In the career of five decades, this actor, former child artiste has done over 200 films. In an interview, he claimed that in 1977, he was paid more than Rs 1 lakh for a role.
We often hear that child artistes often fail after they grow up. However, here we are discussing a former child actor, who was loved by the film industry and the audience. He is arguably the most popular child artiste of his time, and even if he couldn’t succeed in becoming a lead actor, he went on to develop a career for himself by playing good supporting roles.
Meet Master Raju
Born as Fahim Ajani, Master Raju hailed from Dongri, Mumbai. He started his film career at the age of five. In the career of five decades, Raju has done over 200 films and was among the most popular child artistes in the late 60s, 70s, and early 80s.
Who named Fahim Ajani as Master Raju
Sanjeev Kumar, who was working with Fahim in his debut movie Gulzar’s Parichay gave him the name Raju, and he went on to retain the name even after growing up. In an interview, Raju confessed that Master Raju was a bigger identity than him, and he realised the worth of it lately. Master Raju even won the Best Child Actor National Award for his performance in Chitchor.
Popular work of Master Raju
In the span of five decades, Raju has done more than 200 movies. As a child artiste, he had worked with almost every A-lister, including Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar, Jeetendra, and Anil Kapoor. Some of his popular titles from his filmography include Amar Prem, Daag-The Poem of Love, Deewaar, Inkaar, Khud-Daar, and Woh Saat Din.
)
Master Raju with Gulzar
Speaking about his popularity, Raju said in a Rediff interview that in 1977, he was paid ‘more than Rs 1 lakh’. He said, “In 1973, I was paid Rs 10,000 per film. In 1977, when I got very popular, I would get more than Rs 1 lakh.”
When Master Raju escaped fatal injury twice
In an interview with Rediff, Raju revealed that while shooting Deewangi with Shashi Kapoor, he got his face and arms burnt because of his miscordination in an action scene. During the shoot of Mamta, he almost drowned because he didn’t know how to swim.
When Master Raju failed as an adult actor
After Raju grew up he was interested in playing villain roles, but he was only getting offers of positive supporting roles, hero’s best friend.
)
Master Raju with Salman Khan in Baaghi
Raju did a few notable works as an adult as well. This includes Baaghi, Anari, Balwaan, Saajan Chale Sasural, and Diljale. However, he failed to become a popular actor.
Raju found success in…
When Master Raju failed as an adult actor, he switched to television. After venturing into TV, Raju played Narad in almost 3000 episodes. He played the mythological character in different serials including Jai Hanuman, Navgrah Puran, Darshan do Bhagwan, Jai Maa Durgaa, and Shani Mahima.
For 10 years, Raju played Narad and gained recognition. Raju also did a few episodes of CID and Ssshhh… Koi Hai. Raju was last seen in TV series Ziddi Dil Maane Na and OTT film Ardh.
Read: Meet actress who became star at 17, rejected Akshay, Shah Rukh’s blockbusters, disappeared from films, then became…
The DNA app is now available for download on the Google Play Store. Please download the app and share your feedback with us.
