Rajkummar Rao | The struggling Bollywood face

Earlier named Raj Kumar Yadav, Rising actor Rajkummar Rao was born in Gurgaon, Haryana on August 31, 1984. Recipient of several awards including National Film Award, three filmfare awards and Asia Pacific screen award, he is Known for his works in the films Shaadi me zaroor as a, Shahid, Gangs of Wasseypur part -2, Trapped, Stree and Behen hogi teri.

Early life

Rajkummar Rao, The son of Mr Satya Prakash Yadav, a government employee and Mrs Kamlesh Yadav, grew up in an extended family of two older siblings and three cousins. He came to explore his interest in acting when he actively participated in plays during his school time. After Completing his 12th standard from Blue Bells Model School, Rajkummar Moved to Delhi and graduated from Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma College. Along with this, he joined the Kshitij Theater Group.

In his whole acting journey, he became greatly inspired by the actor Manoj Bajpayee and his success story. In 2008, Rajkummar got into a two-year acting course at the famous FTII: Film and Television Institute of India, Pune.
Before stepping into the industry, he changed his surname to Rao, saying that he could use either of the two family names, Rao or Yadav. Also, he added an extra ‘m’ in his name, stating his mother’s belief in numerology.

Career

Following his graduation from FTII, Rajkummar Rao, to start his acting career, moved to Mumbai and began visiting studios and fixed meetings with directors. His first appearance was made in Rann, a political thriller, which was not much notable. Secondly, he appeared in the anthology film Love, Sex Aur Dhokha. This performance gained critical acclaim and was a box office blast. Next, he was offered by Ekta Kapoor to work in Ragini MMS 2. Despite not getting amazing compliments, the film was a fantastic box office success.

Rajkummar’s performance in Love, Sex or Dhokha impressed Director Anurag Kashyap, and he selected him for the film Gangs of Wasseypur part 2. This was a tremendous success, critically as well as financially. By 2012, the actor had a brilliant position after working in Talaash: The Answer Lies Within. With earnings of over 1.74 billion, the film came up to be a blockbuster.

Breakthrough

The year 2013 saw Rajkummar Rao in the film Shahid. His hard work for developing the personality of this main character – Shahid Azmi, finally paid off. As he wonderfully played this emotionally challenging character, his performance gained excellent reviews. Anupama Chopra, calling it “triumph”, comments, “His Shahid has strength, anguish and a controlled anger, but also real charm.”
He was awarded National Film Award for Best Actor for this superhit film.

The same year he gave us another commercially successful Drama film, “Queen”. It had its world premiere at the great Busan International Film Festival.
Following this, Rajkummar Rao did various other widely recognised works in Dolly ki Doli, Behen hogi Teri, Hamari adhuri Kahani and Shaadi me zaroor aana.

Also Read: Manoj Bajpayee | One of the gems of Bollywood