Dubai’s Rajan Lall beat cancer, heart attacks to build a Bollywood, business empire: His incredible second innings

Dubai: “I’ve faced death more than once — but I never let it break my spirit,” says 78-year-old Rajan Lall, seated in his sea-facing mansion in Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah.

The UAE-based businessman and Bollywood dubbing producer has survived cancer, four heart attacks, and personal betrayal.

Yet it was in his fifties — when most slow down — that he started over, eventually building a billion-dirham empire.

When I met him in person, he exuded this rockstar energy — dressed in a green shirt and matching tinted glasses that defied his age.

"All this happened by chance," he says simply, describing the unexpected journey that led him to Dubai in his fifties and eventually to staggering success.

At 53, Lall made the bold decision to leave India and start anew in Dubai.

Back in India, Lall ran a successful business — until a string of income tax raids and what he describes as “calls of extortion” from underworld-linked groups in Mumbai forced him to leave it all behind. It was the 1990s, a volatile era when wealthy businessmen and those linked to Bollywood were often targeted by the Mumbai underworld.

“Change has never scared me. Every big step in my life was a leap of faith. I remember earning Dh90 a day, eating Maggi noodles, and hitching a ride with my friend during those initial one or two years of struggle in Dubai,” he says.

But he didn't let the drudgery get to him. He had a plan to set up a successful garment trading empire in Dubai by not relying on his money earned in India.

“I always felt an instant connection to Dubai. It felt like the right place for me to begin again. So I moved, with no money in my pocket but a strong desire to rebuild and create something new. In those days, business opportunities in Dubai, especially in the garment industry, were ample and abundant. Once again, I took that gamble and ended up here for 25 more years... and counting!”

He's now heading a multi-million dirham garment trade business, but he is not done yet. He has encapsulated his eventful and colourful life in his new memoir.

I Did It My Way: My Story of Love, Betrayal, Regret and Wisdom written by Manju Ramanan, encapsulates this extraordinary journey.

But starting over in the UAE at an unconventional age wasn’t easy.

“I can’t lie, it was a real struggle at first ... But today I run a successful business with offices around the world ... I had to start from zero, with no established connections. But my experience in India taught me how to adapt quickly and make bold decisions.”

With the support of old friends like Salim Khan who gave him Dh70,000 seed capital to establish a company in Dubai, Rajan knew he was on the right track.

“I sold hangers to garment exporters, which gave me the capital I needed to expand, and slowly, things started to take off. I won't lie, it wasn’t easy, but I held on to my faith.”

Success followed. "I had five offices with my business. I was doing very well in garment accessories, interlining, angles and stuff like that," he recalls. Dubai gave him the platform to thrive once again.

But even then, Bollywood remained close to his heart. “Bollywood has always been a part of my DNA,” he says.

A chance meeting in Chennai led him into the world of South Indian cinema. Introduced to producers and stars like Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan, Lall saw an opportunity others ignored.

“There was a 1989 Tamil film called Apoorva Sagodharargal, a big hit down south. A friend suggested I dub it into Hindi. I had no idea about dubbing at the time. But I took a chance.”

He bought the film for Rs30 lakh (Dh133,000) — and with Kamal Haasan himself dubbing his lines into Hindi, along with Asha Bhosale recording the songs, Lall crafted a complete Hindi version ready for release. “Basically, I'm a marketing man. I can sell coal to Newcastle," he says.

He orchestrated a marketing blitz in Mumbai, plastering hoardings across the city. His stunt of accepting just one rupee as a signing fee from distributors created a sensation.

“That gimmick went like wildfire,” Lall laughs. Distributors queued up. Even before the movie's release, Lall had made table profits of about Dh2 million.

“The picture was not even released yet," he chuckles.

When Appu Raja in Hindi finally premiered in 1990, it wasn’t a small affair. Lall booked eight theatres simultaneously and recreated the glamour of a Hollywood-style launch — spotlights, bands, and a full takeover of Mumbai’s busy streets.

“It became the talk of Bollywood,” he says. “They said, ‘this idiot is doing a bigger premiere for a dubbed film than we do for mainstream Bollywood films!’”

The film’s success cemented his place.

"They called me the Dubbing King of India," he recalls with a quiet pride. His keen eye for stories and marketing savvy bridged the worlds of South Indian cinema and the Hindi-speaking audience long before it became fashionable.

Lall reflects on what made his approach different: “The most important soul of a film is the script,” he says. “Bollywood at that time was making projects, not stories. The South understood discipline and script much earlier.”

He fondly remembers working with greats like Mani Ratnam and A.R. Rahman in their early years. But success also came with its share of betrayals.

A bidding war over the film Bombay taught him how cutthroat the business could be. “You win some, you lose some,” he says philosophically.

His journey through life hasn’t been without deep regrets. "The main regret is my children and my family, whom I hurt," he says.

Having married young and later walked away from his marriage, Lall is brutally honest about the pain he caused. "I take the entire blame," he says. "I missed my children's childhood. I wasn't there for them."

He’s equally unsparing about his personal failures in relationships.

“The problem was ego," he says. “I kept finding excuses to move on to the next one. I realised later it was my fault. Lack of communication destroys marriages.”

Facing death up close — four heart attacks, cancer, and serious surgeries — has transformed his view of life.

"When you’re lying in ICU with pipes in you, you realise all your money and property have no meaning," he says. "Today, I don’t take stress. Whatever happens, happens. Ninety percent of people die because of stress.”

This positive attitude, he says, was something he learned from a mentor. "He faced hurdles like no man I have seen, and he always stayed positive. That stayed with me," Lall says.

Despite betrayals, Lall remains generous with his goodwill. “I am friendly even with those who stabbed me in the back,” he says. “They can't even look me in the eye, but I hug them, I call them. Keep your enemies close.”

His long list of friends in Bollywood — from Anupam Kher to Anup Jalota to Pankaj Udhas — remains intact.

"The reason our friendships lasted is because I never mixed business with friendship," he says.

Today, Rajan Lall’s story is inspiring filmmakers beyond Bollywood. He has been approached for a documentary chronicling his remarkable life. "Even if nobody watches it, even if it's just me and my family at home, that's enough," he says. "We need to leave a legacy behind."

If his life were ever turned into a feature film, Lall jokes he'd pick Hrithik Roshan to play him. But true to his spirit, he shrugs: “I don't know. I did it my way.”