Maniesh Paul (born 3 August 1981) is an Indian television presenter, anchor, model, singer, actor and comedian in

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

. Starting his career as an RJ and VJ, he moved to acting before taking up stand-up comedy and hosting.

Early life and background

Paul was born and brought up in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

to a Punjabi family originally from Sialkot to

, involved in the financial business. He did his schooling from Apeejay School, Sheikh Sarai

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

. After his schooling, he did his B.A. in Tourism from College of Vocational Studies,

University of Delhi Delhi University (DU), formally the University of Delhi, is a collegiate central university located in New Delhi, India. It was founded in 1922 by an Act of the Central Legislative Assembly and is recognized as an Institute of Eminence (IoE) ...

. then he lived with his grandmother in

Chembur Chembur (pronunciation: ͡ʃembuːɾ is an upmarket large suburb in central Mumbai, India. History Before reclamation, Chembur lay on the north-western corner of Trombay Island. It is suggested that Chembur is the same place referred to as Sa ...

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

Career

Early career

Paul started his career in Delhi, as a host, compering cultural events in schools and colleges. later he shifted to Mumbai, where his first break was hosting ''Sunday Tango'' on

Star Plus StarPlus is an Indian Hindi language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Disney Star (formerly ''Star India''), a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company India. The network's programming consists of family dramas, comedies, ...

in 2002. He also remained a VJ with Zee Music, and a radio jockey with Radio City's morning drive time show ''Kasakai Mumbai''. Manish Paul, Ragini Khanna on the sets of 'Jhalak Dikhhlaa Jaa 5'(7)

Manish Paul, Ragini Khanna on the sets of 'Jhalak Dikhhlaa Jaa 5'(7)

Acting career

Later he entered channel Star One's ''Ghost Bana Dost'' to play the role of a ghost. Paul has acted in many serials such as ''

Radhaa Ki Betiyaan Kuch Kar Dikhayengi ''Radhaa Ki Betiyaan Kuch Kar Dikhayengi'' is an Indian soap opera which aired on NDTV Imagine. The series was produced by DJ's a Creative Unit. Plot The show narrates the story of a widow Radha, and her three capable daughters - Rohini (Meet ...

'' on

NDTV Imagine Imagine TV was a Hindi general entertainment channel owned by Turner Broadcasting System, and based in New Delhi. The channel was known for shows such as '' Ramayan (2008), Chandragupta Maurya, '' Swayamvar'', ''Baba Aiso Varr Dhoondo'', ''M ...

, ''Zindadil'' on ZeeNext, '' Ssshhhh...Phir Koi Hai'' on Star One, ''

Wheel Ghar Ghar Mein ''Wheel Ghar Ghar Mein'' is a game show that airs on Zee TV, India. It premiered on 20 April 2009 and is a daily show. Plot Two hosts travel to cities all over India - and knock on the doors of two neighbours (in the same colony or building ...

'' and ''Kahani Shuru with Love Guru'' on

Zee TV Zee TV (stylised as ZEE TV) is a Hindi general entertainment pay television channel in India. It was launched on 2 October 1992, as the first privately owned TV channel in the country. It is owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. Zee TV also ...

and ''Kuchh Cook Hota Hai'' on 9X. However, finding it unsatisfying, he quit daily soaps and was even out of work for eight months in 2008. Though he had appeared in cameo roles such as in the

Akshay Kumar Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia (born 9 September 1967), known professionally as Akshay Kumar (), is an Indian-born naturalised Canadian Quote: "(Former prime minister Stephen) Harper campaigned in 2011 alongside one of Modi's biggest celebrity backer ...

and Katrina Kaif-starrer '' Tees Maar Khan'' (2010), Paul made his debut in a lead role of the computer geek ''Mickey'' in ''

Mickey Virus ''Mickey Virus'' is 2013 Indian comedy thriller film, written & directed by Saurabh Varma. ''Mickey Virus'' is produced by DAR Motion Pictures in association with Trilogic Digital Media Limited & Awesome Films Pvt. Ltd. The film features Mani ...

'' (2013) which received a lot of appreciation.

Television host and presenter

Subsequently, Paul started his career as a television host and presenter, and gained recognition after hosting ''Saa Ree Gaa Maa Paa Chhote Ustaad'', and later also appeared in the stand-up comedy series '' Comedy Circus''. He also hosted ''

Dance India Dance Li'l Masters ''Dance India Dance'' (also called by the acronym ''DID''; tagline: ''Dance Ka Asli ID D.I.D.'') is an Indian Hindi-language dance competition reality television series that airs on Zee TV, created and produced by Essel Vision Productions. It p ...

'' on

. He also participated in ''Star Ya Rockstar'', a celebrity singing show on

, and co-hosted the celebrity dance-reality competition ''

Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 7 Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 7 is the seventh season of the dance reality show, ''Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa''. It premiered on 7 June 2014 on Colors. The series was hosted by Ranvir Shorey and Drashti Dhami but later got replaced by Manish Paul. Madhuri Dixit, Ka ...

'' on

Colors TV Colors TV is an Indian general entertainment broadcast network owned by Viacom18. The network's programming consists of family dramas, comedies, youth-oriented reality shows, shows on crime and television films. History It was launched on 2 ...

with Ranvir Shorey. He was also the host of Science of Stupid (IND) version. In 2011, Paul won the Best Anchor award for

's ''

''. Paul has also hosted '' Science of Stupid'' on

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

. Over the years, Paul has hosted numerous award shows. In 2018, he hosted

Sony TV Sony Television, Sony TV, or Sony HD may refer to any of the following television-related products from Japanese conglomerate Sony: * Television sets designed and manufactured by Sony Corporation in Japan ** Trinitron, television hardware brand (196 ...

's '' Indian Idol 10''. Next, he hosted

's ''

Nach Baliye 9 ''Nach Baliye'' () is an Indian Hindi-language celebrity dance reality television series that airs on Star Plus. Production Concept The show is a competition wherein 10 television celebrity couples compete against each other. Contestants dance ...

''.

Personal life

He is married to Sanyukta Paul (m. 2007), who is a

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

. They met each other in their school and started dating in late 1998. Soon, their families got to know each other and they finally got married in 2007. They have a daughter born in 2011 and a son born in 2016.

Television

Filmography

Discography

Events and awards nights

References

External links

Manish Paul
at

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Paul, Manish Living people Indian male television actors People from Delhi Indian television presenters Delhi University alumni Masters of ceremonies Indian stand-up comedians Participants in Indian reality television series Punjabi people Apeejay School alumni Indian male comedians 1981 births