Sooraj Pancholi Wiki, Height, Age, Girlfriend, Family, Biography & More

Sooraj Pancholi is an Indian actor, who made headlines after the suicide of the British-American actress Jiah Khan.

Wiki/Biography

Sooraj Pancholi was born on Friday, 9 November 1990 (age 32 years; as of 2022) in Mumbai. His ancestors hail from Gujarat. His zodiac sign is Scorpio.

He started his schooling at Pali Hill School in Mumbai, and later, he completed his schooling at an open school. After completing class 12, he did not pursue higher studies as he did not have any interest in studies.

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 5′ 8″

Weight (approx.): 65 kg

Hair Colour: Black

Eye Colour: Brown

Body Measurements (approx.): Chest 40″, Waist 32″, Biceps 15″

Family & Caste

Sooraj Pancholi was born into a Hindu Ahir family.

Parents & Siblings

His father, Aditya Pancholi, is an actor, producer, and singer. His mother, Zarina Wahab, works as an actor in Hindi and Malayalam films. His sister, Sana Pancholi, is a restaurateur.

Other Relatives

Aditya’s grandfather was a well-known Indian filmmaker. Some of his popular cousins are:

Faris McReynolds (Los Angeles-based artiste and singer) is his mother’s sister’s son.

Natasha Pancholi Khatod (actress, producer, and writer) is the granddaughter of Damodar Mahesh Pancholi who was the younger brother of Sooraj’s grandfather.

Aditi Singh (actress) is the daughter of Aditya Pancholi’s sister Shraddhha Pancholi.

Relationships/Affairs

On 3 June 2013, after the demise of the late British-American actress Jiah Khan, it was revealed that Sooraj was in a relationship with her for the past few months.

In 2016, there were rumours that Sooraj was dating the Brazilian model Larissa Bonesi. The duo met for the first time at the gym in Bandra, Mumbai. Later, some of the media sources claimed that after being in more than 4 years of relationship, they got separated.

In 2023, during an interview, Sooraj opened up about his romantic life and disclosed that he had been in a relationship for seven years. Although he didn’t disclose the identity of his girlfriend, he did mention that she was not an actor. Pancholi further expressed his preference for maintaining privacy regarding the details of his relationship.

Religious Views

He was born to a Hindu father and a Muslim mother. Sooraj is inclined toward the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Autograph

Career

He started his career as an assistant director in the Hindi film ‘Guzaarish’ in 2010. His other Hindi film as an assistant director is ‘Ek Tha Tiger’ (2012). In 2015, he debuted as an actor in the Hindi film ‘Hero’ in which he played the role of Suraj Kaushik.

He has acted in a few Hindi films such as ‘Satellite Shankar’ (2019), ‘Time to Dance’ (2021), and ‘Hawa Singh’ (under production as of 2022).

Sooraj has also featured in a few Hindi music videos like “GF BF” (2016) by Gurinder Seagal and “Dim Dim Lights” (2019) by Rahul Jain.

Controversy

On 3 June 2013, the British-American actress Jiah Khan committed suicide at her apartment in Mumbai. Four days later, her sister found a six-page handwritten letter at Jiah’s apartment in which Jiah wrote about her troubled relationship with a boy. Later, during the investigation, it was found out that Sooraj was dating her, and the letter was hinting at Jiah and Sooraj’s relationship.

On 11 June 2013, Sooraj was arrested by the Mumbai Police under Section 306 of abetment to suicide charges. Two days later, a report of Jiah Khan’s autopsy was released in which it was confirmed that she died of hanging and it was not a murder case. Sooraj was then sent on a 14 days remand and was taken to the Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai. On 1 July 2013, he was granted bail by the High Court of Bombay against a bond of Rs 50,000. A day later, the court gave the verdict that Sooraj was not liable for Jiah’s death. A few months later, Jiah’s mother filed a plea for an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation, and after almost a year, the Bombay High Court gave permission to the CBI to take over the case. On 9 December 2015, Sooraj was questioned by the CBI. Later, CBI filed a supplementary charge sheet in the court, and Sooraj was charged with abetment to suicide under IPC Section 306. After a series of investigations were carried out for a few years, on 14 October 2017, Sooraj filed a plea at the Bombay High Court in which he requested an expedition in the trial proceedings. In 2021, the Jiah Khan suicide case was transferred to a special CBI court. The session court judges said,

