Rajkummar Rao
Rajkummar Rao is an Indian actor. Active in Hindi cinema since the early 2010s, he is known for his versatility and performances in over thirty films across a wide spectrum of genres, spanning both independent and commercial projects. He is the recipient of several accolades, including a National Film Award, five Filmfare Awards, and an Asia Pacific Screen Award. In 2017, he was featured on Forbes Indias Celebrity 100 list.
After training at the Film and Television Institute of India, Rao made his film debut in the anthology Love Sex Aur Dhokha, followed by supporting roles in Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 2 and Talaash: The Answer Lies Within. He achieved his breakthrough in 2013 with acclaimed performances in the dramas Kai Po Che! and Shahid. His portrayal of lawyer Shahid Azmi in the latter earned him the National Film Award for Best Actor and the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor.
Rao gained further recognition with roles in Queen, Aligarh, and Bareilly Ki Barfi, with the last winning him the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. He headlined independent films such as Trapped and Newton, earning critical acclaim and international recognition, including the Asia Pacific Screen Award for Best Performance by an Actor. His commercial breakthrough came with the comedy horror Stree, followed by his first English-language role in The White Tiger.
He continued to earn praise for starring roles in Ludo, Monica, O My Darling, Bheed, and Srikanth. He won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor for portraying a closeted gay man in Badhaai Do. Despite subsequent commercial setbacks, Rao regained success with the sequel Stree 2 and the fantasy film Bhool Chuk Maaf. While the latter ranks as his highest-grossing release, he faced criticism for repeatedly taking on similar roles. Rao is married to actress Patralekha, with whom he has a daughter.
Early life and education
Rajkummar Rao was born as Raj Kumar Yadav on 31 August 1984 in Prem Nagar, Gurgaon, Haryana, India. He had two older siblings and three cousins in his extended family. His father, Satya Prakash Yadav, was a government employee in the Haryana revenue department, and his mother, Kamlesh Yadav, a homemaker. His mother and father died in 2016 and 2019 respectively. He completed his 12th standard from S.N. Sidheshwar Senior. Sec Public School, where he participated in school plays. He graduated from The Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma College, where he was simultaneously doing theatre with Kshitij Theatre Group and the Shri Ram Centre in Delhi.Rao said that he decided to become an actor after seeing Manoj Bajpayee and being "highly influenced" by his performance. In 2008, he graduated in the acting course at the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, and moved to Mumbai to pursue a film career.
Career
Early work (2010–2012)
After graduating from the FTII in 2008, Rao spent the next year visiting studios and meeting casting directors. He made a brief, uncredited appearance as a news reader in Ram Gopal Varma's 2010 political thriller Rann. Upon reading a newspaper advertisement that mentioned Dibakar Banerjee was looking for newcomers for his found footage anthology film Love Sex Aur Dhokha, he auditioned for the film and was selected. The film consists of three stories; Rao appears in the second story opposite Neha Chauhan. He played Adarsh, a supermarket supervisor who cons an employee into sleeping with him so he can record the act on a hidden camera and sell it. To prepare for the role, he had to lose in a month. The film and Rao's performance met with critical acclaim. It also emerged as a profitable box-office venture.After the success of his debut film, producer Ekta Kapoor offered Rao the lead role in the found-footage horror film Ragini MMS. Initially reluctant to accept the role due to its similarity to his previous work, he eventually agreed at the insistence of casting director Atul Mongia. Despite its unfavorable critical response, the film was a box-office success. His next release was Bejoy Nambiar's crime thriller Shaitan, in which he played a corrupt police officer. Raja Sen, who was critical of the film, praised Rao's performance, describing him as "reliably terrific".
Impressed by Rao's performance in Love Sex Aur Dhokha, Anurag Kashyap cast him in Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 2, the sequel to his crime drama Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1. He played the supporting role of Shamshad Alam for which he travelled to Wasseypur to perfect his accent and immerse himself in the character. The film was a critical and commercial success. His subsequent role was that of independence activist Lokenath Bal in Bedabrata Pain's historical drama Chittagong, which was based on the Chittagong armoury raid. His final release of the year was in a supporting role in Reema Kagti's thriller Talaash: The Answer Lies Within, where he played a cop. The film, starring Aamir Khan and Rani Mukerji, had worldwide earnings of over ₹1.74 billion to emerge as the year's eighth highest-grossing Hindi film—Rao's highest-grosser to that point. Rajeev Masand was appreciative of Rao's performance despite his short appearance.
Rao followed this with the Hansal Mehta-directed biographical drama Shahid, where he plays the title role of late lawyer Shahid Azmi. To prepare for the role, Rao met with Azmi's family to accurately emulate his personality. He also studied the Quran and attended court proceedings to better understand the behaviours of lawyers whilst in court. Rao expressed that he was "emotionally drained" as the character was challenging and complex. The film and his performance met with critical acclaim upon its release. Anupama Chopra called the film Rao's "triumph"; "His Shahid has strength, anguish and a controlled anger, but also real charm". The film was also a major box-office success; Rao received the National Film Award for Best Actor and his first Filmfare Award for Best Actor.
