Chandrachur Singh

Early life and career

Singh is the son of Baldev Singh, a former MLA from Khair, a town in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, and Krishna Kumari Devi from the royal family of the princely state of Patna in current-day Odisha.

Singh attended the all-boys boarding school The Doon School in Dehradun, and then went to St. Stephen's College, University of Delhi. Later, he prepared the UPSC entrance examination aiming to be an IAS officer. In the early 1990s, Singh, a trained classical singer, taught music at Vasant Valley School and history at his alma mater, The Doon School.

Career

Beginnings and early success (mid-to-late 1990s)

Singh made his acting debut in 1996 in Tere Mere Sapne which was produced under Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited. Later that year he starred alongside Tabu in Maachis for which he won the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut. He appeared in several films as a leading actor which failed to do well, but he had success with his lead roles in the multi-starers Daag: The Fire (1999) opposite Sanjay Dutt, Kya Kehna (2000) opposite Preity Zinta and Josh (2000) opposite Aishwarya Rai and Shah Rukh Khan, for which he won many popular votes. He was nominated for Filmfare Awards on two occasions, in different categories.

Decline (early-to-mid 2000s)

After initial successes, his career went into a low, because of multiple dislocations of his shoulder joint, which he suffered while water skiing in Goa. Because of the pain on his shoulder, he couldn't work out or stay fit which caused him to gain weight and lose roles. His last few releases included Aamdani Atthani Kharcha Rupaiyaa (2001), Bharat Bhagya Vidhata (2002) and the delayed release Sarhad Paar which was shot in 2002 and released in 2006. All three films flopped at the box office.

Attempts at comeback (2010s-2020s)

In 2012, he made a comeback with the multi-starer film Chaar Din Ki Chandni. The film featured Tusshar Kapoor, Kulraj Randhawa, Anupam Kher, Om Puri and Farida Jalal in lead roles. Chaar Din Ki Chandni received a mixed response from critics, and turned out to be a flop at most places in India. Singh also played a role in the 2012 English-language film The Reluctant Fundamentalist, directed by Mira Nair. He then appeared in Zilla Ghaziabad which had been delayed for years, and finally released in August 2013.

In 2020, he made his big acting comeback with Disney+ Hotstar crime drama television series Aarya, opposite Sushmita Sen. It was directed by Ram Madhvani.

Filmography

Films

Television

References

References

1. Sonil Dedhia. (June 20, 2020). "Why Chandrachur Singh vanished".
2. Sharma, Devansh. (22 October 2024). "This Aishwarya Rai co-star is now a single dad, was called the next Bollywood star".
3. "Chandrachur Singh returns with Aarya".
4. (7 July 2020). "Chandrachur Singh on fame in the '90s, obscurity in the '00s and his rebirth in Aarya".
5. (28 June 2020). "Cinema: Whatever happened to Chandrachur Singh....".
6. (31 December 1996). "A prince and pauper tale". Living Media.
7. "Tere Mere Sapne".
8. "Maachis Budget and Box Office". [[Box Office India]].
9. Suparn Verma. (13 February 1999). "Revenge and amnesia". [[Rediff.com.
10. "review (Planet Bollywood)".
11. (2000). "Kya Kehna! declared a hit". Hindustan Times.
12. (5 September 2002). "Dil Hai Tumhaara? Kya Kehna, Preity!". The Times of India.
13. (2000). "Bollywood 2000 — love in the time of tainted funds". Hindustan Times.
14. (22 July 2015). "Top Worldwide Grossers 2000". Box Office India.
15. (8 June 2020). "Chandrachur Singh on 'phase of disillusionment' after films got shelved: 'A sense of surrender came along soon after'".
16. "Box office of 2001 films". Box Office India.
17. "Aamdani Atthani Kharcha Rupaiyaa - Movie - Box Office India".
18. (13 June 2020). "Chandrachur Singh on injury that threw his career off track: 'My shoulder would get dislocated, stop shoot for some days'".
19. "Tough times don't last, tough people do: Chandrachur Singh on his acting comeback".
20. Kaplan, Fred. (19 April 2013). "Mira Nair on 'The Reluctant Fundamentalist'". The New York Times.
21. (19 June 2020). "I don't want to be typecast: Chandrachur Singh".
22. "Zila Ghaziabad Movie Review {1.5/5}: Critic Review of Zila Ghaziabad by Times of India". The Times of India.
23. Joshi, Tushar. (22 February 2013). "Film review: 'Zila Ghaziabad' is out of sync".
24. "Review: Zila Ghaziabad is assembly-line garbage - Rediff.com".
25. (18 June 2020). "Chandrachur Singh on his comeback with Aarya, years in oblivion: 'I see it as a learning curve'".
26. (15 June 2020). "Aarya actor Chandrachur Singh: Ram Madhvani has a unique style of filmmaking".
27. "Sham Ghansham - Movie - Box Office India".
28. Adarsh, Taran. (19 April 2002). "Bharat Bhagya Vidhata Review".
29. (5 June 2009). "Review: Maruti Mera Dosst".
30. Justin Rao. (28 July 2025). "Huma Qureshi's 'Bayaan' To Have World Premiere at Toronto International Film Festival 2025".
31. (30 October 2013). "Chandrachur Singh returns to small screen with 'Savdhaan India'".