Rajkummar Rao
Rajkummar Rao | |
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File:Rajkummar Rao.jpg
Rao at the Lakme Fashion Week, 2015
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Born | Rajkumar Rao Yadav Gurgaon, Haryana, India |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 2010–present |
Rajkummar Rao Yadav[1] is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi films. He made his film debut with the 2010 experimental film Love Sex Aur Dhokha and achieved success in 2013 with the drama film Kai Po Che!, for which he was nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. He was awarded the National Film Award for Best Actor and the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Shahid Azmi in the 2013 biographical film Shahid.[2] In 2014, Rao portrayed the leading man in the financially successful film Queen.[3]
Contents
Early life and education
Rajkummar Rao was born in Gurgaon, India.[4] Rajkummar caught the acting bug on a theatre stage in his 10th grade. He finished his schooling in Gurgaon at Blue Bells Model School and graduated in Arts from Delhi University. He was simultaneously doing theatre with Kshitij Repertory and Shri Ram Centre (SRC) in Delhi.[citation needed] In 2008, Rajkummar graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune and shifted to Mumbai.[5]
Career
2010–2015: Debut and early work
After graduating from FTII, Rao spent the next year visiting studios and meeting casting directors. In 2010, he got his big break when he was cast in Love Sex Aur Dhokha, after responding to an ad that mentioned Dibakar Banerjee was looking for newcomers.[5][6]
Rao next signed Ekta Kapoor’s Ragini MMS where he played a negative role. Both Love Sex Aur Dhokha and Ragini MMS succeeded, and his performances in both films were appreciated. He also appeared in Bejoy Nambiar's Shaitan. Raja Sen of Rediff, while criticizing the film, singled out his performance as "reliably terrific".[7]
In 2012, Rao performed a series of small, but significant roles in films like Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 2, Chittagong and Talaash. Anurag Kashyap selected Rao for Gangs Of Wasseypur, after watching his performance in Love Sex aur Dhokha. For the role of Shamshad Alam, he visited Wasseypur to perfect his character and accent. However, his character's screen time was considerably reduced in the final script. Rao who was eager to work with Anurag Kashyap, went ahead with the movie anyway.[5] In the critically acclaimed Chittagong, he portrayed the role of freedom fighter, Lokenath Bal. In Talaash, he played the role of a junior officer to Aamir Khan's character. Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN commented, "...it takes Rajkumar Yadav just one scene - in which he's merely a spectator with a single line of dialogue - to show what a good actor can bring even to a small part."[8]
2013–present: Critical acclaim
In 2013, Rao played the role of Govind in the film Kai Po Che!, Abhishek Kapoor's adaptation of Chetan Bhagat's novel The 3 Mistakes of My Life. The movie was a commercial and critical success, and earned praise for the lead performances. Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV remarked, "No praise would be enough for Raj Kumar Rao. Delivering a measured performance as the self-effacing man lost in “the magic of numbers”, he is a consummate scene-stealer."[9] He followed Kai Po Che! with a leading role in the biopic Shahid, based on the life of the slain lawyer and human rights activist Shahid Azmi. It earned praise from the critics with Anupama Chopra writing: "Shahid is Raj Kumar’s triumph. His Shahid has strength, anguish and a controlled anger, but also real charm. His smile lights up the frame. See Shahid for him."[10] The role earned him a National Film Award for Best Actor (shared with Suraj Venjaramoodu for Perariyathavar) and a Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor.[11][12]
Rao then starred in the coming-of-age dramedy Queen (2014) opposite Kangana Ranaut. He played Vijay, a man who calls off his wedding with his fiancée. Rao's performance was well received; Saibal Chatterjee wrote that "He brings remarkable restraint to bear upon his interpretation of the disgustingly conservative city slicker who cannot see beyond his nose. Rarely has an object of derision stood his ground with as much firm intent as he does."[13] The film received critical acclaim and was financially successful.[14][15][16]
Rao next starred in Hansal Mehta's drama City Lights (2014). In 2015, he appeared alongside Sonam Kapoor and Pulkit Samrat in the romantic comedy Dolly Ki Doli (2015).[17][18] In April 2015, Rao featured with Emraan Hashmi and Vidya Balan in Hamari Adhuri Kahani. Both Dolly Ki Doli and Hamari Adhuri Kahani were box-office flops.[19][20]
Filmography
Denotes films that have not yet been released |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2010 | Love Sex Aur Dhokha | Adarsh | |
2011 | Ragini MMS | Uday | |
Shaitan | Malwankar Pintya | ||
2012 | Gangs of Wasseypur - Part 2 | Shamshad Alam | |
Chittagong | Lokenath Bal | ||
Talaash: The Answer Lies Within | Devrath Kulkarni | ||
2013 | Kai Po Che! | Govind Patel | Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor |
D-Day | Moin (voice) | Cameo appearance | |
Shahid | Shahid Azmi | National Film Award for Best Actor Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor |
|
2014 | Queen | Vijay | |
CityLights | Deepak Singh | ||
2015 | Dolly Ki Doli | Sonu Sherawat | |
Hamari Adhuri Kahani | Hari Prasad | ||
2016 | Aligarh | Deepu Sebastian |
References
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External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rajkummar Rao. |
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- Living people
- People from Gurgaon
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