Shatrughan Sinha (born 9 December 1945) is an Indian actor and politician. He began in Hindi films as a villain and became a leading man in the 1970s, known for his swagger, his booming voice and the catchword “Khamosh!” (“Silence!”). He was the first Hindi film star to become a Union cabinet minister, in Atal Bihari Vajpayee‘s government, and he has been a Member of Parliament for most of the past three decades.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Shatrughan Prasad Sinha |
| Born | 9 December 1945, Patna, Bihar, India |
| Age | 80 |
| Occupation | Actor, politician |
| Party | All India Trinamool Congress (since 2022); earlier BJP and Congress |
| Constituency | Asansol, West Bengal (Lok Sabha) |
| Education | Patna Science College; Film and Television Institute of India, Pune |
| Spouse | Poonam Sinha (m. 1980) |
| Children | 3 (Sonakshi, Luv and Kush) |
Early Life
Sinha was the youngest of four sons of a doctor in Patna; the brothers were named after the four brothers of the Ramayana. He trained at the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune and moved to Bombay in the late 1960s. A scar on his face, the result of a childhood accident, made producers cast him as a villain.
Film Career
He made an impression in small negative roles in Pyar Hi Pyar, Khilona and Mere Apne (1971). Subhash Ghai’s Kalicharan (1976) made him a hero, and he followed it with Vishwanath, Dostana (1980) and Kaala Patthar, the last two opposite Amitabh Bachchan, Naseeb and Kranti. He acted in more than 200 films in Hindi, Bhojpuri and other languages.
Political Career
He joined the Bharatiya Janata Party and lost a 1992 by-election in New Delhi to his friend Rajesh Khanna. He was a member of the Rajya Sabha from 1996 and served as Minister of Health and Family Welfare and then of Shipping from 2002 to 2004. He won the Patna Sahib Lok Sabha seat in 2009 and 2014 but became an open critic of the party’s leadership.
He joined the Congress in 2019 and lost Patna Sahib to Ravi Shankar Prasad. In 2022 he joined Mamata Banerjee‘s Trinamool Congress and won the Asansol by-election, holding the seat in 2024.
Personal Life
Sinha married the former Miss Young India Poonam Chandiramani in 1980. Their daughter Sonakshi is a film actress. His memoir, Anything but Khamosh, was published in 2016.
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was Shatrughan Sinha born?
Shatrughan Sinha was born on 9 December 1945 in Patna, Bihar, India and is 80 years old.
What is Shatrughan Sinha’s occupation?
Occupation: Actor, politician.
Featured image: Shatrughan Sinha, then a Union minister, at an event in Kolkata, October 2003. Photo by Biswarup Ganguly, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
