Former
model and actress Deepti Bhatnagar has changed gears for her second innings. She is now a successful travel vlogger on YouTube and even the founder of a facial spa. But did you know that Deepti is also a member of the Deol family? Here is how she is connected to the legendary He-Man of Bollywood.
Deepti Bhatnagar married to Randeep Arya
In 1997, Deepti married Randeep Arya, who is the son of Dharmendra's cousin Veerendra. The latter also acted in several Punjabi films in the 1980s. She met Randeep while filming an ad film together in which they played a married couple. They were engaged within a year but got married after eight years. The couple has two sons, Shubh and Shiv. Incidentally, Deepti is also related to actor Arjun Bijlani, who is married to her niece Neha Swami.
Early life and career
Hailing from Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, Deepti moved to Mumbai to start a handicraft business. At 18, she won a beauty pageant and entered modeling. She revealed that she found fame and success fast, buying a home in Mumbai within a year.
In an interview with
Hindustan Times, she recalled, "When I came first to Mumbai at the age of 22, I opened my first bank account and vowed that by the end of the month, I'd have a lakh in my account. Modelling was easy money, so I succeeded. When I came to Mumbai, I wanted to buy my dream house in 11 months. And, I did! In Juhu, and that too, from Madhuri Dixit."
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Bollywood acting debut and more
Sanjay Gupta's
Ram Shastra (1995) was her first film as an actress alongside Jackie Shroff, Manisha Koirala, and Aditya Pancholi. She even worked in the South industries with the Telugu film
Pelli Sandadi (1996) and the Tamil film
Dharma Chakkaram (1997). In 1997, she worked in the Hollywood spy film
Inferno with R. Madhavan and later acted in Indra Kumar's
Mann (1999) with Aamir Khan and Manisha Koirala. The next year, she replaced Ruby Bhatia on the TV show
Yeh Hai Raaz (1998). Deepti was supposed to act opposite Shah Rukh Khan in
Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa (1994) after appearing in a popular ad with the Badshah. But she admitted that she "ran away from the screen test." The former actress was due to meet Dharmendra after an ad with Sunny Deol but was "too scared" to meet the legend. Years later, she would marry into the family.
Travel vlogging career
After marriage, Deepti focused on her passion, travelling. She told
Travel + Leisure India, "I've travelled the world with my family and gave birth to both my children while hosting Musaafir Hoon Yaaron. Both my sons travelled with me and exploring the world with them is my biggest blessing.
Since 2001, Deepti started her own production company with her husband, Randeep, and has travelled all over the world to over 90 countries. She also has a YouTube channel with over 190,000 subscribers. Recently, she also founded a facial spa called Face X Gym.
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