Meet ‘bikini girl’ of Bollywood, became star after her first film, got married and quit acting at peak of her career, left India, marriage ended after few years, once got threats from…

In the 90s, she became one of Bollywood's top actresses. However, she quit films after marriage and was pressurised to leave India because...

Written by: Onam Gupta
Published: November 10, 2024, 12:57 PM IST

In the film industry, many actresses rise to stardom right after the release of their first film. They are often hailed as the next superstar, but some choose to leave their acting careers behind at the height of their success. Today, we’ll tell you about an actress who has been away from the industry for quite some time. She made her debut alongside Rishi Kapoor in 1988 film Vijay and then left acting forever. We are talking about none other than Sonam Khan.

Originally known as Bakhtavar Khan, Sonam is the granddaughter of veteran actor Murad and the niece of Raza Murad. Late filmmaker Yash Chopra gave her screen name Sonam when she made her Bollywood debut in 1988 film ‘Vijay’. She was just 15 when she entered the film industry and later became one of the top stars of her era.

Sonam has worked with many superstars including Govinda, Chunky Pandey, Rishi Kapoor, Mithun Chakraborty, Chiranjeevi, Jackie Shroff, and Sanjay Dutt, among others. She has appeared in over 35 films and sooner became one of the leading actresses in Bollywood. In 90s, Sonam was called the ‘bikini girl’ because she was one of the few female actors who was willing to wear a bikini on-screen. She had a bold scene in the movi Mitti Aur Sona that caught everyone’s attention.

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However, at the peak of her career, Sonam decided to get married and quit acting forever. She married Rajiv Rai in 1991 and the couple, after few years, welcomed son- Gaurav Rai.

According to several media reports, Sonam left India when she started receiving threats from gangster Abu Salem. She moved to Los Angeles with her family and settled in Switzerland for 20 years. Her marital life suffered a lot due to this incident and in 2016, news came out that Sonam and Rajiv has decided to end her 15 years of marriage.

In January 2024, Sonam Khan announced her second marriage with Dr Murali Poduval.

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