# Rajkummar Rao (राजकुमार राव)
**Rajkummar Rao** (राजकुमार राव; born Raj Kumar Yadav, 1984) is an Indian actor who works in [Hindi cinema](https://www.edgepedia.org/hindi-cinema) and is known for moving between independent, content-driven films and mainstream commercial hits. He made his debut in [Dibakar Banerjee](https://www.edgepedia.org/dibakar-banerjee)'s 2010 anthology *Love Sex Aur Dhokha*, won a National Film Award for the biopic *Shahid* (2013), and has since become one of the most prolific leading actors of Hindi cinema, with filmographies listing more than 45 films to his name.[1](https://www.zee5.com/celebs/rajkummar-rao) • [2](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/rajkummar-rao-films-career-stree-533404/lite/) • [3](https://www.bollywoodmdb.com/rajkummar-rao-nm-32336/movies)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | As Raj Kumar Yadav in 1984, in Prem Nagar, Gurgaon, Haryana, India[1](https://www.zee5.com/celebs/rajkummar-rao) |
| Training | Acting course at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune; joined in 2005 and graduated in 2008[4](https://openthemagazine.com/cinema/rajkummar-rao-the-unstoppable-everyman) • [5](https://theideaslab.com/rajkummar-rao-pushing-boundaries-genuine-love-cinema/) |
| Debut | *Love Sex Aur Dhokha* (2010), directed by Dibakar Banerjee[2](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/rajkummar-rao-films-career-stree-533404/lite/) |
| National Film Award | Best Actor for *Shahid* (2013), a biopic of lawyer Shahid Azmi directed by Hansal Mehta[2](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/rajkummar-rao-films-career-stree-533404/lite/) |
| Other honors | Filmfare Award for Best Actor (Critics) for *Shahid*, 2014; Zee Cine Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male) for *Kai Po Che!*, 2014[6](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/celebrity/rajkummar-rao/awards/) |
| Commercial landmark | Entered the Rs 1 billion (Rs 100 crore) club with the horror comedy *Stree* (2018)[7](https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/leisure/story/20221114-im-not-in-a-race-with-anyone-rajkummar-rao-2293287-2022-11-04) |
| Recurring specialty | Real-life characters; by one count he had played seven biographical roles in a 16-year career[8](https://ndtv.in/bollywood/rajkummar-rao-has-done-seven-biopics-in-16-year-career-12174639/amp/1) |
## Early life and training
Rao was born Raj Kumar Yadav in Prem Nagar, Gurgaon, in the north Indian state of Haryana.[1](https://www.zee5.com/celebs/rajkummar-rao) He has described the cinema of his childhood as a "parallel universe", recalling that he wept into his pillow after watching [Amitabh Bachchan](https://www.edgepedia.org/amitabh-bachchan) die in the 1990 crime drama *Agneepath*.[9](https://scroll.in/reel/830919/scroll_in) He graduated from Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma College in Delhi and then joined the acting course at the [Film and Television Institute of India](https://www.edgepedia.org/film-and-television-institute-of-india) (FTII) in Pune, entering in 2005; the course had been restarted by director Tripurari Sharan after a gap of nearly three decades.[4](https://openthemagazine.com/cinema/rajkummar-rao-the-unstoppable-everyman) • [10](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/screen/rajkummar-rao-on-winning-the-national-award-his-roles-and-life/lite/) His two and a half years there introduced him to lifelong collaborators, including sound designer Anish John, cinematographer Dev Agarwal, and actor Vinod Rawat; classmates included actors Pitobash Tripathy and [Jaideep Ahlawat](https://www.edgepedia.org/jaideep-ahlawat).[4](https://openthemagazine.com/cinema/rajkummar-rao-the-unstoppable-everyman) • [9](https://scroll.in/reel/830919/scroll_in)
Rao has said his outlook shifted at FTII, where he encountered "amazingly real performances" and was drawn toward realism rather than the glossy hero image of mainstream Hindi cinema.[9](https://scroll.in/reel/830919/scroll_in)
