Chandrachur Singh

Chandrachur Singh (born 11 October 1968) is an Indian actor, singer and television presenter, who mainly works in Hindi cinema, as well as in some english films. He has won a Filmfare Award and has been nominated for a IIFA Award and a Screen Award.

He made his screen debut with Gulzar directorial Maachis in 1996, the film also starred Tabu, Om Puri and Jimmy Shergill in key roles. For which he won the Filmfare Award in the category of Best Male Debut. Subsequently he starred in many acclaimed films like Tere Mere Sapne (1996), Betaabi (1997), Sham Ghansham (1998), Dil Kya Kare (1999), Daag: The Fire (1999) and Silsila Hai Pyar Ka (1999). Then he starred in two films in year 2000, first Josh, in which he portrayed the role Rahul Sharma, co-starring Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai. For which he was nominated in the Screen Awards and IIFA Awards both in the category of Best Supporting Actor. Second he appeared in Kya Kehna which was directed by Kundan Shah, starring Saif Ali Khan and Preity Zinta in lead. For his role in Kya Kehna, he got nominated in the Filmfare Award in the category of Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award.

In 2000, Chandrachur hurt his shoulder while jet skiing in Goa, that resulted in gaining weight and losing roles. After his accident he appeared in films like Aamdani Atthani Kharcha Rupaiyaa (2001), Junoon (2002), Bharat Bhagya Vidhata (2002), Mohabbat Ho Gayi Hai Tumse (2002), Sarhad Paar (2006) etc. Unfortunately, none of his roles left an impact. After 2006, he appeared in many commercially and critically failed films like Chaar Din Ki Chandni (2012), Prem Mayee (2012), Zilla Ghaziabad (2013), Chal Guru Ho Jaa Shuru (2015), Prakash Electronic (2017), Aa Gaya Hero (2017) etc. Apart from hindi films, he has also appeared in two english language films namely The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2012) and Yadvi – The Dignified Princess (2017), both the films won critical acclaim from audience and critics.

In 2012, Chandrachur turned television host with a reality cookery show named Royal Rasoi, which was aired on the channel Food Food. It was co-produced by his brother Aditya Singh. In 2020, he made a comeback after a three year hiatus, he appeared in Hotstar original series Aarya as Tej Sareen, directed by Ram Madhvani. His performance was lauded by critics and audience.

Early life

Singh was born on 11 October 1968 in Uttar Pradesh, India. He attended the all-boys boarding school The Doon School in Dehradun and then went to St. Stephen’s College, University of Delhi. In the early 1990s, Singh, a trained classical singer, taught music at Vasant Valley School and history at his alma mater, The Doon School.

Personal life

Chandrachur married Avantika Kumari in 1999. The couple has a son named Sharanjai. He is a great cook and a trained classical singer. He has two brothers, Abhimanyu Singh and Aditya Narain Singh. Both are producers in the Indian Cinema. Both his brothers founded Contiloe Entertainment in 1995. They produced many television shows and films till 2007. After 2007, Aditya founded his own production company named Shri Jagganaath Entertainment.

Acting career

Debut and early success (1996-2000)

Singh made his acting debut in 1996 in Tere Mere Sapne which was produced under Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited. Later that year he starred alongside Tabu in Maachis for which he won the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut. He appeared in several films as a leading actor which failed to do well, but he got some notice in multi-starrers Daag: The Fire (1999) opposite Sanjay Dutt, Kya Kehna (2000) opposite Preity Zinta and Josh (2000) opposite Aishwarya Rai and Shah Rukh Khan. He was nominated for Filmfare awards on two occasions, in different categories.

Recurring roles, career decline (2001-2017)

After initial success, his career went into a low, because of psychiatric problems and an alleged “dislocation of his shoulder joint”, which he suffered while water skiing in Goa. He claimed he couldn’t work out to stay fit which caused him to gain weight and lose roles. His next few releases included Aamdani Atthanni Kharcha Rupaiya (2001), Bharat Bhagya Vidhata (2002), Junoon (2002) and the delayed release Sarhad Paar which was shot in 2002 and released in 2006. All three films flopped at the box office.

In 2012, he made a comeback with the multi-starer film Chaar Din Ki Chandni. The film featured Tusshar Kapoor, Kulraj Randhawa, Anupam Kher, Om Puri and Farida Jalal in lead roles. Chaar Din Ki Chandni received a mixed response from critics, and turned out to be a flop at most places in India. Singh also played a role in the 2012 English-language film The Reluctant Fundamentalist, directed by Mira Nair. He then appeared in Zilla Ghaziabad which had been delayed for years, and finally released in August 2013. After Zila Ghaziabad Singh acted in some movies like Prem Mayee (2012), Just U & me (2013), Chal Guru Ho Ja Shuru (2015), Aa Gaya Hero(2017) and Yadvi – The Dignified Princess (2017).

Comeback with Aarya (2020-present)

In 2020, Chandrachur made a comeback in the Hotstar original drama web series Aarya. He was appreciated for his role in Hotstar Original Series Aarya (2020) directed by Ram Madhvani opposite Sushmita Sen as Tej Sareen. In January 2021, Koimoi magazine conducted an online audience poll for the best supporting actor in a Web Series, Chandrachur Singh won that online audience poll by getting 75% of the votes.

He will be next seen in the Hotstar original series Those Pricey Thakur Girls, directed by Tarun Mansukhani. The series also stars Raj Babbar, Padmini Kohlapure, Poonam Dhillon, and Akshay Oberoi in key roles. He will be also seen in Akshay Kumar and Sargun Mehta starrer Cinderella, directed by Ranjit M Tewari.

Other work

Television presenter

In 2012, Chandrachur made his television debut as a host in cookery reality show titled Royal Rasoi. It was a weekly lifestyle, travel and food show, produced by his brother Aditya Singh. It was aired on the channel Food Food. He is also a good cook himself. On the show, he will take viewers into the households of the maharajas where certain recipes originated from, detailing their history though anecdotes while explaining why certain ingredients are essential to a dish. The show will not only cook up a meal fit for a king, but will also talk about the cultural diversity, lifestyle, art, craft, music and architecture of the place.

Election campaigning

In April 2017, Chandrachur made a appearance in the media for a election campaign. He went onto the streets of New Delhi, campaigning for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Neha Chauhan for the Municipal Corporation elections of Delhi.

Discography

Awards and Nominations