Arav (; born as Nafeez Kizar) is an Indian model and actor who works in the Tamil film industry. After making his acting debut through the Vijay Antony-starrer '' Saithan'' (2016), he became known after winning the first season of the Tamil reality television show ''

Bigg Boss ''Bigg Boss'' is an Indian reality television game show franchise based on the Dutch reality show '' Big Brother''. It is produced by Endemol Shine India through Viacom18 and Disney Star. Subsequently, the various versions of the show are made ...

'' hosted by

Kamal Haasan Kamal Haasan (born 7 November 1954) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, playback singer, television presenter and politician who works mainly in Tamil cinema and has also appeared in some Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi, Kannada and Bengali l ...

Career

Arav was born in Nagercoil in southern Tamil Nadu as Nafeez Kizar on 31 October 1990. His father worked as a professor at Trichy Government Law College, which prompted the family to shift to Trichy, where Arav spent his formative years. He did his schooling in Trichy at

Kamala Niketan Montessori School Kamala Niketan Montessori School (KNMS) is a school located in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu Tiruchirappalli () (Renaming of cities in India, formerly Trichinopoly in English), also called Tiruchi or Trichy, is a major tier II city in the ...

before moving to Chennai to pursue a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from

Hindustan University Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science (HITS), formerly Hindustan College of Engineering, is a deemed-to-be-university headquartered in Chennai, India. It was founded in 1985 by K.C.G. Verghese and was conferred the "University Status ...

. Following his education, Arav attempted the Civil Service Exams before settling for a job with Daimler India Commercial Vehicles and then with

Apollo Tyres Apollo Tyres Limited is an Indian Multinational tyre manufacturing company headquartered in Gurugram, Haryana. It was incorporated in 1972, and its first plant was commissioned in Perambra in Chalakudy, Kerala (India). The company now has fiv ...

. He was talent-spotted by celebrity photographer V. S. Anandhakrishna who introduced Arav to the world of modelling and held a shoot with him, prompting a Dubai-based garment company to approach him within a week of the shoot. He subsequently went on to do more than three hundred TV commercials and print ads for brands, establishing himself in the South Indian modelling industry. At the start of his career, Arav portrayed minor background characters in films, notably being seen in Mani Ratnam's ''

O Kadhal Kanmani ''O Kadhal Kanmani'' (), also known as ''OK Kanmani'', is a 2015 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film written, directed and produced by Mani Ratnam. The film stars Dulquer Salmaan and Nithya Menen, portraying a young couple in a live-in r ...

'' (2015) as a colleague of Dulquer Salmaan's character. Arav then portrayed his first major role in Pradeep Krishnamoorthy's psychological thriller, '' Saithan'' (2016), portraying a negative supporting role alongside Vijay Antony and Arundathi Nair. He will next be seen portraying the leading role of a police officer in the horror film '' Meendum Vaa Arugil Vaa'' (2017). In 2017, Arav appeared as a contestant on the television show ''

'' hosted by

. After entering the house on the first day of the show, he survived eviction for hundred days and finished as the first season's winner. The success of his appearance on the show, prompted several filmmakers to approach him to play lead roles in their films. He first signed a project with director Saravanan, while he also has a film with director Maran, where he portrays a police officer and features opposite actress

Samyukta Hornad Samyukta Hornad is an Indian actress who appears in Kannada films. Her debut movie was Lifeu Ishtene directed by Pawan Kumar. She is known for her roles in the commercially successful films ''Lifeu Ishtene'' (2011), ''Barfi'' (2011), Un Samay ...

. A further project is the feature-length adaptation of Manikandan's short film – ''Meendum Oru Punnagai'', which is being directed by Sameer Bharat Ram. Another film in production is ''Brain'', directed by Vijay Sri.

Personal life

Arav married actress Raahei in September 2020. They have a son, born in November 2021.

Filmography

Short films

*''Oru Cup Coffee'' (2015)

Television

*'' Bigg Boss Tamil Season 1'' (2017) as Contestant/Winner *''Bigg Boss Tamil Season 2'' (2018) (Guest From Day 88 to 89) *''BB Jodigal Guest - Grand Launch''

References

External links

* {{authority control Living people Indian male film actors Kizar, Arav Kizar, Arav People from Kanyakumari district Year of birth missing (living people)