but have got no response from them; they are not telling us anything.
But you never know, it might just be a health problem, and he may come back. I remember when we were shooting for Josh, Aishwarya, Shah Rukh and I would go for long walks or sit chatting at coffee chops till late at night, but Chandrachur would only sleep — sometimes for 12 hours at a stretch." Gentleman actor
One fond memory that Vivek has of Chandrachur is when Mukul Dev was staying with him after coming from Delhi in 1997.
"N Chandra wanted to cast Mukul in Wajood, and I told him he could have him lock, stock and barrel. But the next day, it came out that Chandrachur had been signed; Mukul was naturally upset.
Chandrachur called me the same day and clarified that these were false rumours. He has a lot of grace, warmth… very cultured. We had a very courteous relationship… I wish we could have been closer. Chandrachur was one of the few gentlemen in the film industry; he never raised his voice or lost his temper." He will come back
Aditya Singh, Chandrachur's younger brother, brushes aside rumours of the actor's health problems. Says Aditya, who owns TV production company, Contiloe Films, "It's all trash. Chandrachur hasn't been keeping well. He has been living in Mumbai for the last few years."
He explains Chandrachur's disappearance with, "In 1999, he dislocated his arm while shooting for Josh, and since then, he hasn't been doing too much work. He had to go in for an operation and now physiotherapy is required. Even if it's a dancing shot, his arm comes off and it's very painful, so he has to be very careful. But yes, he will be coming back to films."
Aditya, who is very protective of his soft-spoken brother, promised to give us Chandrachur's cell number, but never did. We tried the actor's residence many times, but always got the phone on voicemail. |
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