Rahul Singh
Rahul Singh is an Indian actor, playwright and screenwriter. He is known for his work in movies including Zubeidaa (2001), Khiladi 786 (2012), Kaante (2002), Stanley ka Dabba (2011), The Ghazi Attack (2017), Delhi Belly (2011) and serials like 24: India (2014). He has played a diverse range of characters and acted in Bollywood-Hindi as well as Punjabi and Telegu films.
He is the son of Prabha Thakur, poet and a member of Rajya Sabha. His forefathers played a prominent role in the Freedom struggle. Singh attended school at Mayo College in Ajmer and graduated from St. Xavier's College. In early years, he aspired to become a sportsman or work as a cop. While in college, he wrote more than 50 street plays and was part of an acting group that performed for various social organizations. Singh studied acting overseas at the Royal Academy of Drama and the British Film Institute in London.
Singh acknowledged that his mother's poetry influenced him as a writer, both genetically and through the inspiration it provides, also expressing the enjoyment of scriptwriting and its connection to his previous experience in street theatre. He considers Madhur Bhandarkar as his mentor and friend along with Akshay Kumar and Judy Dench.
Rahul stated that he believes in slowly and steadily building his career, and his acting skills have been appreciated, leading to more offers. Singh values versatility and chooses roles based on their script and his character's importance. He is open to playing different types of roles whether as antagonist or doing comedy given that it should justify his "love for acting". He states, "So even while I sign a big budget film like a Khiladi 786 or a limited-budget film like Tere Bin Laden, I listen to the narration and read the script of the film. My role and my lines are important to me."
Singh has been actively involved in environmental conservation campaigns and has previously worked with organizations for elephant conservation in West Bengal. In 2020, he joined the campaign to remove invasive plant species called Lantana, which was causing habitat loss for wildlife at the Sajjangarh Wildlife Sanctuary in Udaipur.[10][11]
In 2001, Singh made a strong debut in the film Zubeidaa winning him nomination for the best actor award.[12] In 2006, Singh was seen in the starring role as in Randhir Singh in Kachchi Sadak. The story is part fiction part reality, penned by Rahul Singh himself. The story follows a boy named who grows up on the streets after his mother's failed marriage. He becomes involved in the liquor trade and gains enemies. Later, he is asked to help a politician in the elections against a liquor baron, but destiny has different plans for him. The film was incidentally the last acting role of veteran actor Amrish Puri.[13]
In 2009, he appeared in Madhur Bhandarkar's Jail in the role of a prisoner awaiting trial for murder, a character Bhandarkar wrote keeping Singh in mind. The positive response to the film helped him garner other major projects. Reflecting on his role, he stated, "Looking back at my career so far, I can say that though Zubeidaa won me nomination as the best actor and my best performance as an actor was in Kachchi Sadak, with Jail, the truth of my performance has gone up by many more degrees."[14] He was seen in the role of radio jockey and voice over artiste Qureshi in Tere Bin Laden (2010) and its 2016 sequal.
Singh played the lead role of Brij Bhushan Singh in the TV serial Sapno Ke Bhanwar Mein.[15] As a recurring cast member in 1st season of 24: India, he played the character Vikrant Maharia.[16] In 2012, he was chosen by Akshay Kumar to play the main antagonist Azad Reddy in Khildai 786. He portrays an extremely colorful antagonist whose character undergoes a transformation from being funny to ironical to serious to tragically comic and ultimately becomes an action-oriented figure.[17] He appeared in Chandraprakash Dwivedi’s movie Zed Plus (2014) playing the title role of a commando, and in John Abraham produced film, 'Satra Ko Shaadi Hai'.
Rahul Singh received praise for his performance in the role of Pakistani naval commander Razaq Moh'd. Khan in the 2017 film The Ghazi Attack. For this role, he spent a week with the Indian Navy to familiarize himself with the marine environment. The actor also received praise from various individuals, including army and navy officers.[18]
Despite losing 18kg due to health issues, he continued playing the role of Aurangzeb in 2017 series Peshwa Bajirao. Despite the pain, Rahul stated he believes in the saying "the show must go on" and didn't want to say no to work. He mentioned that losing weight actually helped him portray the aged character of Aurangzeb.[19]
In 2021, Rahul joined the cast of the Ullu web series A Crime To Remember in the role of the investigator, a show inspired by a high-profile murder investigation.[20] In 2023, he was cast in the Hindi fantasy drama series Fireflies: Parth Aur Jugnu.[21]
Singh is known for writing screenplays and dialogues including Sanjay Dutt starrer Kaante (2002) and Kachchi Sadak (2006). In addition, he writes and improvises his scenes in movies stating, "I improvise a lot of dialogues and scenes with the director’s permission. Most of my dialogues are my improvisations."
In 2014, he wrote the dialogues for two movies directed by Nila Madhab Panda.
Singh has written and acted in stage plays for the 'Jagrut' theatre group, which he founded.[12] He has directed and acted in nearly fifty stage plays fostering awareness for rising social issues.[17][22]
He has also performed in cultural festivals including Mood Indigo, and Malhar. Rahul has performed in The Shawl by David Mamet, Hamlet and The Merchant of Venice by Shakespeare, and The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe, among others. He has also performed in several classical and modern plays for the English theatre and Hindi theatre in the Oval House Theatre.[23]