10 Bollywood Actors Who Retired Suddenly

At
46,
Quentin
Tarantino
said
he
would
quit
Hollywood
at
the
age
of
60
after
he
directs
his
10th
movie,
reasoning
he
wouldn’t
want
to
linger
on
past
his
prime.

He’s
61
now
and
still
deciding
on
the
script
of
his
much-hyped
grand
finale.

Academy-award
winner
Daniel
Day
Lewis
announced
he
would
hang
his
boots
in
2017
only
to
make
an
exception,
seven
years
later
for
son
Ronan’s
direction,

Anemone.

Back
home,
Vikrant
Massey
is
grabbing
headlines
by
his
sudden
decision
to


retire
from
films.

‘Coming
2025,
we
would
meet
each
other
for
one
last
time,’
he
penned
in
a
note
on
his
social
media
account.

Given
his
recent
spate
of
successes
and
acclaim
in
solo
leads,
one
would
have
thought
the

12th
Fail
star
would
want
to
make
the
most
of
it.

Instead,
he’s
keen
to
shift
the
focus
on
his
family
life.

Sukanya
Verma
looks
at
instances
of
Bollywood
stars
prematurely
bidding
adieu
to
Bollywood.
  

Vinod
Khanna

Once
considered
the
only
threat
to
Amitabh
Bachchan’s
superstardom,
Vinod
Khanna
quit
acting
at
the
peak
of
his
career
and
devoted
himself
to
spiritual
guru
Bhagwan
Shree
Rajneesh,
better
known
as
Osho,
by
residing
at
his
ashram
in
America.
It
sent
shock
waves
across
the
film
industry
as
well
as
his
fans
and
family.

A
little
less
than
a
decade
later,
he
returned
and
reclaimed
his
popularity
in
an
action-packed
avatar.

Parveen
Babi

Bollywood
could
never
wrap
its
head
around
Parveen
Babi’s
bohemian
spirit
and
adventurous
impulses.

Often,
she’d
jet
set
out
of
the
country
in
pursuit
of
love
and
liberation,
seeking
spiritual
mentor
U
G
Krishnamurti’s
guidance,
leaving
her
thriving
career
high
and
dry.

Like
VK,
sometime
in
the
’80s,
Babi
famously
went
AWOL.
While
everybody
speculated
the
reason
for
her
absence,
she
emerged
from
her
self-imposed
exile
and
stories
of
mental
health
issues
looking
nothing
like
her
former
self.

Zaira
Wasim

One
of
the
brightest
child
actors
on
the
Hindi
film
scene,
Zaira
Wasim
catapulted
to
instant
fame
with
her
impressive
turn
in

Dangal,
Secret
Superstar
and

The
Sky
is
Pink
only
to
announce
in
2019
that
she’s
done
being
an
actress,
as
it
doesn’t
bode
well
with
her
religious
beliefs.

Vyjayanthimala

As
Bollywood’s
reigning
dancing
queen
for
over
decade,
a
33-year-old
Vyajanthimala
put
her
heart
and
soul
to
play
the
royal
dancer-turned-passionate
patriot
in
and
as

Amrapali
(1966).

But
the
film’s
disappointing
response
broke
her
heart
and
strengthened
her
resolve
to
stay
away
from
the
limelight
ever
since.

Sadhana

‘I
don’t
hanker
for
the
spotlight.
I
want
my
fans
to
remember
me
as
the
Sadhana
of

Love
In
Simla,
Mere
Mehboob,
Woh
Kaun
Thi
and
Arzoo,’
is
what
Sadhana
told



Rediff.com
three
years
before
her
death
in
2015.

Known
for
her
angelic
face
and
adorable
fringe,
the
yesteryear
beauty’s
severe
thyroid
issues
prompted
her
to
retire
early
from
the
silver
screen.

Nargis

It
was
standard
practice
among
Bollywood
heroines
to
call
it
quits
once
they
tied
the
knot
to
focus
on
a
happily
married
life.

Despite
her
legendary
status,
Nargis
wasn’t
lured
by
the
temptation
of
stardom.

Post
her
marriage
to

Mother
India
co-star
Sunil
Dutt,
the
actress
found
her
attention
divided
between
raising
her
three
kids
and
philanthropic
causes.

Mumtaz

From
her
humble
beginnings
as
a
teenager
to
top
star
in
her
late
20s,
Mumtaz
had
won
hearts
and
acclaim
in
a
short,
surreal
span.

But
Bollywood’s
ebullient
charmer
dumped
it
all
while
at
the
peak
of
her
game
to
marry
businessman
Mayur
Madhwani.

Sixteen
years
later,
she
would
be
tempted
to
face
the
cameras
again
for
David
Dhawan’s
1990
disaster,

Aandhiyan
only
to
vow
never
again.

Kumar
Gaurav

One
of
the
most
prominent
star
kids
to
be
launched
by
their
super
successful
fathers,
Kumar
Gaurav’s
short-lived
status
as
Bollywood
heartthrob
continues
to
be
stuff
of
legends
and
cautionary
tales.

Rajendra
Kumar’s
darling

beta
turned
into
an
overnight
star
with
the
blockbuster
romance,

Love
Story.

But
a
series
of
poorly
picked
scripts
proved
to
be
the
reason
for
his
career’s
premature
demise
and,
later,
bye-bye
to
movies.

Barring
a
one-off
appearance
in
Sanjay
Gupta’s
ensemble
crime
caper,

Kaante,
Kumar
Gaurav
has
preferred
to
focus
on
his
non-filmi
business.

Amitabh
Bachchan

Work
and
THE
Big
B
go
hand
in
hand.
At
82,
he’s,
inarguably,
the
most
active
celebrity
around.

Except
there
was
a
brief
time
in
his
career
when
Amitabh
Bachchan
retired
from
acting
following
the
back-to-back
debacle
of
his
movies
like

Toofan
and

Jaadugar
to
slow
down
and
enjoy
the
fruits
of
a
long-neglected
family
life.

After
a
five-year
sabbatical,
the
man
was
back
on
his
feet
and
hasn’t
looked
back
since.

Suniel
Shetty

The
entrepreneur-turned-action
star
started
out
as
Bollywood’s
go-to
beefcake
for
brawny,
clobbering
hero
parts.

Back
in
the
1990s,
things
started
out
favourably
only
to
fizzle
out
prompting
him
to
announce
his
retirement.

But
then
J
P
Dutta’s

Border
came
out,
in
which
his
performance
was
appreciated
by
even
his
staunchest
critics,
and
Shetty
decided
to
keep
at
it.

A
decade
later,
he
resumed
his
retirement
plans
in
a
bid
to
spend
more
time
with
his
growing
children.

Though
he’s
far
from
out
of
circulation,
Anna’s
occasional
turns
on
small
screen
and
big
acts
are
fond
treats
for
his
loyal
fan
following.