## Debut and early roles (2010–2012)
After moving to Mumbai, Rao chased casting director Atul Mongia through auditions and landed a role in Dibakar Banerjee's anthology *Love Sex Aur Dhokha* (2010), playing a manipulative supermarket supervisor; he followed it with the lead in *Ragini MMS* (2011).[4](https://openthemagazine.com/cinema/rajkummar-rao-the-unstoppable-everyman) • [7](https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/leisure/story/20221114-im-not-in-a-race-with-anyone-rajkummar-rao-2293287-2022-11-04) The next two years brought small parts in *Shaitan* (2011), [Anurag Kashyap](https://www.edgepedia.org/anurag-kashyap)'s two-part *Gangs of Wasseypur* (2012), and *Talaash* (2012), alongside an appearance in the historical drama *Chittagong* (2012).[4](https://openthemagazine.com/cinema/rajkummar-rao-the-unstoppable-everyman) • [11](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/celebrity/rajkummar-rao/filmography/star-cast/) In interviews from this period he described the struggle years as expected rather than bitter: he met as many people as he could and auditioned for advertisements between film auditions.[9](https://scroll.in/reel/830919/scroll_in)
## Breakthrough: Kai Po Che! and Shahid
Two 2013 releases changed his standing. [Abhishek Kapoor](https://www.edgepedia.org/abhishek-kapoor)'s *Kai Po Che!*, a big-studio UTV film co-starring [Amit Sadh](https://www.edgepedia.org/amit-sadh) and [Sushant Singh Rajput](https://www.edgepedia.org/sushant-singh-rajput), put Rao on hoardings across Mumbai; "Kai Po Che! put me on the posters," he later said.[4](https://openthemagazine.com/cinema/rajkummar-rao-the-unstoppable-everyman) The same year came *Shahid*, Hansal Mehta's biopic of the lawyer and human rights activist Shahid Azmi, who was assassinated in 2010. Rao spent time with Shahid's family while preparing, trying to understand what drove a man who had been a victim, briefly attended a terrorist camp, was imprisoned in Tihar Jail, and then became a human rights lawyer.[2](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/rajkummar-rao-films-career-stree-533404/lite/)
The film earned Rao his first National Film Award and a [Filmfare Award for Best Actor](https://www.edgepedia.org/filmfare-award-for-best-actor) (Critics), and it began one of Hindi cinema's most productive actor-director partnerships.[2](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/rajkummar-rao-films-career-stree-533404/lite/) • [6](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/celebrity/rajkummar-rao/awards/) With Mehta he went on to make *CityLights* (2014), in which he played an immigrant in Mumbai and met his future wife, the co-star [Patralekha](https://www.edgepedia.org/patralekha); *Aligarh* (2015), playing the reporter who brings a gay professor's story to light opposite [Manoj Bajpayee](https://www.edgepedia.org/manoj-bajpayee); and *Omerta* (2017), in which he played the terrorist Omar Sheikh.[4](https://openthemagazine.com/cinema/rajkummar-rao-the-unstoppable-everyman) Early in his career, filmmakers compared him to earlier generations of screen actors: Mahesh Bhatt called him a young Dilip Kumar and Hansal Mehta a young Balraj Sahni.[12](https://www.filmfare.com/features/i-dont-want-to-be-tagged-as-a-parallel-actor-7544.amp)
## Range: survival drama, satire, and commercial comedy
**Trapped and Newton.** Rao had [Vikramaditya Motwane](https://www.edgepedia.org/vikramaditya-motwane) on his wish-list of directors from the start of his career, and their collaboration produced *Trapped* (2017), a survival drama about a man accidentally locked in a newly built Mumbai high-rise without food, water, or electricity. Rao carried the film nearly alone and lost seven kilograms in 18 days, eating nothing for 15 of them to match his character's condition.[2](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/rajkummar-rao-films-career-stree-533404/lite/) The same year he played the title character in *Newton*, an honest government clerk sent on election duty to a Naxal-affected area of [Chhattisgarh](https://www.edgepedia.org/chhattisgarh). The film was India's official entry to the Oscars and, by Rao's account, a conventional box-office success that encouraged other filmmakers to attempt content-driven cinema.[2](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/rajkummar-rao-films-career-stree-533404/lite/)
**Bareilly Ki Barfi and the comic turn.** [Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari](https://www.edgepedia.org/ashwiny-iyer-tiwari)'s romantic comedy *Bareilly Ki Barfi* (2017) showed audiences a different register. Rao's character, Pritam Vidrohi, shifts between a rowdy persona and its complete opposite, and the actor described the role as "like playing two different parts in one film"; he was nervous about going overboard.