Rajkummar Rao was born as Raj Kumar Yadav on 31 August 1984 in Prem Nagar,
Gurgaon,
Haryana, India.[1][2] He had two older siblings and three cousins in his extended family. His father, Satya Prakash Yadav,[3][4] was a government employee in the
Haryana revenue department, and his mother, Kamlesh Yadav, a homemaker.[5] His mother and father died in 2016 and 2019 respectively.[6][7] He completed his 12th standard from S.N. Sidheshwar Senior. Sec Public School, where he participated in school plays.[8] He graduated from The
Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma College, (
University of Delhi) where he was simultaneously doing theatre with Kshitij Theatre Group and the
Shri Ram Centre in Delhi.[8][5]
Rao said that he decided to become an actor after seeing
Manoj Bajpayee and being "highly influenced" by his performance.[5] In 2008, he enrolled in a two-year acting course at the
Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, and moved to Mumbai to pursue a film career.[9] Rao is a vegetarian.[10] He changed his surname to Rao from Yadav in 2014 and also added an extra 'm' to his name. He said the reason for this was, "Rao or Yadav, I can use either of the surnames as both are family names. As far as the double 'm' in the first name is concerned, it's for my mother. She believes in numerology."[11] He is formally trained in
taekwondo.
After graduating from the FTII in 2008, Rao spent the next year visiting studios and meeting casting directors.[9] He made a small, uncredited appearance as a news reader in
Ram Gopal Varma's 2010 political thriller Rann.[16] After reading in a newspaper advertisement that mentioned
Dibakar Banerjee was looking for newcomers for his found footage anthology film Love Sex Aur Dhokha (2010), he auditioned for the film and was selected.[17] 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.[5] To fit the part, he had to lose 6 kilograms (13 lb) in a month.[18] The film and Rao's performance met with critical acclaim.[19] It also turned out to be a profitable box-office venture.[20]
After the success of his debut film, producer
Ekta Kapoor offered Rao the lead role in the found footage horror film Ragini MMS (2011). He was reluctant initially to accept it, as it seemed similar to his previous work, but he took up the offer at casting director
Atul Mongia's insistence.[8] Despite an unfavorable critical response, the film was a box-office success.[21][22] His next release was
Bejoy Nambiar's crime thriller Shaitan (2011), in which he played a slimy police officer.[23]Raja Sen, who was critical of the film, praised Rao's performance by calling him "reliably terrific".[24]
In 2013, he also appeared in 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 Azmi's family and spent time with them to understand the man and his personality. He also studied the
Quran and attended courtrooms to understand how lawyers behave.[35][36] Rao said he was "emotionally drained" as the character was challenging and complex.[36] The film and his performance met with critical acclaim upon its release.[37]Anupama Chopra called the film Rao's "triumph"; "His Shahid has strength, anguish and a controlled anger, but also real charm."[38] The film was also a box-office success;[39] Rao received the
National Film Award for Best Actor at the
61st National Film Awards ceremony and his first
Filmfare Award for Best Actor (Critics) at the
59th Filmfare Awards.[40][41] His other 2013 release was the comedy film Boyss Toh Boyss Hain.[42]
In 2013, Rao played the supporting role of a manipulative fiancé in the comedy-drama Queen. The film had its world premiere at the
Busan International Film Festival and was released theatrically in India on 7 March 2014.[43] It was a critical and commercial success, grossing ₹970 million (US$14 million) worldwide.[44][45] 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".[46]
The same year, he acted in a short film titled Bombay Mirror directed by
Shlok Sharma along with
Vijay Maurya.[47] He collaborated with Mehta on his drama film CityLights (2014). Co-starring
Patralekha Paul, the film tells the story of a poor farm family from
Rajasthan that comes to Mumbai in search of a livelihood.[48] 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.[8] Critics praised the film and Rao's performance. Sweta Kaushal of Hindustan Times writing that he slips "effortlessly" into the role.[49] It proved to be a moderate financial success.[50]
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 had only an average gross at the box-office.[51] Its followup was the
Mohit Suri-directed romantic drama Hamari Adhuri Kahani (2015), where he plays an abusive husband to Vasudha Prasad (played by
Vidya Balan).[52] He returned to work with Mehta in the biographical drama Aligarh. Based on the life of Professor
Ramchandra Siras,
Manoj Bajpayee has the lead role, while Rao plays a journalist who tries to dig up the 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".[53] Rao received his second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film.[54]
Rao collaborated with
Vikramaditya Motwane for his directorial venture, the survival drama Trapped (2016). It tells the story of a man trapped in his apartment without food, water and electricity for days. Rao found the role of Shaurya to be one of his most challenging to date.[55] He had to lose weight and to maintain it remained on a carrot and coffee diet throughout the course of filming.[56][57] Despite being a
