Gajraj Rao is a renowned Indian actor, primarily active in the Hindi film industry. His early life was marked by frequent moves with his family, as his father worked for the Indian Railways, leading to encounters with people from various states, including Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Himachal Pradesh. These interactions honed his ability to mimic different dialects.
Gajraj Rao's academic pursuits took him to Delhi University, where he developed a passion for theatre after watching a performance of Sandhya Chhaya. He subsequently joined the theatre group Act One, alongside notable actors Ashish Vidyarthi and Manoj Bajpayee.
Rao's breakthrough came when he was introduced to director Shekhar Kapur by his friend Tigmanshu Dhulia, leading to a role in the award-winning film Bandit Queen (1994). Since then, he has appeared in numerous films and web series.
Some of his most notable performances include playing a CBI officer in Dil Se.. (1998) and a RAW officer in the movie Aks (2001),directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. He also acted in Anurag Kashyap's Black Friday (2004) and Bhoothnath Returns (2014),alongside Amitabh Bachchan.
Rao's portrayal of Inspector Dhaniram in the movie Guilty (2015) earned him widespread recognition. His performance in Badhaai Ho (2018) received widespread acclaim, and he won the 25th Screen Awards (2018) for Best Actor (Critics) and the Extraordinary Jodi of the Year (2019),along with Neena Gupta, at the Zee Cine Awards.
He also won the 64th Filmfare Awards as Best Supporting Actor for the movie. Rao's other notable roles include Shankar Tripathi in Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan (2020),for which he received a nomination for Best Supporting Actor by Filmfare.
In addition to his acting career, Rao has also ventured into direction, helming the commercial Rorito: Write the New (2016). He has also produced documentaries like Budhia Singh: Born to Run (2016) and The Tribal Scoop (2018). Rao has also appeared in several web series, including Bang Baaja Baaraat (2015),F.A.T.H.E.R.S. (2017),Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011),and Ray (2021).
