Rahul Ravindran (born 23 June 1981) is an Indian actor, director, and screenwriter who works in
Telugu films. He made his lead debut in the Tamil film ''
Moscowin Kavery'' (2010), before playing leading roles as a man with cerebral palsy in ''
Vinmeengal'' and as a mechanic in ''
Soorya Nagaram''. He made his
Telugu film
Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Telugu language, widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Telugu cinema is based in Film Nagar, Hy ...
debut with ''
Andala Rakshasi
''Andala Rakshasi'' () is a 2012 Indian Telugu-language romance film written and directed by Hanu Raghavapudi. It is produced by Sai Korrapati and S. S. Rajamouli under Vaaraahi Chalana Chitram banner. The film marks the debut of actors Naveen ...
'' (2012) and went on to make a career as a leading actor in the Telugu film industry.
He made his debut as a director with a Telugu film ''
Chi La Sow'' (2018) for which he won the
National Award for Best Original Screenplay.
Early life and family
Rahul Ravindran was born on 23 June 1981 in
Chennai
Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...
. His roots are from the
Thanjavur district
Thanjavur District is one of the 38 districts of the state of Tamil Nadu, in southeastern India. Its headquarters is Thanjavur. The district is located in the delta of the Cauvery River and is mostly agrarian. As of 2011, Thanjavur district ...
of Tamil Nadu. After graduating from
Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary School
Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary School is a school in India, in the southern city of Chennai. Founded in 1956 by M. Subbaraya Aiyar, R. S. Subbalakshmi and Padmini Chari, the school recently celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2016. It follows the ...
, he earned his bachelor's degree in Commerce. He then went on to get a
Masters in Business Management, and then was an Assistant Brand Manager for a leading media company in
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...
.
Career
It was in Mumbai, while dining at a restaurant, that he got an offer to audition for a television commercial to be directed by
Dibakar Banerjee
Dibakar Banerjee (born 21 June 1969) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer and advertisement-filmmaker known for his work in Hindi films. Banerjee started his career in advertising, being a feature filmmaker, he still continues t ...
of ''
Khosla Ka Ghosla
''Khosla Ka Ghosla'' () is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language comedy drama film directed by Dibakar Banerjee, in his directorial debut. It was produced by Savita Raj Hiremath under the Taandav Films label and Ronnie Screwvala from UTV Motion Picture ...
'' fame, and the success of that fetched him more commercials. During this period he was also dubbing in Tamil for cartoons and children's shows being aired on television channels, notably being the Tamil voice of the Red Ranger in Power Rangers - Mystic Force and the White Ranger in
Power Rangers SPD
''Power Rangers S.P.D.'' is the thirteenth season of the television series, ''Power Rangers'', and is based on the 28th Super Sentai series ''Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger''. The season shares its title with the Korean dub of ''Dekaranger'' in South ...
. He played a minor role in Arjun's ''
Madrasi'' (2006).
He then quit his job and came back to Chennai to try to find work as an assistant director, but before he could do so director
Ravi Varman
S. Ravi Varman (born 9 May 1972) is an Indian cinematographer, filmmaker, producer and writer. He has predominantly worked in films of Indian languages such as Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi. Known for his realistic and poetic framing sense, Rav ...
's team members saw his ad work and called him to audition for ''
Moscowin Kavery''. The film introduced a host of new actors including
Samantha, with music carried out by
Thaman
Ghantasala Sai Srinivas Thaman (born 16 November 1983), known professionally as Thaman S, earlier as S S Thaman, is an Indian music composer, professional drummer, and playback singer who predominantly works in Telugu films and Tamil films. Th ...
, then making his debut in music composing. However, due to Ravi Varman's date conflicts with his projects as a cinematographer, the film languished in
development hell, eventually releasing in August 2010.
The film gained unanimously poor reviews from critics,
with Rahul winning mixed reviews for his performance. While a critic from Behindwoods.com noted that "he looks every bit the suave software professional", other critics saying that his performance was "wooden" and that he "smiles too much and looks like he could do well, given the chance".
