She never imagined that after standing at the very pinnacle of fame, she would lose almost everything that had defined her success. How does a person cope when applause turns into silence, when an admired public image is replaced by illness, fear, and uncertainty? Few have lived through such a dramatic reversal as actress, singer, and television personality Raageshwari Loomba. Best remembered as the fresh-faced star of the 1993 blockbuster Aankhen, her life is not merely a story of celebrity but of resilience, reinvention, and discovering purpose beyond the spotlight.
Raageshwari entered Bollywood at just 16 with Aankhen, alongside Govinda, Ritu Shivpuri, and Chunky Pandey. The film became the highest-grossing Hindi movie of 1993, surpassing blockbusters such as Khalnayak, Darr, and Baazigar. She followed it with films including Zid, Main Khiladi Tu Anari, Tum Jiyo Hazaron Saal, and Dil Kitna Nadan Hai. Born into a musical family—her father, Trilok Singh Loomba, was a respected Bollywood music director—she later became an MTV VJ and released her Indipop album Duniya in 1997, emerging as one of the new voices of India’s pop music movement.
Then, at the height of her career, Bell’s palsy struck. The condition paralyzed the left side of her face and affected her speech, forcing her to retreat from the public eye for over a year. But the twist in the tale is that what seemed like the cruellest setback of her life became, in her words, her “greatest education.”
In this interview with Ashish Virmani, Raageshwari talks about her life and how through yoga, meditation, and spiritual practices, she rebuilt herself from within. She even had an opportunity to work with Jack Canfield of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series and Louise Hay, pioneer of the modern self-help movement, before reinventing herself as a mindfulness coach, motivational speaker, and author.
Today, whether speaking to corporate audiences, supporting charitable causes, or sharing her message through her book Building a Happy Family: 11 Practices of Mindful Parenting, she inspires others with a life that proves true success is measured not by fame, but by the ability to transform suffering into purpose.
Ashish Virmani: You were a Bollywood actress and pop star in the 1990s. Can you tell us about your turning point in life?
Raageshwari: I often say I have lived two lives.
The first began in Bollywood, where I started my career as an actress. Soon after came MTV and Channel V, which truly became my place under the sun. There I found myself surrounded by like-minded, creative people who gave me something invaluable—psychological safety. They believed in me before I fully believed in myself.
Those years were magical. I won awards, hosted television shows, connected with audiences across India, and unexpectedly found my way into music.
Even my first hit song, Duniya, was never really meant for me. My father had originally written it for Asha Bhosle. Yet, through one of life’s beautiful twists, it found its way to me, reminding me that the universe often has plans greater than our own.
Then, at the peak of my career in 2000, everything changed. I was diagnosed with Bell’s palsy.
For someone young, healthy, and disciplined, it felt unimaginable. Overnight, my identity, confidence, and future seemed uncertain. Throughout that difficult period, my parents never asked, “Why has this happened?” Instead, they encouraged me to ask, “What is this experience trying to teach you?” But at the time, I was too young to understand.
The isolation was devastating. But slowly, it became the beginning of my greatest education. As the world outside grew quieter, I began listening to the world within. Looking back today, I no longer see Bell’s palsy as the end of one career. I see it as the doorway to my life’s true purpose—the beginning of my real journey.
“The highs make us high, but the lows make us grow.”
~ Raageshwari
What lessons did you glean from this episode with illness, and what are you still learning?
Raageshwari: One lesson has stayed with me throughout life:
The highs make us high, but the lows make us grow.
Success brings confidence, applause, and momentum, but it rarely brings wisdom. Wisdom often arrives disguised as adversity. In many ways, I was fortunate. My father, Trilok Singh Loomba, had worked closely with TM guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, so conversations about meditation, consciousness, and the power of the mind were part of my upbringing. My mother, Veera, has always lived a deeply spiritual life rooted in gratitude, chanting, and service. The wisdom was always around me. The student simply wasn’t ready. Bell’s palsy made me ready.
One of the greatest lessons I learned was the extraordinary influence our minds have over our lives. Through my work in mindfulness and neuroscience, I have seen how our habitual patterns of thinking shape our resilience, well-being, and even our physical health.
I’ve met incredibly fit people with excellent nutritionists who still struggle with illness, and I’ve seen others transform their lives by changing the way they think, perceive, and respond to the world. That doesn’t mean life becomes easy. It means we become stronger.
