5 min readNew DelhiJul 27, 2026 09:41 PM IST
Pakistani actor and activist Somy Ali has been searching for missing Bollywood actor Raj Kiran for the past 16 years. The journey began after a conversation with late actor Rishi Kapoor during a shoot, when the two reminisced about Karz and discussed the mysterious disappearance of Rishi’s co-star Raj Kiran. According to Somy, the two made a pact to look for the actor together. While Rishi’s efforts remained unsuccessful before his death in 2020, Somy says she has continued the search on her own, determined to fulfil the promise she made to the late actor.
Recently, Somy Ali shared an Instagram post documenting her years-long efforts to trace Raj Kiran. The post included photographs and screenshots showing her attempts to contact members of the actor’s family, including his brother Gobind and sister-in-law Judy.
In the caption, Somy wrote, “I made a promise to Chintu ji during a shoot and before he left us that I will never stop my search for Raj Kiran. This is my 16th year. I have knocked on random doors via addresses given to me by private investigators. I found an apartment in New York where the front desk man told me that he never saw Raj Kiran, but his brother, Gobind, Judy, Gobind’s wife, and their daughter lived in that apartment for 11 years.”
She added, “I have reached out to everyone from his family, but to no avail. It’s not just a promise I made to Chintu ji, but also because I am genuinely concerned whether Raj ji is okay or being kept somewhere under coercion.”
Somy Ali announces reward for person who finds Raj Kiran
Appealing to the public for help, she concluded, “While it’s not a huge reward, if anyone can provide a legitimate address—whether it is a mental health facility or an apartment—you will be rewarded. Please help. Thank you.”
Among the images Somy Ali shared was a letter she reportedly sent to Judy via LinkedIn. In it, Somy revealed that she had even considered filing a missing person’s report with the New York Police Department.
“My last resort was to file a missing person’s report with the NYPD and offer a reward of $5,000 to anyone who could provide legitimate information,” the letter read.
Story continues below this ad
‘Borrowed money from my mom to look for Raj Kiran’
The letter also revealed that she had spent her own savings and even borrowed money from her mother to continue the search.
“I have nothing to gain from this. As I mentioned, I have spent money—some borrowed from my mother and the rest from my own savings—just to find him. I urge you to be kind in this predicament and show him my message,” she wrote.
Raj Kiran mysteriously disappeared in the early 2000s, and his whereabouts remain unknown. Over the years, several conflicting claims have surfaced regarding his fate. At one point, Rishi Kapoor claimed he had spoken to Raj Kiran’s brother Gobind, who told him the actor was alive and living in a psychiatric institution in Atlanta.
When Rishi Kapoor said Raj Kiran was in Atlanta
Speaking to journalist Subhash K. Jha, Rishi had said, “I was relieved when Govind told me Raj was alive. But he was confined to an institution in Atlanta because of health issues.”
Story continues below this ad
However, Raj Kiran’s daughter, Rishika Mahata, later disputed the claim. Speaking to Mid-day, she said, “He is not in Atlanta. We have been looking for him for over eight years. We have involved the New York Police and hired private detectives to find him, but he has not been found.”
Remembering her father, she added, “He was the most loving father. Yes, he suffered from some mental health issues before he disappeared. We wanted to deal with this privately, but the false reports forced me to speak out. It was unfair to my mother.”
When Mahesh Bhatt said Raj Kiran was depressed
According to reports, Raj Kiran struggled with depression after film offers dwindled, which reportedly affected his mental health.
Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt, who had met the actor during his treatment, recalled the encounter in an interview with Rediff. “Many years ago, when he was in the psychiatric ward of Masina Hospital, he was not the Raj Kiran I had known. He looked sombre and depressed, and spoke with great difficulty. There was none of the energy or enthusiasm that we associated with him,” Mahesh said.
Story continues below this ad
To this day, Raj Kiran’s disappearance remains one of Bollywood’s biggest unsolved mysteries, with neither his family nor investigators able to conclusively determine what happened to him.
