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He was once counted among the top superstars of his time. However, fate took a harsh turn, and his career came crashing down due to a series of continuous setbacks. Published: April 6, 2025 11:14 AM IST By Bollywood has been home to many shinning stars who have elevated Hindi cinema to remarkable heights.
Among them was the actor who, at one point, held a stature even greater than Amitabh Bachchan and Vinod Khanna. However, fate took a harsh turn, and his career came crashing down. We’re talking about actor who was once counted among the top superstars of his time.
Born into a Bengali family in Lahore, Navin ventured into modelling after finishing the school and even won the preliminary round of Mr. India contest during the 1960s. He later travelled to Mumbai, where he met his father’s friend, renowned director Mohan Sehgal.
Mohan advised him to join the Film Institute in Pune to gain a deeper understanding of cinema. Taking his advise, Navin enrolled, and soon after, Mohan cast him in opposite Rekha. Interestingly, this film also marked the debut film of the evergreen superstar Rekha.
Released in 1970, Sawan Bhadon became a superhit and soon filmmakers were eager to cast Navin in their projects. He went on to star in successful projects like . At one point, he became a bigger star than Amitabh Bachchan and Vinod Khanna.
However, by the mid 70s, Navin’s career began to decline due to a string of commercial failures, and he gradually transitioned into character roles. Navin first tied the knot with Neelu Kapoor, niece of legendary actor Dev Anand and sister of filmmaker Shekhar Kapur. Unfortunately, the couple got divorced.
Navin later tied the knot with Geetanjali, who had previously been married. However, on April 22, 2006, Geetanjali died by suicide. She hung herself, and left a suicide note, claiming that Navin ‘harassed’ her and used to ‘mentally tortured’ her.
She also wrote that Navin’s brother instigated him to trouble her. Following this, a local court ordered police custody of both Navin and his brother until May, 2006. According to a report in India Today, Navin’s lawyer stated that Geetanjali was struggling with depression and alcoholism.
Eventually, both Navin and his brother were released. On March 19, 2011, the actor passed away due to a heart attack in Pune. He is survived by his two daughters Natasha and Nomita from his first marriage.
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