Shabana wishes recovery for her `colleague` Raj Kiran

Mumbai: Veteran actress Shabana Azmi, who acted alongside yesteryear actor Raj Kiran in the 1982 film `Arth`, said she was hopeful that he would recover from his mental illness.

"I was very saddened to learn about Raj Kiran - who has been my colleague - having been found in the mental asylum in Atlanta (US)," Azmi told reporters here today. "I met him several years ago, when he was in a mental institution in Mumbai. And when I met him, after a little bit of confusion, he did have a spark of lucidity. And we had a nice warm conversation, and I believed at the time he is on his way to recovery." "I would like to state here that there is a stigma attached to mental illness, which is very sad because mental illness, just like a physical illness, can be cured with drugs. And I do hope that Raj Kiran will recover," she said. "As far as the film industry is concerned, there has been a sense of shock for all those who were not aware of his condition," she said. PTI