Vinay Pathak (born 12 July 1968) is an Indian theater and film

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. He has starred in many films including ''

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 ...

,'' '' Bheja Fry,'' ''Island City'' and ''

Johnny Gaddaar ''Johnny Gaddaar'' () is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language neo-noir thriller film written and directed by Sriram Raghavan, produced under the banner Adlabs. It stars Neil Nitin Mukesh, in his film debut, alongside Dharmendra, Biswajit Chatterjee, Z ...

'' and had a supporting role in movies like ''Jism'', ''

Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi ''Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi'' (), also known as ''RNBDJ'', is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Aditya Chopra and produced by him and his father Yash Chopra under their banner of Yash Raj Films. The film stars ...

, and ''

My Name is Khan ''My Name Is Khan'', is a 2010 social drama film directed by Karan Johar and written by Shibani Bathija and lyricist Niranjan Iyengar. It was produced by Hiroo Yash Johar and Gauri Khan under their production companies, Dharma Productions and ...

.''

Early life

Pathak was born in Bhojpur district,

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

.Mr. Pathak spends childhood early day in Dhanbad as his father was posted in police department. He attended the boarding school Vikas Vidyalaya,

Ranchi Ranchi (, ) is the capital of the Indian state of Jharkhand. Ranchi was the centre of the Jharkhand movement, which called for a separate state for the tribal regions of South Bihar, northern Odisha, western West Bengal and the eastern area ...

until 1982. After graduating from

Allahabad University , mottoeng = "As Many Branches So Many Trees" , established = , type = Public , chancellor = Ashish Chauhan , vice_chancellor = Sangita Srivastava , head_label ...

he moved to

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

for higher studies. Perhaps chief among his mentors in his BFA program

Stony Brook University Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public research university in Stony Brook, New York. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is one of the State University of New York system's ...

was Farley Richmond, who also urged him to return to India and Hindi theater and film in 1995.

Career

While studying at

State University of New York at Stony Brook Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public research university in Stony Brook, New York. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is one of the State University of New York system's ...

Pathak had many acting roles, notably in the comedies ''

'' and '' Bheja Fry''. In 1999, he played the role of Vinny in the television series ''

Hip Hip Hurray Hip hip hooray (also hippity hip hooray; ''Hooray'' may also be spelled and pronounced hoorah, hurrah, hurray etc.) is a cheer called out to express congratulation toward someone or something, in the English-speaking world and elsewhere. By a sol ...

''. He also produced the film ''

Dasvidaniya ''Dasvidaniya'' is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language comedy drama film released on 7 November 2008. The name of the movie is a pun on the list of ten things to be done before death made by Vinay Pathak, and is a play on the Russian phrase до св� ...

'', which told the story of a common man bidding farewell before dying. Along with good friend

Ranvir Shorey Ranvir Shorey is an Indian actor and former VJ who works in Hindi films and television. Since making his debut in '' Ek Chhotisi Love Story'' (2002), he has starred in a number of high-profile films such as '' Jism'' (2003) and '' Lakshya'' ( ...

, he anchored the show ''OYE''. Together they hosted the talk show ''

Ranvir Vinay Aur Kaun? ''Ranvir Vinay Aur Kaun?'' (Transl. 'Ranvir, Vinay and who else?') is a Hindi talk show that aired on STAR One. Hosted by Vinay Pathak and Ranvir Shorey, the show regularly featured celebrity guests and comedy gags. The show, which was launched ...

''., as well as ''

House Arrest In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if all ...

'', ''Duniya Goal Hain'' and ''Cricket Crazy''. He also teamed up with his friends Ranvir,

Suresh Menon Suresh Menon (born 10 January 1967) is an Indian actor, comedian and television personality. Career Menon has appeared in movies including Grand Masti, ''Phir Hera Pheri'', '' Partner'', ''Fool N Final'', '' Krazzy 4'', '' Deewane Huye Pagal' ...

, and Gaurav Gera to be a part of a gag-based show ''The Great Indian Comedy Show''. Pathak starred in a minor role as Inspector Gurpal Badash in a made-for-TV movie ''

Murder Unveiled ''Murder Unveiled'' is a 2005 Canadian television film. The movie is based on the true story of the Jaswinder Kaur Sidhu murder. The film was screened at the Asian Festival of First Films on November 26, 2005 and was first aired on CBC on Febr ...

'' (2005), featuring the Sikh community in Canada. Pathak acted in the movies ''

'', ''

Aaja Nachle ''Aaja Nachle'' () is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language dance film produced by Aditya Chopra and directed by Anil Mehta. The film stars Madhuri Dixit in her first film in five years after ''Devdas'' (2002), alongside Konkona Sen Sharma, Jugal Hansra ...

'' , ''

Khoya Khoya Chand ''Khoya Khoya Chand'', (translation: Lost Moon) is an Indian Hindi film directed by Sudhir Mishra which released on 7 December 2007. The film stars Shiney Ahuja and Soha Ali Khan in the lead roles with Rajat Kapoor, Sushmita Mukherjee, Sonya J ...

'' and ''

''. His next film produced by Pritish Nandy Communications ''

Raat Gayi Baat Gayi ''Raat Gayi, Baat Gayi?'' ( hi, रात गई बात गई?) (,Similar Proverb transl. 'Don't cry over spilt milk') is a 2009 Bollywood film written and directed by Saurabh Shukla. The film features Rajat Kapoor, Vinay Pathak, Neha Dhupia, ...

'', was released in India in December 2009. Vinay Pathak with Deepak Bhanushali

His was in the film ''

Antardwand ''Antardwand'' () is a 2010 Indian film co-written, produced and directed by Sushil Rajpal. The film stars Raj Singh Chaudhary and Swati Sen in the leading roles while Vinay Pathak and Akhilendra Mishra play supporting roles. Made on a budget ...

''.

Personal life

Vinay Pathak is married to Sonika Sahay. The couple have two daughters Vasudha and Sharinee.

Filmography

Television

Films

Producer

Web series

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pathak, Vinay Stony Brook University alumni Indian male film actors Living people Male actors in Hindi cinema Indian male television actors Male actors from Bihar People from Bihar Indian male voice actors 1968 births Zee Cine Awards winners Indian VJs (media personalities)