Akul Balaji (born Akula Balaji on 23 February 1979) is an

Indian actor The Cinema of India consists of motion pictures produced in India, which had a large effect on world cinema since the late 20th century. Major centers of film production across the country include Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Ko ...

, television host and dancer who has worked in both

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

and

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

languages. He started his career by acting and hosting television shows and has participated in the

Kannada Film Kannada cinema, also known as Sandalwood, or Chandanavana, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Kannada language widely spoken in the state of Karnataka. The 1934 film ''Sati Sulochana'' directed ...

Industry for almost a decade. He shot to fame for co-hosting the hit Kannada reality show ''Pyate Hudgir Halli Lifu'' on

Asianet Suvarna Star Suvarna is an Indian Kannada language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Disney Star (formerly ''Star India''), a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company India. The channel telecasts Kannada language programmes such as dra ...

Channel, with Kannada Star

Sudeep Sudeep Sanjeev (born 2 September 1971), also known as Sudeepa, is an Indian actor, director, producer, screenwriter, television presenter and singer, who primarily works in Kannada films. He has also worked in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil films. He i ...

. He recently hosted a Kannada dance reality show named Takadhimita on Colors Kannada Channel. In 2014, by public vote, Akul won the second season of game show

Bigg Boss Kannada ''Bigg Boss Kannada (BBK)'' is the Kannada version of the reality TV show Bigg Boss which is broadcast in India through Colors Kannada Channel. The show is produced by Endemol Shine India, who owns the global format of Big Brother. Kiccha Sud ...

– the Indian version of Celebrity Big Brother and currently produced by Endemol India

Early and personal life

Originally from a small town called Rly. Kodur in

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

, Akul Balaji was born on 23 February 1979. After moving to Bangalore at age 16, he trained in

Bharathanatyam Bharatanatyam () is a major form of Indian classical dance that originated in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the eight widely recognized Indian classical dance forms, and expresses South Indian religious themes and spiritual ideas, particularly of ...

under Smt. Usha Datar and later joined "Natya STEM Dance Kampni", headed by Madhu Nataraj as a contemporary dancer and learned

Kathak Kathak ( hi, कथक; ur, کتھک) is one of the eight major forms of Indian classical dance. It is the classical dance from of Uttar Pradesh. The origin of Kathak is traditionally attributed to the traveling bards in ancient northern Ind ...

from Guru Smt. Dr.

Maya Rao Maya Rao (2 May 1928 – 1 September 2014) was an Indian classical dancer, choreographer and educator, in Kathak dance. She is known for her pioneering work in Kathak choreography, especially in dance ballets, and is credited for bringing Kath ...

. He has also dabbled in theater in Director Pawan Kumar's adaptation of

Badal Sarkar Sudhindra Sircar (Born 15 July 1925), also known as Badal Sarkar, was an influential Indian dramatist and theatre director, most known for his anti-establishment plays during the Naxalite movement in the 1970s and taking theatre out of the pro ...

's ''Evam Inderjit'' in 2004. He has also done an advance acting workshop under

Mahesh Dattani Mahesh Dattani (born 7 August 1958) is an Indian director, actor, playwright and writer. He wrote such plays as ''Final Solutions'', ''Dance Like a Man'', ''Bravely Fought the Queen'', ''On a Muggy Night in Mumbai'', ''Tara'', ''Thirty Days in S ...

. Akul Balaji married in 2008. The couple have a son. His name is Krishaan Nag Akul.

Career

From beginnings as a small screen actor, he has become an actor and television host in

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

. He had won "The most popular anchor award" by Big FM Big TV for the year 2010 and he has to his credit superhit shows like ''Kuniyonu Baara'' and ''Comedy Killadigalu'' on

Zee Kannada Zee Kannada is an Indian Kannada pay television GEC that was launched in the year 2006 and owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. It is also being as the first mainstream satellite channel in Kannada. History Zee Kannada was launched in 2006 ...

. He has hosted super hit reality shows for

like ''Pyate Hudgir Halli Lifu'' season 1 & 2, ''Halli Haida Pyateg Banda'', ''Pyate Mandi Kadige Bandru 1'', ''Pyate Mandi Kaadige Bandru 2'', which was shot in

Andaman Islands The Andaman Islands () are an archipelago in the northeastern Indian Ocean about southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a maritime boundary between th ...

, ''Hosa Luv Story'', and ''Nodi Swamy Naavirode Heege''. He hosted ''Mane Munde Mahalakshmi'', a game show for

ETV Kannada Colors Kannada (previously known as ''ETV Kannada''), is an Indian general entertainment channel, owned by Viacom18 that primarily broadcasts Kannada language entertainment shows. This channel is currently available in India and the United Stat ...

and ''Indian''. He hosted ''Sye Ante Sye'' for

Zee Telugu Zee Telugu is an Indian Telugu-language general entertainment pay television channel in India. It was launched on 12 September 2004 as ''Alpha Telugu'' and was rebranded as ''Zee Telugu'' on 18 May 2005. The channel is owned by Zee Entertainmen ...

. He also hosted the reality show called ''Thakadimitha Dancing Stars'' for

. He has acted in the television series ''Agatha'' (2002), ''Guptha Gamini'', ''Yava Janumadha Maithri'' , ''Jagalagantiyaru'', ''Pellinati Pramanalu'' (2012). He made a comeback in the Telugu television industry in 2021 with ''

Oohalu Gusagusalade ''Oohalu Gusagusalade'' () is a 2014 Indian Telugu-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Srinivas Avasarala in his directorial debut. The film is produced by Sai Korrapati and Rajani Korrapati on Vaaraahi Chalana Chitram banner. ...

.''

Filmography

Television

Films

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Balaji, Akul Living people 1979 births Indian male film actors Male actors in Kannada cinema Male actors in Telugu cinema Reality show winners Participants in Indian reality television series People from Kadapa district Male actors from Andhra Pradesh Big Brother (franchise) winners Bigg Boss Kannada contestants 21st-century Indian male actors Male actors in Telugu television Telugu male actors