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Rajkummar Rao is an Indian actor. He made his debut in the film Rann in 2010, and since then has appeared in more than thirty films and received nineteen awards. He also appeared in web and TV series, Yeh Hai Aashiqui and Bose: Dead/Alive.
Background
Rajkummar Rao was born Rajkumar Yadav on August 31, 1984, Gurugram, India. He is the son of Satyapal Yadav, who worked as a patwari, and Kamlesh Yadav, a homemaker. His parents passed away in 2016 and 2019. Rao also has a sister, Monika, and a brother, Amit.
Education
Rao finished his schooling in Gurugram at Shri Shiv Narayan Sidheswar Senior Secondary Public School and graduated in Arts from Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma College (ARSD). He was simultaneously doing theater with Kshitij Repertory and Shri Ram Centre (SRC) in Delhi. In 2008, Rajkummar graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune and shifted to Mumbai for a film career.
Rao spent 2009 visiting studios and meeting casting directors. After responding to an advertisement that mentioned Dibakar Banerjee was looking for newcomers for his film Love Sex Aur Dhokha (2010), he auditioned for the film and was finalized. The film consisted of newcomers and three stories, with Rao appearing in the second story opposite Nushrat Bharucha and Neha Chauhan, playing Adarsh, a supermarket supervisor who is in love with Chauhan's character. The following year, Rao played the main antagonist in Pawan Kriplani's directorial debut Ragini MMS (2011), opposite Kainaz Motivala. His next film release was Bejoy Nambiar's crime thriller Shaitan (2011), in which he portrayed a slimy cop. Both his 2011 releases were failures, but his performance in the latter was positively reviewed.
In 2012, Rao played supporting roles in three films, the first of which was Anurag Kashyap's crime drama Gangs of Wasseypur - Part 2, a follow-up to Kashyap's crime drama Gangs of Wasseypur - Part 1 which was also released in 2012. In preparation for his role as a businessman, Rao visited Wasseypur to perfect his character and accent. Upon release, the film received positive reactions from critics. He next starred in the biographical film Chittagong. The film starred Manoj Bajpayee in the lead role and Rao portrayed a freedom fighter, Lokenath Bal, but the film was not a box office success. Rao's final release of 2012 was Reema Kagti's psychological thriller Talaash: The Answer Lies Within, co-starring Aamir Khan, Rani Mukerji, Kareena Kapoor, and Nawazuddin Siddiqui.
2013 was a critically and commercially successful film period in Rao's career, as he starred in two successful productions - Abhishek Kapoor's male buddy film Kai Po Che! and Hansal Mehta's biographical drama Shahid. The former, co-starring Sushant Singh Rajput, Amit Sadh, and Amrita Puri, was an adaptation of Chetan Bhagat's novel The 3 Mistakes of My Life and narrated the story of three friends who want to start their own sports shop and academy. Along with the story of three friends, the film also narrated about the 2001 Gujarat Earthquake and the Godhra train burning. In 2013 he also appeared in the TV series Yeh Hai Aashiqui as Mayak's friend.
Rao next collaborated with debutant director Abhishek Dogra for the romantic comedy Dolly Ki Doli (2015), co-starring Sonam Kapoor, Varun Sharma, and Pulkit Samrat. His second release that year was Mohit Suri's romantic drama Hamari Adhuri Kahani, alongside Vidya Balan and Emraan Hashmi. His role was of Hari Prasad, an abusive man who mistreats his wife. Both Dolly Ki Doli and Hamari Adhuri Kahani were box office flops.
The string of commercially unsuccessful films ended with Rao's next release - the drama Aligarh (2016) - which reunited him with director Hansal Mehta and actor Manoj Bajpayee. Set in the city of Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, it was the biopic of Ramchandra Siras, an Indian author who later becomes a professor at the Aligarh Muslim University. The film received positive comments and was a financial success. Later that year, he starred opposite Geetanjali Thapa in Vikramaditya Motwane's survival drama Trapped, portraying Shaurya, a call center employee who gets trapped in his apartment room without food, water, and electricity. Although the film was a box office disappointment, his performance met with critical praise. He also appeared in the web series Bose: Dead/Alive as Subhas Chandra Bose.
In 2018 Rao appeared in five films, including Omerta, Fanney Khan, Stree, Love Sonia, and 5 Weddings. In 2019 he has already appeared in Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga and Judgementall Hai Kya. He will also appear in three more films: Made in China, Turram Khan and Roohi Afza.
(Deepak Sing is a farmer in Rajasthan. After a tragedy, he...)
2014
Religion
Rao is affiliated with Hinduism. He is an ardent devotee of Ganesha.
Politics
Rao criticized Gajendra Chauhan's appointment as the chairman of FTII, saying the premier institute needs to be in "safe hands." He said that students need a head, who they can look up to. "#FTII needs to be in safe hands. Students need somebody who they can trust and look up to. It's their future which is at stake here," actor posted on Twitter.