In the present matter, the investigation is carried out by CBI/SCB (which) filed a supplementary charge sheet. The special courts are established for the trial of cases exclusively investigated by the CBI and a special judge is appointed to deal with said cases. I do not have the power to deal with cases filed by the CBI. Therefore, in my view, it is necessary to transfer the present case to CBI court.”

While talking to the reporters, Sooraj said,

I am a little satisfied with this because my case should have been in the special CBI Court from the beginning. Now that the matter is in the CBI Court, I am hopeful that we will see closure to this. If the court finds me guilty, I should be penalised, but if it doesn’t, I deserve to be set free from these charges.”

After almost seven-eight years of the case, Sooraj talked openly about the case in the media. In an interview, he said,

No one understands that it was her decision to do that (commit suicide), you know, it was her choice. It was her mental state to do that. And I think to blame someone for it is really unfair. Because today what if I do that to myself? Who will get blamed? I would blame the media for it because they have put a lot of pressure on me writing false things about me but you can’t really blame things on other people. I think an individual has to be strong and more than boyfriend support, they need family support and I don’t know why the family was not there for her.”

He continued,

I have actually been silent because I respect that family. I respect what the family has been through. But the media has become very irresponsible. They only care about their TRPs. There are times when I’m in Court and things have been in my favour and a lot of journalists were there. I asked them, “Will you write this?” They told me they won’t because it’s a positive story and it won’t track. It’s unfair but I also believe in time.”

A special CBI court in Mumbai acquitted him of the Jiah Khan suicide case on 28 April 2023. By giving contradictory statements and withholding facts, Jiah Khan’s mother “damaged the prosecution’s case”, the court ruled. Rabia Khan, Jiah Khan’s mother, said she would appeal the verdict in the high court in response to the verdict. She said,

The verdict is on alleged suicide, but I have always maintained that Jiah was murdered. This, in fact, strengthens my case.”

Awards

• 2015: Stardust Awards for Best Jodi (Pair) of The Year (shared with Athiya Shetty) for Hero

• 2016: Filmfare Awards for Best Male Debut for Hero

Favourites

• Shoe Brand: Roberto Cavalli

• Film Director: Kabir Khan

• Fitness Idol(s): Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone

Bike Collection

• Ducati Streetfighter V4 S

  Sooraj Pancholi sitting on his motorcycle

Car Collection

• Jeep Wrangler

  Sooraj Pancholi with his Jeep

Facts/Trivia

• He has been featured on the cover page of various magazines like Filmfare, Society, Stardust, and Exhibit.

  Sooraj Pancholi featured on the cover of Filmfare magazine

• In an interview, he shared that the most memorable moment in his debut Hindi film ‘Hero’ was when he touched his father’s feet for the first time during a scene in the film.

• He is an avid dog lover, and he has seven pet dogs.

• Sooraj is a fitness freak and visits the gym regularly.

• He loves to do road cycling and play football.

• In an interview, he shared that he drinks alcohol.

• Sooraj follows a non-vegetarian diet.

• He considers the Indian actor Salman Khan his idol. In an interview, while talking about Salman, he said,
  

  I don’t really know because whenever I ask him why he has helped me, he has no answer. My parents have known him but they are not friends with him. It’s not like they are always at his Eid parties or at his home or my father’s having a drink with him! This has never been the case. He once generally called me, years back, when I was about 19-years-old. He called me on my phone and said Sooraj come to Yash Raj’s office and meet me. I met him. He asked me to assist Kabir Khan. I assisted. That’s when I became a bit friendly with him. That’s where he got to know me. I don’t know why he helped me.”