[2](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/rajkummar-rao-films-career-stree-533404/lite/) In 2018 the horror comedy *Stree* carried him into the Rs 1 billion (Rs 100 crore) club, and the franchise became a career mainstay, with *Stree 2* (2024) among his biggest releases.[7](https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/leisure/story/20221114-im-not-in-a-race-with-anyone-rajkummar-rao-2293287-2022-11-04) • [11](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/celebrity/rajkummar-rao/filmography/star-cast/)
**Television and streaming.** Rao has worked across platforms. He appeared in the Netflix crime series *Guns & Gulaabs* (2023) as Tipu Spanner, and was among the actors profiled as redefining Hindi cinema's leading man alongside Ranbir Kapoor, Ranveer Singh, and Vicky Kaushal.[13](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3822770/?_ssoLoop=1) • [14](https://www.filmeshilmy.com/2026/08/31/rajkummar-rao-ranbir-kapoor-ranveer-singh-and-vicky-kaushal-why-hindi-cinema-no-longer-has-one-kind-of-leading-man/)
## Biopics and real-life characters
Real people recur across Rao's filmography. A 2026 count put his biographical roles at seven within a 16-year career, ranging from *Shahid* to *Srikanth* (2024), about entrepreneur Srikanth Bolla.[8](https://ndtv.in/bollywood/rajkummar-rao-has-done-seven-biopics-in-16-year-career-12174639/amp/1) • [3](https://www.bollywoodmdb.com/rajkummar-rao-nm-32336/movies) His 2026 release *Prahaar - The Ujjwal Nikam Story* casts him as the prominent lawyer Ujjwal Nikam, who prosecuted Ajmal Kasab for the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attacks; Wamiqa Gabbi plays Nikam's wife Jyoti.[8](https://ndtv.in/bollywood/rajkummar-rao-has-done-seven-biopics-in-16-year-career-12174639/amp/1)
## Recent and upcoming work
Rao's 2024–2025 slate mixed genres rapidly: *Srikanth* and *Mr. & Mrs. Mahi* in May 2024, *Stree 2* in August 2024, *Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video* in October 2024, the gangster drama *Maalik* in July 2025, and the time-loop comedy *Bhool Chuk Maaf* in May 2025.[11](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/celebrity/rajkummar-rao/filmography/star-cast/) In an August 2025 interview he credited his status as an industry outsider for the freedom to experiment across supernatural, comedy, thriller, gangster, and romantic-comedy material within a single year.[15](https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/rajkummar-rao-talks-about-not-having-a-film-background-and-freedom-stree-maalik-bhool-chuk-maaf-101754644717833.html)
His announced project *DADA: The Sourav Ganguly Story*, in which he plays the former India cricket captain; Ganguly endorsed the casting, the film began shooting in January 2026, and trade listings place its release on 14 May 2027.[16](https://www.infoexchange.live/uploads/2/2026-04/india_info_exchange_2426.pdf) • [11](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/celebrity/rajkummar-rao/filmography/star-cast/) Rao said he felt nervous but excited about the role and planned to begin preparing for it after completing the Nikam film.[17](https://epaper.amritvichar.com/media/2025-08/amrit-vichar-ayodhya-03-aug-edition.pdf) • [16](https://www.infoexchange.live/uploads/2/2026-04/india_info_exchange_2426.pdf) IMDb also lists further in-development projects, including *Vishkanya* and an untitled film with director Shoojit Sircar.[13](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3822770/?_ssoLoop=1)
## Acting approach and public positions
Rao has repeatedly pushed back against being boxed as a "parallel" or art-cinema actor. In a 2014 Filmfare interview he said, "I don't want to be tagged as a parallel actor," and in later interviews he acknowledged that fewer independent-style scripts reach him since the commercial success of *Stree*, even though he would still like to make films like *Trapped*.[12](https://www.filmfare.com/features/i-dont-want-to-be-tagged-as-a-parallel-actor-7544.amp) • [18](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/those-kinds-of-stories-are-not-reaching-me-rajkummar-rao-on-lack-of-parallel-cinema-films-post-stree-success/articleshow/122326724.cms) At the India Today Conclave East 2019 he argued that content-driven cinema is not new, citing Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak, and attributed the current wave to writers creating characters before casting faces.