Kamaal Khan: Lesser known facts about the singer

Shilpi Sharma, once the live-in partner of singer-actor Kamaal Khan, opened up to Mumbai Mirror about how the prime witness in the Salman Khan hit-and-run case vanished overnight, selling off the flat they shared and leaving her shattered. “He used to be disturbed about the case. He'd get agitated if I mentioned the hit-and-run case, so I never probed. I got to know him two years after the incident and the unspoken rule was that we'd never talk of it," the report quoted Shilpi. The two met in 2004 on the sets of Rahul Rawail's Jo Bole So Nihaal.The film marked the acting debut of both Kamaal and Shilpi, though he was already an established singer by then. “We were both starting our acting careers together and instantly connected. He was quite charming and I soon fell madly in love," reminisced Shilpi.

The former actress admitted that days before Kamaal disappeared, the fights had become frequent. “We fought but there was an attempt to maintain stability. But one day, late in 2008, I woke up to find that Kamaal was gone. I was shocked! It took me days, even months, to come to terms with the fact. I haven't been in a relationship since though my parents now insist that I should get married," said an emotional Shilpi. “Kamaal's sudden disappearance caused me great embarrassment since I'd given up film offers to be with him. Maybe he had reasons. In a weird way, it gave me closure but also shattered my faith in men and relationships," she admitted, insisting she hasn't followed the Salman Khan trial. "Kamaal's disappearance is as big a mystery to me as it is to anyone else. I hope he's living a happy life. I'm trying to," the report concluded quoting Shilpi.

Read further to know more about Kamaal Khan's disappearance...

The ‘O o jaane jaana’ singer sold off everything and ran away hurriedly without even informing his mother and live-in partner, stated a report.

Further to the report, like other actors, even Kamaal had secured a work permit for the foreign shoot. He reportedly got paid in Indian currency and allegedly lived in with an actress (who was also a part of his debut film) at Duplex Heights in Lokhandwala. Though he made frequent trips to London and back, he never showed any signs of stress.

An insider was quoted saying that, "Sometime around the start of 2007, five years after the accident, Kamaal hurriedly got in touch with a realty broker, sold off his suburban flat, took all his belongings and never came back. It is assumed that he has an address in the UK or Switzerland because he was born there, but he has made no contact with anyone from the film fraternity. In fact, Kamaal left India on such a secret note that he didn't even inform his live-in girlfriend or her mother (both lived in the flat with him) that he was flying the coop. They found out from the broker that the flat had been sold! Overnight they found themselves without a roof... and without a benefactor."

(Source: TOI report by Meena Iyer)

Read on to know some interesting details about the key witness, Kamaal Khan, in 2002 hit-run-case...

Salman Khan's 2002 hit-and-run case has been full of twists and turns. In an interesting turn of events, Salman's close friend and singer Kamaal Khan has become the talking point of the case. The singer-turned-actor is the same person who was present in Toyota Land Cruiser that night with Salman Khan back in 2002, when the accident happened. Salman's lawyer Amit Desai and Abha Singh raised a question on Kamaal Khan's whereabouts. His absence has been termed as the major loophole in the case, from the prosecution's side.

The Dabbang Khan and singer's friendship goes way back in 1998 when Salman gave him a break in his film Pyaar Kiya Toh Darna Kya starring Kajol and himself. He sang one of the most popular songs of the film album ‘O O Jaane Jaana’. In the 2002 case, Kamaal Khan is said have to fled the spot with Salman Khan after the accident took place. Ever since then, the singer has apparently been missing. According to reports, Kamaal is said to be in England, and advocate Abha Singh has been demanding to either bring him back or do an audio or video conference.

In 1995, Kamaal wrote and produced his debut single ‘O O Jaane Jaana’ in London. The song released in 1996 and became a hit in UK, achieving platinum status. However, the song was released worldwide in 1998 and simultaneously featured in the Bollywood blockbuster Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya, starring Salman Khan and Kajol. The soundtrack went on to sell over 10 million copies and the huge success of the movie has widely been attributed by film pundits to the popularity of Kamaal's debut song.

After the success of his debut song from Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya, there was no looking back for Kamaal Khan. According to reports, thanks to the success of his debut song, Kamaal was immediately signed by record label HMV in December 1997. He then went ahead to sing few more songs for Salman Khan for movies like Hello Brother, Tere Naam, Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya, and Wanted. He didn't limit himself to singing, and also tried his hands at acting. He worked as the main antagonist in 2005 Sunny Deol-starrer Jo Bole So Nihaal. However, he couldn't impress the audience and critics with his acting talent and the film bombed at the box-office.

Kamaal Khan may have kept a low-profile, but when the singer was pursuing his career in Bollywood, he also made headlines for his love life. Kamaal, who has worked with Oscar winner AR Rahman in Dil Ne Jise Apna Kahaa, was apparently dating Malaika Arora Khan's younger sister Amrita Arora who is now married to Shakeel Ladak. The singer and the actress were apparently quite open about their relationship then. According to reports, they were frequently spotted together at parties.