Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan co-star was once a celebrated TV star, found fame after working with Aishwarya Rai; was forced to go underground, washed utensils for food 

Also Read: Anita Hassanandani opens up about ‘difficult’ breakup with Eijaz Khan: ‘…because he was from another culture’

After this setback, Eijaz featured in a lot of music videos and also a few ad films. In 2003, the actor rose to fame after he featured in a song with Aishwarya Rai called ‘Tuje Aaj Main Ne Jo Dekha’. He was then offered a TV show by Balaji Telefilms. “I met with Ekta, and she gave me a three-year exclusive contract in the first 10 minutes of being at Balaji,” Eijaz shared. What became a game-changer for Eijaz’s career was Ekta Kapoor’s show Kavyanjali, which also starred Anita Hassanandani.

From there, Eijaz and Anita’s love story began. Recalling his relationship with Anita, Eijaz had once opened up on ZeeTV’s talk show JuzzBaatt and said, “It was my second long-term affair when I was working with Balaji. Somebody was staying with me, and she used to take so much care of me that I had to just wake up, take my tiffin, and go to work. Whenever we finished shooting and returned, food would be ready. I would sleep and return to work in three hours. She used to take care of everything. It was also the only time when I cheated on someone.” Eijaz and Anita’s relationship ended due to infidelity. “I cheated on her. When she found out, I confessed and tried to repair things. But the damage had become irreparable by then, so we decided that letting go of each other would be best. It’s one of my biggest regrets in life,” Eijaz shared.

 

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In 2007, when Eijaz quit TV to make a mark in films, he faced ups and downs. He signed three films, one that he shot with Dharmesh Darshan, but it wasn’t released. Another one was released in 2008, two years after Eijaz shot for it. Just when Eijaz was making his way into the film world, he bagged a role in Tanu Weds Manu. He shot for the film, but ahead of its promotions, a personal challenge once again hampered his professional journey.

While Eijaz was dating another woman, she accused him of rape. Recalling that incident on the talk show, Eijaz had shared, “After a long, serious affair, I was single for some time. At a party, I met someone, and due to some issues, she started living in my house. Our affair had just started, and in a month, I realized things were getting out of hand. When I discussed with her that we shouldn’t be together, she got carried away. To be with me, she did something weird. She filed a rape case against me due to which I couldn’t promote my film Tanu Weds Manu.” Recalling the personal challenge he faced around 2015, Eijaz had also told SCREEN in an interview, “After Tanu Weds Manu, I just disappeared, I had such a huge personal challenge in my life, I had to switch off my phones and kind of be underground for six months. Some stupid things happened. I was with somebody, and it was so unfortunate that my producers expected me to promote that film.”

On JuzzBatt, Eijaz had recalled what had happened, “When the issue came on to my family, I had to leave Mumbai for two months. Sometimes we try to validate our self-worth by making others happy. I cannot say no to others, and in that, things get out of hand, and then I cannot repair them. It was a tough phase, and I had to wash the utensils so that I could buy food. I never thought I would come out of it. She took my house, my dogs, and everything.” With this personal challenge, Eijaz did learn a big lesson.”From that, I learned that my personal life is very much accountable for my professional life. It did get affected,” Eijaz told SCREEN. The complaint against him was later withdrawn, as per ToI.

 

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On the work front, Eijaz was last seen in Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan, where he played an antagonist. Talking about the film, he told SCREEN, “I had finished shooting for one film, and I got a call for Jawan. I had no idea what the name was or the story of the film. They told me to come and shoot the next day, and in two hours, I was signed for the film. When I was doing a fight sequence with SRK, I didn’t even know he had a double role. The character was developed later. I was underplaying in the first scene. Atlee wanted to make more expressions, so Shah Rukh told me to do what he wanted, and I did. It was the most magnificent experience of my life.”

Today, Eijaz is exploring the web space, he is playing important roles in films, and he looks at focusing on the happy aspects of life.