Rajkummar Rao

Biography

Rajkummar Rao is a National Film Award and four-time Filmfare Award-winning Indian actor celebrated as the torchbearer of realistic, character-driven storytelling in modern Hindi cinema. A graduate of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Rao made an impressive debut in Dibakar Banerjee's Love Sex Aur Dhokha (2010) before achieving critical breakthroughs in Kai Po Che! and Hansal Mehta's biographical drama Shahid (2013), winning the National Film Award for Best Actor for his deeply moving portrayal of slain human rights activist Shahid Azmi. Rao established himself as an extraordinarily versatile performer capable of headlining claustrophobic survival thrillers like Trapped, black comedies like Newton (India's official Oscar submission), and blockbuster horror-comedies like Stree (2018) and Stree 2 (2024), the latter becoming the highest-grossing Hindi film in domestic box office history. His diverse credits also include Bareilly Ki Barfi, Aligarh, Badhaai Do, Monica, O My Darling, and Srikanth. Rao's humble dedication and authentic craft have made him an essential pillar of Indian cinema. Rao's relentless physical transformations and willingness to inhabit vulnerable, flawed, and challenging characters continue to earn him universal acclaim as the most authentic leading man of his generation.