[19](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/content-driven-cinema-is-not-new-satyajit-ray-and-ritwik-ghatak-did-it-years-ago-rajkummar-rao-1625948-2019-12-06) He has also said he does not expect the kind of superstardom the three Khans enjoyed to return, positioning himself instead as one of the main faces of a newer, performance-led Hindi cinema.[20](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/rajkummar-rao-superstardom-of-khans-ek-ladki-ko-dekha-toh-aisa-laga-films-5564332/lite/) In a 2018 interview with PTI he named *Shahid*, *Trapped*, *Newton*, and *Bareilly Ki Barfi* as the four films that impacted his career most, unified by what he called the humanness of their characters.[2](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/rajkummar-rao-films-career-stree-533404/lite/)
## References
1. [Rajkummar Rao, Zee5 celebrity profile](https://www.zee5.com/celebs/rajkummar-rao)
2. [Decoding Rajkummar Rao's rise in Bollywood, The Indian Express (PTI), 31 August 2018](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/rajkummar-rao-films-career-stree-533404/lite/)
3. [Rajkummar Rao filmography, BollywoodMDB](https://www.bollywoodmdb.com/rajkummar-rao-nm-32336/movies)
4. [Rajkummar Rao: The Unstoppable Everyman, Open magazine](https://openthemagazine.com/cinema/rajkummar-rao-the-unstoppable-everyman)
5. [Rajkummar Rao: Pushing Boundaries With A Genuine Love For Cinema, The Ideas Lab](https://theideaslab.com/rajkummar-rao-pushing-boundaries-genuine-love-cinema/)
6. [Awards & Nominations, Rajkummar Rao, Bollywood Hungama](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/celebrity/rajkummar-rao/awards/)
7. ["I'm not in a race with anyone": Rajkummar Rao, India Today, 4 November 2022](https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/leisure/story/20221114-im-not-in-a-race-with-anyone-rajkummar-rao-2293287-2022-11-04)
8. [16 साल के करियर में 7 लोगों की बायोपिक कर चुके राजकुमार राव, NDTV India](https://ndtv.in/bollywood/rajkummar-rao-has-done-seven-biopics-in-16-year-career-12174639/amp/1)
9. [Rajkummar Rao has five films in 2017, Scroll.in](https://scroll.in/reel/830919/scroll_in)
10. [Rajkummar Rao on winning the National Award, The Indian Express, Screen](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/screen/rajkummar-rao-on-winning-the-national-award-his-roles-and-life/lite/)
11. [Rajkummar Rao filmography, Bollywood Hungama](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/celebrity/rajkummar-rao/filmography/star-cast/)
12. ["I don't want to be tagged as a parallel actor", Filmfare, 29 October 2014](https://www.filmfare.com/features/i-dont-want-to-be-tagged-as-a-parallel-actor-7544.amp)
13. [Rajkummar Rao, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3822770/?_ssoLoop=1)
14. [Redefining Hindi Cinema's Leading Man, Filme Shilmy](https://www.filmeshilmy.com/2026/08/31/rajkummar-rao-ranbir-kapoor-ranveer-singh-and-vicky-kaushal-why-hindi-cinema-no-longer-has-one-kind-of-leading-man/)
15. [Rajkummar Rao says 'not having a film background' gave him freedom, Hindustan Times, 9 August 2025](https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/rajkummar-rao-talks-about-not-having-a-film-background-and-freedom-stree-maalik-bhool-chuk-maaf-101754644717833.html)
16. [India info exchange newspaper report, 2 April 2026](https://www.infoexchange.live/uploads/2/2026-04/india_info_exchange_2426.pdf)
17. [Amrit Vichar Ayodhya edition, 3 August 2025](https://epaper.amritvichar.com/media/2025-08/amrit-vichar-ayodhya-03-aug-edition.pdf)
18. ["Those kinds of stories are not reaching me": Rajkummar Rao, Times of India](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/those-kinds-of-stories-are-not-reaching-me-rajkummar-rao-on-lack-of-parallel-cinema-films-post-stree-success/articleshow/122326724.cms)
19. [Content-driven cinema is not new, India Today Conclave East 2019](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/content-driven-cinema-is-not-new-satyajit-ray-and-ritwik-ghatak-did-it-years-ago-rajkummar-rao-1625948-2019-12-06)
20. [I don't think the kind of superstardom Khans saw will ever come back: Rajkummar Rao, The Indian Express](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/rajkummar-rao-superstardom-of-khans-ek-ladki-ko-dekha-toh-aisa-laga-films-5564332/lite/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Film people and crafts › Film actors and performers › Indian and South Asian film actors by industry and language › Hindi film actors, 2010s onward › Surnames R to T*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license