Raj Babbar (born 23 June 1952) is an Indian
Hindi
Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
and
Punjabi film actor and politician belonging to
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...
. He is a three-time member of the
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...
and a two-time member of the
Rajya Sabha
Rajya Sabha (Council of States) is the upper house of the Parliament of India and functions as the institutional representation of India’s federal units — the states and union territories.https://rajyasabha.nic.in/ It is a key component o ...
. He was the state President of
Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee.
Early life and education
Babbar was born in
Tundla
Tundla () is a town and a municipal board in Firozabad district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is an important railway junction between the Delhi-Kanpur main line and the Agra branch line. Tundla is a railway town that sprang up when ...
,
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...
, into a
Punjabi family on 23 June 1952. His family has long settled in
Tundla
Tundla () is a town and a municipal board in Firozabad district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is an important railway junction between the Delhi-Kanpur main line and the Agra branch line. Tundla is a railway town that sprang up when ...
,
Firozabad District
Firozabad district () is one of the western Districts of Uttar Pradesh, districts of the Indian States and territories of India, state of Uttar Pradesh, which has Firozabad city as its district headquarters. Administratively, the district is a ...
since the
partition. Their ancestral roots lie in
Jalalpur Jattan, a city now located in the
Gujrat District
Gujrat ( Punjabi, ) is a district of Gujrat Division in the Pakistani province of Punjab. The Gujrat District was created by the British Government in 1846. According to the 2023 Pakistani census the population of the Gujrat District is 3,219 ...
of
Punjab
Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...
in modern-day
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
.
He did his initial schooling from Mufid-E-Aam Inter college,
Agra
Agra ( ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is the ...
. He is an
alumnus
Alumni (: alumnus () or alumna ()) are former students or graduates of a school, college, or university. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for groups of women, and alums (: alum) or alumns (: alumn) as gender-neutral alternatives. Th ...
of the 1975 class of the
National School of Drama
National School of Drama (NSD) is a drama school situated at New Delhi, India. It is an autonomous organization under Ministry of Culture, Government of India. It was set up in 1959 by the Sangeet Natak Akademi and became an independent school ...
and graduate from
Agra College.
Career
He trained at the Method school of acting at NSD, which is involved in Street Theatre. After his training in New Delhi, he moved to Mumbai and started his film career with
Reena Roy
Reena Roy (born Saira Ali), is an Indian actress. She made her film debut as a teenager with B R Ishara's '' Zaroorat'' (1972), but gained wider public recognition with ''Jaise Ko Taisa'' (1973) and the romance-action film '' Zakhmee'' (1975). I ...
, one of the most well-known actresses of that time. He gained notoriety for his horrific portrayal of a rapist in
B. R. Chopra's ''
Insaf Ka Tarazu'', in which he assaulted the heroine Bharti Saxena, played by
Zeenat Aman
Zeenat Amanullah Khan (born 19 November 1951), known professionally as Zeenat Aman, is an Indian actress and model who mainly works in Hindi films. One of the leading actresses of Hindi cinema, she established herself as one of the highest paid ...
and later her sister and in the end, is shot and killed by Bharti. He then became a consistent feature of the B. R. Chopra banner and appeared in ''
Nikaah'' with
Deepak Parashar and
Salma Agha
Salma Agha (born 29 October 1954) is a British singer and actress who worked in Pakistani and Indian films in the 1980s and the early 1990s. She is best known for her acting and singing the song "Dil ke Armaan" in the film ''Nikaah'' (1982).
...
and in with
Smita Patil
Smita Patil (17 October 1955 – 13 December 1986) was an Indian actress who primarily worked in Hindi and Marathi language, Marathi films. Regarded among the greatest and finest actresses in the history of Indian cinema, she was known for her ...
.
He also achieved success in Punjabi cinema as he gave remarkable performances in ''
Chann Pardesi
''Chann Pardesi'' is a Punjabi language film released in 1981. It was directed by Chitrarth Singh and starred Raj Babbar, Rama Vij, Amrish Puri, Kulbhushan Kharbanda and Om Puri.
Chann Pardesi was a seminal film that debuted many future ...
'' (1980), ''
Marhi Da Deeva'' (1989), and ''
Long Da Lishkara'' (1986) – three art house movies with serious themes treated in a realistic manner, and this was an innovation for the Punjabi films field. He also acted in the hit Punjabi films
Aasra Pyar Da (1983),
Mahaul Theek Hai (1999),
Shaheed Uddham Singh (1999),
Yaaran Naal Baharan (2005),
Ek Jind Ek Jaan (2006),
Apni Boli Apna Des (2009) and
Tera Mera Ki Rishta (2009). He appeared in several movies as an antagonist in movies like
Insaf Ka Tarazu (1980),
Saazish (1988),
Aankhen (1993),
Dalaal
''Dalaal'' is a 1993 Indian bilingual action film simultaneously shot in Bengali and Hindi languages directed by Partho Ghosh. Produced by Prakash Mehra under his banner of Prakash Mehra Productions, the film is based on a short story by Kaush ...
