‘I’m not gay’: Actor pegged as Amitabh Bachchan’s competition was left penniless by wife, forced to work in B-grade movies to make end meets

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He explained, “Mr Ramsay had quite a few sons, and they were all making movies. I did one son’s movie, and the other six of them followed. Being an emotional person, I couldn’t say no to them. I did those films knowing that they are not A-grade films… My emotions overtook me, and that is the reason I couldn’t say no to them. And yes, I did get typecast also, but let’s not forget that I also met with an accident at that time, where I almost had my leg amputated.”

Actor Deepak Parashar and actress Rati Agnihotri in film Waqt Ke Shehzade. (Express Archive)

Deepak said that the accident had ripple effects on his personal life, and that it was the main reason why his wife divorced him. He said that she also took everything, including their daughter, with her, which left her in a difficult condition financially. “After being away from the limelight for three or four years, it’s very difficult to make a comeback,” he said.

Opening up about his separation, Deepak said, “When I met with this accident, she was eight months pregnant. When I came to India (from Dubai) with 380 stitches in my leg, I found a drastic change in her outlook towards me. Slowly, an emptiness evolved in the relationship. One day, she had the courage to come and tell me, ‘I married you only for glamour’.” Deepak said that his ex-wife confessed that she wanted to live the high-society life with him, and because the doctors had indicated that he might lose his leg, she felt that she would no longer get to rub shoulders with celebrities. Deepak felt that she was not being serious and would return after a few days, but this didn’t happen. In fact, she took everything with her, he said.

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“My mother needed some money, so I asked her to take some from the cupboard. She opened it, and there was nothing there. I told her to take some from the bank locker, but that was also empty. All the gold, the jewellery, the cash… It was gone. She’d taken everything and left me penniless,” he said, adding that his former wife also spread rumours about him to their friends in the industry, including director BR Chopra.

Film star Zeenat Aman and Deepak Parashar in Insaf Ka Tarazoo. (Express Archive)

Although he didn’t specify which rumours she spread, Deepak has always been surrounded by gossip about his sexual orientation, which he addressed in the interview as well. Asked if speaking about this subject on Bigg Boss affected his career, he said, “First of all, I’ve not declared my sexuality to anyone because I don’t feel the need to. I am certainly not gay, at all. There is nothing wrong in being gay, there are so many people who are gay in this industry. Their careers haven’t been tarnished, so I refuse to believe that my career was tarnished because of a statement, which I have not made.” In an interview last year, Deepak had said, “I fall in love with everyone. Gender means nothing to me. For me, insaan achcha hona chahiye. Dil achcha hona chahiye. They should be genuine with me. Gender makes no difference to me, which many people have misinterpreted and misconstrued in the past.” He had made similar comments on Bigg Boss as well.