Another myth that dissolved was the belief that happiness lives at the top of the mountain—in the next award, promotion, or achievement. I don’t believe that anymore. The greatest joys are found around the dining table, in conversations with loved ones, moments of gratitude, watching a sunset, or simply being fully present. Those simple moments, I’ve discovered, are life’s richest treasures.
In hindsight, could your Bell’s palsy episode, though extremely tough, have been a gift from the universe to set you on your true course?
Raageshwari: Absolutely. Without question, it was the greatest gift of my life.
Had Bell’s palsy never happened, I would have continued exactly as I was—making music, performing, collecting awards, and being surrounded by people telling me how wonderful everything was. There would have been very little reason to stop, reflect, or change direction.
Today, I divide my life into two chapters: Before BP and After BP. By BP, I mean Bell’s palsy. The transformation wasn’t that I went from being negative to positive. I wasn’t negative before. I simply wasn’t mindful. I was in my early twenties, immersed in building a career, chasing deadlines, and living at tremendous speed, as most young people naturally do. Bell’s palsy interrupted all of that. It forced me to sit still and ask questions I had never asked before.
Rabindranath Tagore wrote, “Do not take my challenges away from me. Give me the strength to face them.” To me, that is one of life’s greatest prayers. Perhaps it is also one of the greatest lessons we can teach our children. Instead of asking, “Why is this happening to me?” we might ask, “What is this here to teach me?” We rarely learn life’s deepest lessons while collecting trophies. We learn them when life asks us to pause.
Swami Vivekananda encouraged us to spend time with ourselves. Yet when life moves quickly, we seldom do. Sometimes the universe creates the pause for us.
Looking back today, I feel only gratitude. What once seemed like the greatest setback of my life quietly became the doorway to my life’s purpose.
“Ironically, yoga first helped heal my face. But it remained in my life because it transformed my mind.”
~ Raageshwari
Share with us about your yoga practice and what effect it has had on your life?
Raageshwari: My first real encounter with yoga came through one of India’s finest teachers, Master Zubin Zarthoshtimanesh. He is a Mumbai-based yoga teacher and close disciple of B.K.S. Iyengar. If someone has the privilege of being his student, I always say, grab the opportunity.
He has an extraordinary ability to observe a person and immediately understand what is happening—not just physically, but energetically as well. After Bell’s palsy, he instinctively knew my practice had to restore energy and awareness to my face and nervous system. Before meeting him, I believed yoga was mainly about becoming physically flexible. He taught me something far more valuable: to become flexible in my mind. That lesson has stayed with me for life.
In his studio, your profession, fame, or success simply doesn’t matter. Everyone is a student. He demands discipline, maintains exceptionally high standards, and has no interest in feeding the ego. That’s precisely why his students grow.
He also taught me that yoga isn’t about fitting into smaller clothes or achieving the perfect body. Its true purpose is to elevate consciousness. At a time when yoga is often marketed as a fitness trend, I believe it’s important that we preserve teachers like him who continue to honor its deeper essence.
Later, I was fortunate to introduce many people to the Five Tibetan Rites through Zee TV’s Sa Re Ga Ma. These ancient yogic practices are simple, elegant, and deeply energizing, helping cultivate vitality, balance, and inner strength.
Ironically, yoga first helped heal my face. It remained in my life because it transformed my mind.
Tell us about people or encounters that have made you the person you are today.
Raageshwari: I still consider myself a student. If anything, the older I become, the more I realize how much there is still to learn.
Interestingly, some of my greatest teachers have never written books or stood on a stage. I remember meeting a shepherd’s wife in Kashmir who was overjoyed because she had earned a little extra money that day and could cook biryani for her family. The happiness on her face was extraordinary. Moments like these remind me that happiness has very little to do with wealth, status, or possessions. It’s a habit, like a muscle. The more we strengthen it, the more naturally it becomes our state of being. I often say, “You don’t need a reason to be happy. You need a reason to be sad.”
My parents have shaped me more than anyone else. Although my father is no longer physically with us, his teachings continue to guide me. He encouraged me to observe my thoughts, and only now do I truly understand what he was teaching through Transcendental Meditation. My mother inspires me every day through her life of chanting, gratitude, and service. Materially, she has little. Spiritually, she has everything.
Jack Canfield also became an early mentor, transforming the way I think about success, leadership, generosity, and service. His humility and encouragement to move to London changed my life.
Finally, I remain grateful even for those who challenged me. Looking back, I see that my greatest tormentors often became my greatest teachers, quietly cultivating resilience, compassion, discernment, and forgiveness.
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