(1993),
The Gambler (1995), (1994),
Yaarana (1995),
Barsaat (1995),
Ziddi (1997),
Gundagardi
''Gundagardi'' () is a 1997 Indian Hindi-language action film directed by V. Sai Prasad and produced by M.C. Bokadia, starring Vijayashanti, Raj Babbar and Gulshan Grover with Dharmendra in a supporting role. The film was dubbed in Telugu lang ...
(1997),
Daag: The Fire (1999),
Indian (2001) and many more, some movies became successful, but some were commercial flops.
He has also acted in television. He appeared in the introductory episodes of the famous Indian TV series ''
Mahabharat
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kurukshetra War, a war of succes ...
'', as king Bharat,
Bahadur Shah Zafar
Bahadur Shah II, (Abu Zafar Siraj-ud-din Muhammad; 24 October 1775 – 7 November 1862), usually referred to by his poetic title Bahadur Shah ''Zafar'' (; ''Zafar'' ), was the twentieth and last List of emperors of the Mughal Empire, Mughal emp ...
(1986), as Akbar, alongside debutant
Juhi Chawla
Juhi Chawla Mehta ( Chawla; born 13 November 1967) is an Indian actress. She established herself as one of the leading actresses of Hindi cinema from the late 1980s through the early 2000s. Recognised for her comic timing and vivacious on-screen ...
, and also in his home production; ''
Maharaja Ranjit Singh
Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839) was the founder and first maharaja of the Sikh Empire, in the northwest Indian subcontinent, ruling from 1801 until his death in 1839.
Born to Maha Singh, the leader of the Sukerchakia Misl ...
'' (2010), all telecast on Doordarshan. In 2014 and 2015, He acted in the serial telecast on Life OK;
Pukaar - Call For The Hero, directed by
Vipul Amrutlal Shah, with
Rannvijay Singh,
Adah Sharma
Adah Sharma (born 11 May 1992) is an Indian actress who appears predominantly in Hindi and Telugu films. Sharma, after finishing her schooling, made her acting debut with a leading role in the 2008 Hindi horror film, ''1920'', a box office succ ...
and Shubhangi Latkar.
Political life
Raj Babbar entered politics by joining
Janata Dal
Janata Dal () was an List of political parties in India, Indian political party which was formed through the merger of Lok Dal, Indian National Congress (Jagjivan), and the Jan Morcha on 11 October 1988—the birth anniversary of Jayaprakash Na ...
in 1989, which was led by
V. P. Singh.
From 1994 to 1999 he was a member of the
Rajya Sabha
Rajya Sabha (Council of States) is the upper house of the Parliament of India and functions as the institutional representation of India’s federal units — the states and union territories.https://rajyasabha.nic.in/ It is a key component o ...
. He was re-elected in the 14th Lok Sabha elections for his second term in 2004. He was suspended from
Samajwadi Party
The Samajwadi Party ( SP; ) is a Socialism, socialist political party in India. It was founded on 4 October 1992 by former Janata Dal politician Mulayam Singh Yadav and is headquartered in New Delhi. It is the third-largest political party in ...
in 2006. Later he joined
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...
in 2008 and was elected for his fourth term as Member of Parliament in 2009, by defeating
Dimple Yadav
Dimple Yadav (née Rawat; born 15 January 1978; ) is an Indian politician and the incumbent Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, member of parliament from Mainpuri Lok Sabha constituency, Mainpuri of Uttar Pradesh. She has earlier been a member of ...
, wife of
Akhilesh Yadav
Akhilesh Yadav (; born 1 July 1973) is an Indian politician and national president of the Samajwadi Party who served as the 20th Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. Having assumed the chief minister's office on 15 March 2012 at the age of 38, he ...
and daughter-in-law of
Mulayam Singh Yadav
Mulayam Singh Yadav (22 November 1939 – 10 October 2022) was an Indian politician, a socialism, socialist figure and founder of the Samajwadi Party. Over the course of his political career spanning more than six decades, he served for three t ...
. In the 2014
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...
elections, he contested from
Ghaziabad
Ghaziabad () is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh and a part of Delhi NCR. It is the administrative headquarters of Ghaziabad district and is the largest city in Western Uttar Pradesh, with a population of 1,729,000. Ghaziaba ...
and lost to General V. K. Singh. He was appointed as the president of Uttar Pradesh congress committee (UPCC), but in 2019 elections he couldn't even manage to save his own seat and lost to Rajkumar Chahar of the Bharatiya Janata Party by a huge margin of 4,95,065 votes.
