Businessman Raj Kundra spent almost two months in Mumbai’s Arthur Road jail in 2021, in connection with a pornography case. He was charged under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Information Technology Act and the Indecent Representation of Women (Prevention) Act. Finally, in September 2021, he was granted bail by a metropolitan magistrate’s court.
Now in a recent chat, Kundra opened up about his actor wife Shilpa Shetty’s support and how she gave him a “purpose to continue” while he battled thoughts of “ending things”. Speaking about the “painful” period of his life, he said, “We got one call a week for a 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 me this, I saw a purpose in life to continue.”
Raj Kundra is now making his acting debut in the film ‘UT 69’, which is inspired by his time in jail.
He told Indian Express, “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, the 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.”
Shilpa was so concerned for him that she even suggested that moving out of the country can be an option since he grew up in London, United Kingdom.
“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.
‘UT 69’ is helmed by Shahnawaz Ali., and it is based on the real-life incidents of Raj Kundra’s days spent in Arthur Road jail. It is set to release in theatres on November 3.
