Meet Sridevi’s hero, a top model, whose career got ruined by one dialogue, lost Sunny Deol, Salman Khan movies, left country, is now…, his name is…

In late 80s and 90s, Deepak Malhotra rose to prominence as one of the most recognisable faces on runways and in television commercials. His striking looks and modeling status quickly led to a wave of film offers. However, Deepak took his time, considering his choices carefully. Ultimately, he turned down a leading role in Rajiv Mehra’s Chamatkar (1992) in favour of a smaller supporting part in Yash Chopra’s Lamhe (1991).

Deepak made a striking presence on-screen, but his debut failed to win over critics. Many panned his performance and felt he lacked a strong screen voice. Yet, longer before the age of viral clips, one brief scene managed to grab everyone’s attention- for all the wrong reasons. In a scene lasting barely eight seconds, Deepak repeatedly calls out ‘Pallo’ in attempt to wake a sleeping Sridevi. However, his flat delivery and slight accent made him the target of endless jokes.

The backlash was so bad that it led to Deepak being replaced by Sunny Deol in another Yash Chopra project, Darr. It was also rumoured that he missed out on roles in the 1992 films Suryanvanshi, Bekhudi, and Junoon, with Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan and Rahul Roy taking over those parts.

After Lamhe, Deepak also starred as a lead in N. Chandra’s Tejasvini, playing the love interest of Urmila Matondkar’s character, but his performance was bashed yet again. And this was the last time he was ever seen on the silver screen. Reports claim that his stiff acting and “too international” appeal were the factors that hindered his acting career.

Following Tejasvini’s failure in 1994, Deepak Malhotra withdrew himself from the public eye. He changed his name to Dino Martelli and moved to US, where he continued his modelling career, but still remained out of the spotlight.

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