Raj Babbar, in the capacity of Congress spokesman, created controversy in 2013, by stating that Rs.12 is sufficient for a common man to get a full meal in Mumbai, which drew severe criticism.
He also said that a poor person in India can get full meals two times a day, within Rs. 28 to 32 and opposition parties termed Raj Babbar's statement laughable.
[ Later, he regretted his comments. In July 2013, he compared ]Narendra Modi
Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...
to Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
, which also created controversy.
In the 2024 Indian general election
General elections were held in Elections in India, India from 2024 elections in India, 19 April to 1 June 2024 in seven phases, to elect all List of constituencies of the Lok Sabha, 543 members of the Lok Sabha. Votes were counted and the res ...
, Raj Babbar contested from the Gurgaon Lok Sabha constituency on Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...
ticket. In a tight contest, Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...
( BJP) candidate and Union Minister Rao Inderjit Singh registered his fourth straight win from the Gurgaon Lok Sabha constituency, defeating Raj Babbar by 75,079 votes.
Personal life
He is married to Nadira Zaheer, daughter of noted progressive Urdu writer Sajjad Zaheer. Arya Babbar
Aarya Babbar is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi and Punjabi films. In 2014, Aarya participated in the eighth season of ''Bigg Boss''.
Career
Aarya Babbar started his film career with Raj Kanwar's '' Ab Ke Baras'' alongside Amrita Rao ...
and Juhi Babbar are his children from Nadira. He was also married to actress Smita Patil
Smita Patil (17 October 1955 – 13 December 1986) was an Indian actress who primarily worked in Hindi and Marathi language, Marathi films. Regarded among the greatest and finest actresses in the history of Indian cinema, she was known for her ...
who gave birth to their son Prateik Babbar.
He has two younger brothers, Kishan and Vinod (deceased) and four younger sisters. Raj Babbar's niece Kajri Babbar is an upcoming filmmaker.
He launched his own home production; Babbar Films Pvt. Ltd. along with his brother Kishan. Under this, he has produced two feature films, '' Karm Yodha'' (1992) and '' Kash Aap Hamare Hote'' (2003), and the serial ''Maharaja Ranjit Singh (TV series)
''Maharaja Ranjit Singh'' is an Indian historical drama television series created by Raj Babbar. It was directed by Chitraarth and Sikander Bharti and produced by Nadira Babbar and Kukoo Babbar of Babbar Films Private Limited. The drama aired o ...
'' (2010).
Awards and nominations
* 1981: Nominated: Filmfare Award for Best Actor for '' Insaaf Ka Tarazu''
* 1984: Nominated: Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor
The Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor is given by ''Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to recognise a male actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a supporting role. Although the awards starte ...
for ''Agar Tum Na Hote
''Agar Tum Na Hote'' () is a 1983 Indian Bollywood drama film directed by Lekh Tandon and starring Rajesh Khanna, Rekha and Raj Babbar in leading roles. Lekh Tandon received the Best Director Award for this film from the Filmfans Association o ...
''
* 1985: Nominated: Filmfare Award for Best Actor for '' Aaj Ki Awaaz''
* 1994: Nominated: Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Negative Role
The Filmfare Best Villain Award was given by ''Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to recognise an actor who had delivered an outstanding performance in a negative role.
Although the awards started in 1954, this ca ...
for ''Dalaal
''Dalaal'' is a 1993 Indian bilingual action film simultaneously shot in Bengali and Hindi languages directed by Partho Ghosh. Produced by Prakash Mehra under his banner of Prakash Mehra Productions, the film is based on a short story by Kaush ...
''
* 1996: Nominated: Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Negative Role
The Filmfare Best Villain Award was given by ''Filmfare'' as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to recognise an actor who had delivered an outstanding performance in a negative role.
Although the awards started in 1954, this ca ...
for '' Yaraana''
Filmography
Films
Television
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Babbar, Raj
India MPs 2004–2009
1952 births
Indian male film actors
Living people
National School of Drama alumni
Politicians from Agra
Male actors in Bengali cinema
Male actors in Hindi cinema
20th-century Indian male actors
Indian actor-politicians
Indian National Congress politicians from Uttar Pradesh
People of Punjabi descent
India MPs 2009–2014
Male actors in Punjabi cinema
Lok Sabha members from Uttar Pradesh
21st-century Indian male actors
United Progressive Alliance candidates in the 2014 Indian general election
Samajwadi Party politicians from Uttar Pradesh
Janata Dal politicians
Rajya Sabha members from Uttarakhand
India MPs 1999–2004
People from Agra
People from Firozabad district
Agra College alumni
Presidents of Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee