An unusual status update on Facebook caught my attention.
It was not just a Facebook status but a statement which a lot of people will find difficult to relate to.
It was a status update that would get anybody curious. I wouldn’t be able to replicate the exact words, but the update went something like this…
‘Today I found a tear-drop rolling down my left cheek. I was surprised. My mother was ecstatic! She said, ‘Look Anu, you are crying!’ This is the first time in so many years that I felt a tear-drop on cheeks. I feel so happy!’
So, what is it about a drop of tear that was making this woman so happy?
I decided to find out more about the woman who posted this curious status update on Facebook.
The name of the woman is Anu Aggarwal — the siren who made young India skip a beat when she took shelter under Rahul Roy’s jacket in an iconic scene from Aashiqui (1990), exactly 23 years ago. Anu Aggarwal still remains a mystery to most after she suddenly disappeared from Bollywood a few years later. Most don’t know where she is and what she is doing.
Yes, she has an amazing story to tell. It is a story of survival against such odds that appeared insurmountable at first.
The accident which nearly killed Anu Aggarwal
What the status didn’t say was this: It’s been more than a decade since Anu Aggarwal cried. The same Anu, who sobbed uncontrollably on screen in Aashiqui because her father was not letting her meet her boyfriend, had forgotten how to cry.
It is because Anu Aggarwal was nearly killed in an accident in 1999.
The Anu Aggarwal who emerged from the wreck was a new woman.
After the accident, Anu ‘slept’ for 29 days at a stretch and then suddenly snapped out of the coma to discover that she had broken 29 bones in her body. The accident was so severe that a part of her body including a portion of her face was paralysed.
Had it been anyone else, he or she would have probably thought that life couldn’t have been more cruel.
But the accident gave birth to a new Anu Aggarwal.
I have been interacting with Anu through her Facebook page. It seemed that she is basking in the peace of staying far away from Bollywood.
What happened to Anu Aggarwal?
If you ask her, she will say that she doesn’t remember what happened except for the fact that she was driving a car and then she crashed it at high speed. Beyond this fact there is nothing left in her memory.
There are few facts available about the accident except for that it happened in 1999 in south Mumbai and from where an unconscious Anu was taken to Breach Candy Hospital.
There she did not respond to treatment initially but her heart was beating like normal. The beating of heart never stopped for 29 days as she lay in a coma at the ICU of Breach Candy Hospital.
When she opened her eyes, her slate had been wiped clean. She couldn’t remember anything that led to the crash.
Some eyewitnesses who visited her after the crash said that Anu was speaking in English all the time and once-in-a-while she would be left blank in between conversations.
Over the next 10 days, after she woke up from her coma, Anu had difficulty recognising people.
But it would be wrong to assume that Anu Aggarwal retreated into a self-imposed exile after the accident.
Anu Aggarwal had left Bollywood long ago nearly four before her accident to live a life of a recluse. She had already chosen a life of a traveller, flitting across continents to attend yoga camps.
Anu had bid adieu to Bollywood and is not planning to return either.
This is the reason why you don’t find her interviews in the media post 1995.
Where is Anu Aggarwal now?
It’s difficult to reach Anu Aggarwal today when she decides to be offline. She has always hated to remain under the spotlight and today, she teaches yoga at the Bihar School of Yoga in Munger, Bihar.
There Anu has a small room for herself which is devoid of any luxuries that she once enjoyed while living in Mumbai.
Every year, hundreds of aspirants enrol for the yoga courses at the Ashram and if you are lucky, you will get to stay on the campus.
Anu is one of the most low-key but highly efficient teachers there. Anu does come to Mumbai once in a while but those trips are always hush-hush.
It has been reported that Anu is writing an autobiography about her days as a model and an actor.
Just like her, the book promised to be a no-holds-barred revelation of her past which includes stories of how she was treated by her former boyfriends and her drug abuse.
Those were the days that shaped Anu Aggarwal as a star. But the Anu Aggarwal of today, who is looking back at those days, is a different woman.
She is writing the book on this desk (picture on left).
Today Anu is not the person she used to be. She is a person who never cared about media exposure. Maybe that explains why she hasn’t responded to most journalists who are chasing her day in and day out for an interview.
If you want to follow her life, I suggest you follow the updates on her Facebook page.
Short-link -> http://wp.me/p3x1zT-C2
As a bonus for her fans, here is a slide-show of her recent images
Categories: Bollywood Nostalgia, Recommended, Spotted
Bollywood Journalist 
these pics dont look like of a yoga teacher 😛
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Of course when she is clicking herself…she’s a yoga teacher only in her class outside she’s a normal person! There’s no definition of how a yoga teacher look like!
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Dear Soumydipta, the narrative about is not completely correct. I used to work with Stardust and Showtime during 1996-1997 and was actively tracking Anu Agarwal (for all her antics during her shoots and other reported gossip) till 1999. I am not sure about the accident bit though it could be true. Anu was living at Worli in one of those towers. I had even visited her home in 1997, and she opened the door and denied it was Anu Agarwal, saying I have got the wrong address. Well I recognized her face and knew that was her. I wonder why she denied it. There were a lot of stories floating around her about her disappearance and the work she was doing. I have a vague inner feeling that the stories (like the one above) are very smart media plants
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Why would she plant such stories,she has had very serious life imparing injuries & lemme tell u it takes much more than lots n lotsa Spunk 2 slug it out of such Physical impairements & it’s onslaught on d Psyche
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The story is absolute truth. I personally met her in the year 2001 in Rikhiapeeth,, a small place of Bihar, now Jharkhand in a ashram event. HOWEVER i never knew she is in main ashram, munger because she rarely been seen in ashram public event even. deb
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Amazing Lady !! May she alwayz stay well wherever she is. & thanks for the info
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wow! awesome 🙂 Nice that you share a detailed story of actual heroine of aashiqui-anu agharwal. I am still her fan. I will always be her well wisher and would pray that may Allah never make someone’s life that terrible as it was anu aggarwal’s. May God Bless you Anu ji. Wherever you are just be happy and have a nice life !!!
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Very nice to know about Anu Agrawal.One day I searched for her whereabouts and knew that she is staying in Bihar.Only today I came to know that she is staying in Munger.
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Wow….!!! We can’t imgine that it is a real story…i mean its look like a reel story…..but it is…!!!
Now i want to say all of u that Annu is a Real SuperStar….n i like her SOooooooo Muchhh….
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This woman is WOMAN! Far ahead of her times and I say that because I knew her ; not just well but intimately. Both professionally and personally. Love you Ugs!
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As a fan we got pain to know th aaccident Why god given pain to madam Anu ji , if any fan have a passion for madam Please create a Fan club for Anu madam We want to meet
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anu, i like at
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The Story btit is true except the part where the Author shd have mentioned that it was a Case of Drunken Driving. Anu’s Case was a learning experience for many. Good Luck to her. Hope she finds Peace in her New Life.
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You are really really a superstar and a real superwoman.you are very beautiful,cute and innocent. i am your very big fan
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I love you sooo mch anu mam..aap jaha pe b ho khush raho..mam m ur biggest fan n really i want you to back n love to see you in movies..god bless u mam mmmmuuuaah!
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Nice to know about Anu Agarwal.The other actresses who are rushing after name,fame and success should learn from her.Eternal peace and happiness is something a different thing.Not everyone realizes about it.
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Came to know about Anu Agarwal . After such a trauma with the blessings of RadhaMadhav she has got a new life. She realized it quickly that name,money,fame are temporary. Eternal peace , happiness, helping people in and around society is actually real happiness. She has chosen a brave path of helping society. Her sincerity will pay rich dividends. Praying to Radha Madhav to meet her personally one day face to face and congratulate her for her noble gesture towards society. RadhaMadhavs blessings will always be with her.Hare Krishna.
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Anu you were known as the dark beauty of the Indian cinema……i found you the dammm gorgeous. Pls call me where you are? Pls pls
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I hope she finds Peace in her New Life which is the real eternal one
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Very nice to know about Anu Agrawal.and hope she finds the real and eternal peace in her new Life.
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Once more the life is being proved uncertain…this thought came to me after reading all the above written about Anu jee…
Being a die hard fan of her…i really pray for her good health and life….
I heartly thankful to her for being a unforgettable image of love in my mind…in my soul…the image of romance queen of early 90s….
Always missing you Anu jee
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life is very small, anything can happen any second, but god why u have done like this to anu agarwal, she is beautiful heart touching
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How r u we miss u dear
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Good actress
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kasam se apka koi jawab nhi anu Didi aur apki movie aashiqui ka kya kehna
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