vegan, Rao ate meat in some scenes for the first time in his life, as Motwane insisted on realism.[58]Trapped premiere at the 2016
Mumbai Film Festival and was released theatrically on 17 March 2017 to positive reviews.[59] 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".[60] Rao won his second Filmfare Award for Best Actor (Critics) for his performance in the film.[61]
Rao's first release in 2017 was the romantic comedy Behen Hogi Teri with
Shruti Haasan; it met with an unfavorable critical response though critics praised Rao's performance.[62] 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 – simpering simpleton one minute, full of swagger the next; a role that could have become a caricature in the hands of a lesser actor."[63] The film was a commercial success and Rao won his first Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film.[64][65]
Amit V. Masurkar's black comedy Newton was Rao's next film. In it, he plays the role of an upright government clerk sent on election duty to a
Naxal-controlled town. He asked the director if he could curl his hair and blink his eyes continuously to make the character distinct; Masurkar agreed.[66] The film premiered at the
67th Berlin International Film Festival and was released in India on 22 September 2017.[67]Newton met with critical acclaim as did Rao's performance.[68] 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."[69] The role earned him the
Asia Pacific Screen Award for Best Actor and his third nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor (Critics).[70][71] He also made a cameo appearance in
Dinesh Vijan's Raabta (2017). He had to apply prosthetics for five to six hours every day to look like a 324-year-old man.[72]
His final theatrical release of the year was Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana with
Kriti Kharbanda, which met with mixed critical response.[73] 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 13 kilograms (29 lb) and went half bald.[74] 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".[75]
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.[76] He said he was "disturbed" while shooting the film because of the character he was portraying and called it "easily the toughest character" he has played until then.[76][77] The film had its world premier at the
2017 Toronto International Film Festival and was released in India on 4 May 2018.[78] The film and Rao's performance met with critical acclaim, with Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV calling it a "pitch-perfect performance".[79]
He starred next in the musical comedy Fanney Khan (2018) 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.[80]Stree (2018), 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".[81] It also earned him his first nomination for the
Filmfare Award for Best Actor.[82]Stree was a major financial success.[83] In the same year Rao appeared briefly in Tabrez Noorani's Love Sonia which was about
sex trafficking.[84] His final release of 2018 was 5 Weddings.[85]
2019–present
Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga (2019), a film about a closeted lesbian, was Rao's first film of 2019. Co-starring Sonam K Ahuja,
Anil Kapoor and
Juhi Chawla, critics received the film warmly for its positive representation of
homosexuality. However, it failed to do well commercially.[86][87] He appeared next with
Kangana Ranaut in the black comedy Judgementall Hai Kya. His performance earned him his fourth nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor (Critics).[88] His final acting venture was
Mikhil Musale's comedy flick Made in China where he plays a Gujarati businessman who receives a proposal to market a Chinese aphrodisiac in India.[89] The film, based on the namesake novel by Parinda Joshi, met with mixed critical response.
Anna M. M. Vetticad, who was critical of the film, praised Rao: "The best thing about it are Rao and [Boman] Irani who are a pleasure to watch even in this middling affair."[90] The film fared moderately well at the box-office.[91]
Rao's first release of 2020 was
Ramesh Sippy's romantic comedy Shimla Mirchi, which had been delayed for several years.[92] It met with negative reviews from critics and was a box office disaster.[93] His next acting venture, the
Anurag Basu-directed anthology film Ludo also featuring an ensemble cast of
Abhishek Bachchan,
Aditya Roy Kapur,
Sanya Malhotra,
Fatima Sana Shaikh and
Pankaj Tripathi, was directly streamed digitally on
Netflix due to
COVID-19 pandemic.[94] Anupama Chopra called him one of the "standouts" of the film and wrote: "There is such sweetness in his longing. Of course, Alloo is an emotional fool but Rajkummar doesn't play him for laughs."[95] The film earned him his second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor and his fifth nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor (Critics). The same year, he also reunited with Mehta for the sports comedy Chhalaang to play a
Haryanvi physical instructor. In which he was paired opposite
Nushrat Bharucha.[96] It was premiered on
Amazon Prime Video.[97]
Rao donated an undisclosed amount of money to the
PM CARES Fund, the Maharashtra Chief Minister's Relief Fund and
Zomato's Feeding India to help feed families in need because of the
COVID-19 pandemic in India.[113]
^Masand, Rajeev (30 November 2012).
"Strangers in the night". RajeevMasand.com.
Archived from the original on 10 September 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2012.