He was next seen in Vignesh Menon's ''
Vinmeengal'', where he played Jeeva, who is affected by cerebral palsy. The film which also featured
Anuja Iyer
Anuja Iyer is an Indian actress and model who works in the Tamil film industry. She made her acting debut in the low budget horror flick '' Sivi'' (2007) and became noted for her performances in '' Ninaithale Inikkum'' (2009) and '' Unnaipol Oru ...
,
Bhavana Rao
Bhavana Rao (born 6 June 1989) an Indian actress who has predominantly appeared in Kannada language films. She made her debut in the Kannada multistarrer '' Gaalipata'' (2008) winning critical acclaim for her performance, before playing leadin ...
and
Pandiarajan
Pandiarajan is an Indian actor, director who has played leading roles in many humorous Tamil films and currently plays supporting and comedy roles.
Personal life
Pandiarajan was born to Sulochana in Saidapet, Chennai in a lower-middle-class ...
won above average reviews, with Rahul's performance being appreciated.
The Indian Express
''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split be ...
cited that "Rahul brings out splendidly not just the physicality of his character, but also the emotional trauma", while Behindwoods.com noted that "the handsome Rahul Ravindran utilizes his opportunity and delivers the goods well." However, the critic from
The Hindu
''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...
noted "at times Rahul's trauma doesn't come out effectively, so you feel he could have done better". His third film, Chellamuthu's ''Soorya Nagaram'' opposite
Meera Nandan
Meera Nandan is an Indian actress who appears mainly in Malayalam films. She also appeared in a few Tamil and Telugu films.
Early life
Meera Nandan was born as Meera Nandakumar on 26 November 1990 as the daughter of Nandakumar and Maya at P ...
faced a much smaller release and won average reviews from critics. Playing Vetrivel, a shop mechanic in
Madurai
Madurai ( , also , ) is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in ...
, the film focussed on inter-caste marriage and parental opposition, with a critic citing that Rahul is "good and emotes well". Later in 2012, he featured in the Telugu film ''
Andala Rakshasi
''Andala Rakshasi'' () is a 2012 Indian Telugu-language romance film written and directed by Hanu Raghavapudi. It is produced by Sai Korrapati and S. S. Rajamouli under Vaaraahi Chalana Chitram banner. The film marks the debut of actors Naveen ...
'', earning positive reviews for his performance and earning him further opportunities in the Telugu film industry.
In 2013, Rahul played a supporting role in the romantic comedy ''
Vanakkam Chennai
''Vanakkam Chennai'' () is a 2013 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film written and directed by debutant Kiruthiga Udhayanidhi. Produced by her husband Udhayanidhi Stalin under the banner Red Giant Movies, the film stars Shiva and Priya ...
'', featuring alongside
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
and
Priya Anand
Priya Anand (born 17 September 1986) is an Indian actress and model who predominantly appears in Tamil films. She has also appeared in Telugu, Hindi, Kannada and Malayalam films. After pursuing higher studies in the US, she began a career in ...
, with the film performing well at the box office. His Telugu releases in the year, ''
Pelli Pustakam'' and ''
Nenem…Chinna Pillana?'', had significantly smaller budgets and did not fare as well. His 2014 release, ''Ala Ela'' became a
sleeper hit
In the entertainment industry, a sleeper hit is a film, television series, music release, video game, or some other entertainment product that was initially unsuccessful on release but became a success later on. A sleeper hit may have little prom ...
at the box office, with the film earning audiences through positive word-of-mouth via social media.
Personal life
His Parents are Ravindran and Vasumathi
He has a younger brother Rohit, who is a professional photographer.
Rahul Ravindran is married to singer
Chinmayi in May 2014, whom he began dating in June 2013 after meeting her at the premiere of Andala Rakshasi. Chinmayi dubbed for the heroine in the movie.The pair were blessed with twins- a boy and a girl named Sharvas and Driptah on 22 June 2022
Filmography
Actor
Director
Dubbing artist
*Jiiva -
''83'' (Telugu dubbed version)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ravindran, Rahul
Indian male film actors
21st-century Indian male actors
Living people
1981 births
Male actors from Chennai
Male actors in Tamil cinema
Male actors in Telugu cinema
Best Original Screenplay National Film Award winners
Telugu film directors
Telugu screenwriters