Views
Rao cites Shah Rukh Khan as his inspiration to act: "If an outsider could make it as big as him, then maybe there was hope for me."
Quotations:
"I am the same person who came to this city Mumbai a few years ago to act in Hindi films, and I am just continuing doing that. I did not change as a person. All that happens is people change around me."
"My father taught me honesty. He was the most honest government official I have ever seen. He was at a post where could have made so much of money. He stuck to his honesty."
"My only job is to act and play the character truthfully and honestly."
"People will invest in you only if they see some kind of return, and that's the dark truth."
"I want to keep running. I don't ever want this journey to finish. And for that to happen, you can't put too much of your brain in doing things and can't connect too many dots because, anyway, there is no guarantee of anything."
"We have to address the safety of women, and that is of utmost importance right now. I would love to work only with people with ethics and the right moral conduct."
"I chased my dream, worked hard for it, and now I am actually living that dream. This doesn't happen to everyone."
"I always feel secure. I can't be a pure actor if I feel insecure. I can't let other things take over my love for acting. For me, it's a giving art. It is not something which I am doing for myself. I am doing it for my co-actors, unless it is something like Trapped."
"What's the fun in doing conventional things? I would rather be known as someone who is unconventional. I like being unconventional. I like doing things which are different. That's what I like... It gives me a boost as an actor."
"I don't know the reason why someone would not speak up about sexual harassment. I don't know why it doesn't happen here, but I am sure it exists not only in our industry, but every industry, it is there."
"I am a greedy actor: I want all the scripts to come to me. So I do all the good films which come my way, even if it means I'll rest a little less."
"I try to bring all my sincerity to the character I play. That way, I am dedicated."
"We're just actors, man, just part of things. We're just doing our jobs, like everyone else does their jobs. The adulation for us is much more because we are always in the public eye. But I never became an actor because I wanted people to scream out my name."
"What I believe is to keep working. How a film performs at the box office is not in my control: what is in my control is my work, how much honesty I can bring on-screen. I am happy people love me."
"I think God made this very path for me, and he guided me all throughout. And my family has always been very supportive. It's not like one day I sat across the dinner table and told them I want to be an actor. It didn't happen like that."
"When you are successful, the perception of the people around you changes. If I do a variety of work, people notice me differently, and that is what is happening. I am fortunate to get these opportunities."
"I knew that I was just one of those actors who came to Mumbai to achieve their dreams. I knew that nobody would welcome me with open arms and auditions were the only way to get a chance."
"It's very tough for someone who doesn't have a filmi background to get work in Bollywood. It's not a smooth ride unless you are really lucky. But I think one has to be prepared for that."
"There are times when I do feel very nervous when I start a film. And I feel very nervous before the release. I do get stuck in some scenes, but that's very natural and human. It happens to all the artistes in the world."
"I want to go higher in my career. This is not my best. My best is yet to come."
Membership
Sandeep Marwah has rewarded Rajkummar Rao with the life membership of the International Film And Television Club of Asian Academy of Film and Television.
International Film And Television Club
Personality
Rao changed his name on the suggestion of her mother, based upon numerology.
His favourite actors are Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Manoj Bajpayee, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Daniel Day-Lewis, Marlon Brando, Madhubala, and Konkona Sen Sharma. Rao also said he would like to work with Darren Aronofsky, Damien Chazelle, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and Majid Majidi.
His favorite films are Mohabbatein, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and The Godfather. His favourite TV show is Game Of Thrones.
His favourite band is Coldplay.
He was fond of music since his childhood and wanted to make a career in it. Moreover, when he was 16 years old, he auditioned for a dance reality show in Mumbai.
Rao wasn't a voracious reader before, but after reading the biography of Robert De Niro, books have become an integral part of his life. His favorite authors are Saadat Hasan Manto, Ayn Rand, and Walter Isaacson. His favorite books are The Bhagavad Gita, The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, The Godfather by Mario Puzo, My Autography by Charlie Chaplin, Wild Seed by Octavia Butler, and You Can Win by Shiv Khera.
His favorite places are Goa, Amsterdam, and Budapest.
Rao is an avid dog lover.
He is a vegetarian.
Physical Characteristics:
Rao's height is 5' 9'' (175 cm), and he weighs around 154 lbs (70 kg). His hair colour is black, and his eye colour is dark brown.
In preparation for the role in Trapped, Rao lost around 15 lbs (7 kg) in 22 days by a controlled and planned diet consisting of one carrot and coffee only.
Interests
dogs, travelling, reading, music, dancing
Writers
Saadat Hasan Manto, Ayn Rand, Walter Isaacson
Music & Bands
Coldplay
Connections
Rao has been in a relationship with the actress Patralekha Paul since 2010.