Saurav Lokesh (born 28 May 1984), also known as Bhajarangi Loki, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in

Kannada cinema 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 ...

. He rose to the fame with the 2013 blockbuster ''

Bhajarangi ''Bhajarangi'' is a 2013 Indian Kannada-language fantasy action film starring Shiva Rajkumar and Aindrita Ray. Directed by choreographer-turned-director Harsha, the film was released on 12 December 2013 and received positive response from critic ...

''.

Early life

Saurav was born as youngest son to V. Ramakrishna & L. Rajalakshmi in Srinagar Bangalore district, Karnataka. He graduated with a

Bachelor of Science degree A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

Chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

. He was instantly drawn to

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad r ...

after watching a play during his Final Year in College. He was employed at

HSBC HSBC Holdings plc is a British multinational universal bank and financial services holding company. It is the largest bank in Europe by total assets ahead of BNP Paribas, with US$2.953 trillion as of December 2021. In 2021, HSBC had $10.8 tri ...

before he resigned and followed his passion for acting and started doing

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

Career

Lokesh started his acting journey from theatre in the year 2006. He has worked with most of the amateur & professional theatre groups from 2006 to 2014, which includes more than 30 plays which has been performed over 100+ shows. While he was doing theatre he managed to get into television serials and started doing supporting roles but did not achieve much success. Saurav Lokesh made his

sandalwood Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus ''Santalum''. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods for us ...

debut in the year 2009 with a small role in the movie '' Savaari'' directed by Jacob Verghese. He then appeared in small supporting roles in ''Huli'', '' AK 56'', and ''

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 ...

'', all directed by

Om Prakash Rao Om Prakash Rao is an Indian film director, screenwriter, film producer and actor who primarily works in Kannada film industry. He has, till date, directed about 47 films in Kannada language. Career Om Prakash Rao's successful films such as Lo ...

, between 2010 and 2012. He appeared as minor antagonists in ''

Googly In the game of cricket, a googly refers to a type of delivery bowled by a right-arm leg spin bowler. It is different from the normal delivery for a leg-spin bowler in that it is turning the other way. The googly is ''not'' a variation of the ...

'' and ''

Mr. and Mrs. Ramachari ''Mr. and Mrs. Ramachari'' is a 2014 Cinema of India, Indian Kannada cinema, Kannada Romantic drama film, romantic drama film written and directed by Santhosh Ananddram and produced by the duo Jayanna and Bhogendra under the banner Jayanna Combi ...

''. He has appeared in more than 12 movies in small supporting roles before getting his breakthrough performance in ''

'', directed by A. Harsha, which won him many applause and was praised for his role as Rana. The movie was a commercial hit and got him wide recognition as an actor and he became popular as Bhajarangi Loki. In the year 2015 he appeared ''

Rathaavara ''Rathaavara'' is a 2015 Indian Kannada-language action thriller film written and directed by Chandrashekar Bandiyappa and produced by Dharmashree Manjunath. It stars Sri Murali and Rachita Ram in the lead roles. The supporting cast features P. ...

'' as a

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...

, which furthered his fame. He also played a role of a lawyer in ''Mahakaali''. He also appeared as an antagonist in '' Sharp Shooter''. In 2016, he appeared in the movie ''

Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...

''; a bilingual film in both Kannada and Telugu, this was Lokesh's Telugu debut. In the same year, he also appeared as one of the lead antagonists in ''

Jai Maruthi 800 ''Jai Maruthi 800'' is a 2016 Indian Kannada action comedy film written and directed by A. Harsha and produced by Jayanna. It stars Sharan, Shruthi Hariharan and Shubha Poonja in the lead roles. The music is composed by Arjun Janya and cine ...

''. Saurav appeared in the role of Bhujanga in ''

Raj Vishnu ''Raj Vishnu'' is a 2017 Indian Kannada-language comedy film directed by K. Madesh and produced by Ramu. The film has Sharan and Chikkanna in the lead roles, while Vaibhavi Shandilya, Srinivasa Murthy and Bhajharangi Loki play supporting ro ...

''. In ''

Thayige Thakka Maga ''Thayige Thakka Maga'' (''Like Mother Like Son'') is a 1978 Indian Kannada-language sports action film directed by V. Somashekhar and produced by Parvathamma Rajkumar. It is based on the story written by Anjaneya Pushpanand. The film starr ...

'', Lokesh played an antagonist in the role of Sharath Kale. Later, in 2019, Lokesh played a police officer in the suspense-thriller ''Striker''. In the same year he appeared as Bairaa, an antagonist, in

Radhika Kumaraswamy Radhika Kumaraswamy (born 1 November 1986), credited as Radhika and as Kutty Radhika in Tamil films, is an Indian actress. She has primarily appeared in Kannada films. Career Radhika started her acting career with the Kannada film ''Neela Megh ...

's comeback film ''

Damayanthi ''Damayanti'' (Sanskrit: दमयंती) is a character in a love story found in the Vana Parva book of the Mahabharata. She was the daughter of Bhima (not the Pandava one) and a princess of the Vidarbha Kingdom, who married King Nala of th ...

'', directed by

Navarasan Navarasan is an Indian Kannada film director, actor, producer and screenwriter. He is best known for the 2019 film ''Damayanthi''. Early life Navarasan was born on 26 November 1985 in Kolar Gold fields. He was born to a farmer family, and c ...

. In 2020, he appeared as an antagonist in rom-com fantasy movie ''

Kaanadante Maayavadanu ''Kaanadante Maayavadanu'' () is a 2020 romantic fantasy Kannada film directed by debutante Raj Pathipati and produced by Back Benchers Motion Picture. The film gets it title from the opening lines of the song "Kaanadante Maayavadanu" "Namma ...

''.

Filmography

Films

Television

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lokesh, Saurav Male actors in Kannada cinema Indian male film actors Indian actor-politicians 1984 births 21st-century Indian male actors Male actors from Bangalore Living people