Bollywood actor denies death rumours

Bollywood actor Rahul Khanna insists he is not dead.

Khanna was forced to declare the obvious after greatly exaggerated rumours of his death by suicide flew through India’s film industry.

“This is really absurd and an irresponsible rumour,” Khanna told the Times of India newspaper today.

According to Khanna the story probably spread after he stopped taking calls recently after he developed a throat infection and lost his voice.

“I would like to assure all my well-wishers that I’m fine. Don’t believe all these silly rumours,” said the actor, who comes from one of Bollywood’s best known families and is thought of as an up and coming actor.

He has starred in Bollywood/Hollywood and Earth: 1947.

His father, Vinod Khanna, was a popular action hero in the 1970s and 1980s, starring in about 120 Bollywood movies before trading the big screen for politics six years ago.

He has since served as a Cabinet minister and managed to make a movie, Deewanapan, or Madness in Love.

His elder brother Akshaye Khanna is known for playing strong character roles and won praise for his comedic parts in two recently released movies, 36 China Town and Shaadi Se Pehle, or Before Marriage.

India’s prolific mass market film industry, referred to as Bollywood, is based in the country’s commercial capital Mumbai.