Meet Rekha's first hero, bigger star than Amitabh Bachchan, Vinod Khanna, career got ruined after he went to jail due to..., name was...

India.com

29-05-2025

Bollywood has seen many legendary stars who have elevated Hindi cinema, including icons like Amitabh Bachchan, Raj Kapoor, Manoj Kumar, Vinod Khanna, and Dharmendra. Among them was one actor who, at his peak, even surpassed the fame of Big B and the Kapoors. However, fate took a harsh turn.
From being a top star, he faced a steep downfall and was later entangled in legal trouble following his wife's suicide, which even led him to jail. Let's identify who this actor was. The First Hero Of Rekha
Here we are talking about veteran actor Naveen Nischol, who ventured into modelling after finishing school and even cleared the major round of Mr. India competition held in Delhi during the 1960s. While travelling to Mumbai for the final round, he met his father's friend, renowned filmmaker Mohan Segal. After a while, Segal advised Naveen to join the Film Institute in Pune to gain proper training in cinema. In upcoming years, Mohan Segal gave Naveen his big break and featured him opposite Rekha in 'Sawan Bhadon', which became debut film for both future stars and he initially became the first hero to feature with the legendary actress. Became Bigger Than Amitabh Bachchan, Vinod Khanna
Released in 1970, the debut film of Naveen became a major hit, which gave him instant fame. Filmmakers began approaching him eagerly, and he went on to star in films like 'Victoria No. 203,' 'Dhund', and 'Hanste Zakhm.' At a point, he was even regarded as a bigger star than Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra and Vinod Khanna. Interestingly, Amitabh played a negative role in 1971 romantic drama 'Parwana', while Naveen was the lead with veteran actress Yogita Baali. However, by the mid-70s, box office failures began affecting Naveen's career, pushing him toward supporting and character roles, which caused a huge downfall in his career graph. When Naveen Landed Into A Serious Legal Trouble
Naveen Nischol's first marriage was to Neelu Kapoor, who was the niece of Dev Anand and sister of renowned filmmaker Shekhar Kapur. However, rumours of his involvement with actress Padmini Kapila led to the breakdown of the marriage that later turned into divorce. He later tied the knot with Geetanjali, who was previously divorced. On April 22, 2006,
Geetanjali committed suicide and left a note in which she accused Naveen of mental harassment and alleged that his brother Praveen, encouraged it. The note mentioned ' I, Geetanjali Navin Nischol, am committing suicide because Shri Navinji is an alcoholic and is beyond reform, because of his alcoholism, I am mentally tortured by him and he is being instigated by Pravin Nischol to torture me and I hold Pravin responsible for all this torture to me.'
As a result, both Naveen and Praveen were taken into police custody until May 6, 2006. According to India Today, their lawyer Satish Maneshinde stated that Geetanjali was battling depression and alcoholism. The two were eventually released. On March 19, 2011 Naveen took his last breath as the actor suffered a cardiac arrest.