Businessman Raj Kundra, who spent two months in Mumbai's Arthur Road jail in 2021, in connection with a pornography case, says the support of his actor wife Shilpa Shetty gave him a "purpose to continue" as he battled thoughts of "ending things" while he was impriosned. Kundra was booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Information Technology Act and the Indecent Representation of Women (Prevention) Act. He was granted bail in September 2021 by a metropolitan magistrate’s court. The businessman will be making his acting debut in the film UT 69, which is inspired by his time in the jail. In an interview with Indianexpress.com, Raj Kundra opened up about the "painful" period of his life. "We got one call a week for few minutes and then Shilpa and I would write letters to each other. I was reading, I knew what was going on. Shilpa knows me well enough to know the dos and don'ts of my life and my principles in business. I got a lot of support from her. She would tell me, 'Raj, this is the situation, it has been over amplified, we need to be careful with every decision we take, just have faith in me.' The day I got that first call and she told this to me, I saw a purpose in life to continue. "I had really broken down, enough to probably end things inside. I won't use the word, but I was in a. There was so much humiliation, reputational damage. Because of me, media went behind my wife, children and parents. That was painful. I knew what was going on outside. But what can you do? You have to remind yourself that this is just a bad phase, that I know the truth and it will come out one day," he added. trailer out now! pic.twitter.com/cOqVaUNxOy — Raj Kundra (@onlyrajkundra) October 18, 2023 Raj said Shilpa was so concerned for him that at one point she even suggested if moving out of the country can be an option for him to consider. The businessman came to India from London, United Kingdom, where he grew up. "My wife was actually the first person to say, 'Do you want to live abroad Raj? You left everything in London, you were born and brought up there, you moved here because I wanted to be here. But if you want, I can make things work and let's leave the country, let's go abroad.' I told her that I love India and won't leave. Log bade bade kaand kar ke, hazarao crore kamake desh se nikal jaata hai, but I have done nothing so I won't leave the country," he added. Billed as a true story, UT 69 is directed by Shahnawaz Ali. According to the makers, UT 69 takes a satirical look into the real-life incidents of Raj Kundra’s days spent in Arthur Road jail. The film is scheduled to release in theatres on November 3.