Breakthrough (2013–2016)
's social drama film Kai Po Che! was Rao's first venture in 2013, a role he believed showcased a different facet of his acting abilities. Co-starring Sushant Singh Rajput and Amit Sadh, the film is based on Chetan Bhagat's 2008 novel The 3 Mistakes of My Life. The film received widespread critical acclaim, with particular praise towards the lead performances. Shilpa Jamkhandikar of Deccan Herald felt that Rao stood out and played off the role "beautifully". He received his first nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. Rao has since credited the success of both Shahid and Kai Po Che! with giving him access to a wider variety of roles. His final release of the year was the unremarkable anthology comedy film Boyss Toh Boyss Hain.The same year, he acted in a short film titled Bombay Mirror directed by Shlok Sharma along with Vijay Maurya. He then collaborated with Mehta on his drama film CityLights. Co-starring his wife Patralekha, the film tells the story of a poor farm family from Rajasthan that comes to Mumbai in search of a livelihood. To prepare for the role, Rao lived in the small town of Sadri in the Pali district of Rajasthan for a month, grew a moustache and became well-versed with the dialect. Critics praised the film and Rao's performance. Sweta Kaushal of Hindustan Times wrote that he slips "effortlessly" into the role. It proved to be a moderate financial success. He then played a brief supporting role as a manipulative fiancé in Kangana Ranaut's comedy-drama Queen. The film had its world premiere at the Busan International Film Festival and was a critical and commercial success, grossing ₹970 million worldwide. Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV noted that Rao "brings remarkable restraint to bear upon his interpretation of the disgustingly conservative city slicker who cannot see beyond his nose".
In 2015, Rao appeared in a supporting role in the romantic comedy Dolly Ki Doli, co-starring Sonam K Ahuja, Pulkit Samrat and Varun Sharma. It met with mixed reviews and emerged as a modest commercial success at the box-office. He followed this the Mohit Suri-directed romantic drama Hamari Adhuri Kahani, in which he played an abusive husband who leaves his wife. He then reunited with Mehta once again in his biographical drama Aligarh. Based on the life of Professor Ramchandra Siras, Rao portrayed a journalist who attempts to uncover a story. Aligarh met with critical acclaim upon its release, with particular praise for Bajpayee and Rao's performances. Sukanya Verma called Rao "pitch-perfect" in his role of "inquisitive journalist". Rao received his second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Rao collaborated with Vikramaditya Motwane for his survival drama Trapped. It tells the story of a man trapped in his apartment without food, water and electricity for days. Rao found the role to be one of his most challenging to date. In preparation for the film, he had to lose weight and—to maintain it—remained on a carrot and coffee diet throughout the course of filming. Despite being a vegan, Rao ate meat in some scenes for the first time in his life, as Motwane insisted on realism. Trapped premiere at the 2016 Mumbai Film Festival and was released theatrically the following year to positive reviews from critics. Subhash K. Jha wrote that Rao "immerses himself in the judiciously assembled plot with such radiant authenticity that after a while we cease to watch the skill that underlines the outstanding performance". He earned his second Filmfare Award for Best Actor.
Commercial success (2017–2018)
Rao's first release in 2017 was the romantic comedy Behen Hogi Teri with Shruti Haasan; it met with an unfavourable critical response though critics praised Rao's performance. He followed this with another romantic comedy titled Bareilly Ki Barfi, directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari and co-starring Kriti Sanon and Ayushmann Khurrana. The film and Rao's performance met with widespread critical acclaim. Namrata Joshi wrote: "Rao is a hoot and brings the house down with his chameleon turn and comic timing a role that could have become a caricature in the hands of a lesser actor". The film was a commercial success and Rao won his first Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. Rao also made a cameo appearance in Dinesh Vijan's Raabta in which he had to apply prosthetics for multiple hours daily during shooting to appear as a 324-year-old man.A significant turning point in Rao's career came in Amit V. Masurkar's black comedy Newton in which he plays an upright government clerk sent on election duty to a Naxal-controlled town. Rao asked Masurkar if he could curl his hair and blink his eyes frequently during filming to make the character more distinct, and Masurkar agreed. The film premiered at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival and was met with unanimous critical acclaim, as did Rao's performance. Rajeev Masand commented, "It's hard to separate the actor from the character, and not many of our artistes can claim to possess that gift". The role earned him the Asia Pacific Screen Award for Best Actor and his third nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor.
His final theatrical release of the year was Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana with Kriti Kharbanda, which met with mixed critical response. He also made his digital debut with ALTBalaji's historical biographical web mini-series Bose: Dead/Alive. Based on the 2012 book India's Biggest Cover-up by Anuj Dhar, he portrays nationalist leader Subhash Chandra Bose. For the role, Rao gained and went half bald. Anvita Singh of India Today felt it was not Rao's best performance, but because of his skill as an actor he "does grab your attention".
Rao reunited with Mehta for the biographical crime film Omerta, where he portrays the role of terrorist Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh. To prepare for the role, Rao watched several videos, documentaries and hate speeches by Sheikh to "gather a lot of hatred and anger" inside himself. He said he was "disturbed" while shooting the film because of the complexities of the character and described it as "easily the toughest character" he had played to this point. The film had its world premiere at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival and was released in India in 2018. The film and Rao's performance met with critical acclaim, with Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV calling it a "pitch-perfect performance".
He starred next in the musical comedy Fanney Khan with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Anil Kapoor. A remake of the 2000 Belgian film Everybody's Famous!, the film was a critical and commercial failure. Stree, the Amar Kaushik-directed horror comedy was his next release. Based on the Bangalore urban legend known as Nale Ba, the film also starred Shraddha Kapoor. The film, and Rao's performance, met with positive critical feedback. Rachit Gupta of The Times of India noted that Rao "handles the many shades of comedy, horror and romance with great ease". It also earned him his first nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor. Stree was a major financial success. In the same year Rao appeared briefly in Tabrez Noorani's Love Sonia which was about sex trafficking. His final release of 2018 was 5 Weddings.