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Rahul Ravindran (born 23 June 1981) is an Indian actor, director, and screenwriter who works in Telugu and Tamil films. He made his 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 debut with Andala Rakshasi (2012) in the Telugu film industry.[1] He made his Hindi debut in Jigra (2024).

Rahul Ravindran
Born (1981-06-23) 23 June 1981 (age 43)
Occupations
  • Actor
  • director
  • screenwriter
Years active2010–present
Spouse
(m. 2014)
Children2

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

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Rahul Ravindran was born on 23 June 1981 in Madras.[2][3] His parents are Ravindran and Vasumathi[4] His roots are from the Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu. After graduating from Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary School, he earned his bachelor's degree in commerce. He then went on to get a master's degree in business management, and then was an assistant brand manager for a leading media company in Mumbai.

Career

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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 of Khosla Ka Ghosla 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.

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 team members saw his ad work and called him to audition for Moscowin Kavery.[5] The film introduced a host of new actors including Samantha, with music carried out by Thaman, 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.[6] The film gained unanimously poor reviews from critics,[7] 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".[8]

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, Bhavana Rao and Pandiarajan won above average reviews, with Rahul's performance being appreciated. Behindwoods.com noted that "the handsome Rahul Ravindran utilizes his opportunity and delivers the goods well."[9] However, the critic from The Hindu noted "at times Rahul's trauma doesn't come out effectively, so you feel he could have done better".[10] His third film, Chellamuthu's Soorya Nagaram opposite Meera Nandan faced a much smaller release and won average reviews from critics. Playing Vetrivel, a shop mechanic in Madurai, the film focussed on inter-caste marriage and parental opposition, with a critic citing that Rahul is "good and emotes well".[11] Later in 2012, he featured in the Telugu film Andala Rakshasi, 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, featuring alongside Shiva and Priya Anand, 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.[12] His 2014 release, Ala Ela became a sleeper hit at the box office, with the film earning audiences through positive word-of-mouth via social media.[13] In 2015, he acted as childhood friends in the action entertainer Tiger with Sundeep Kishan followed the family entertainer, Srimanthudu which also stars with Mahesh Babu.[14][15] In 2018, he then starred in the romance films Hyderabad Love Story and Howrah Bridge. He also won the National Film Award for Best Original Screenplay for his debut film Chi La Sow.[16] Rahul Ravindran was seen in the Tamil and Telugu remakes of the Kannada film U Turn starring Samantha and Aadhi Pinisetty.[17]

In 2019, he directed Manmadhudu 2 was a failure.[18] In 2021, he also starred with Nani and Sai Pallavi in Shyam Singha Roy.[19]

In 2023, he essay the role of the husband in the Tamil drama The Great Indian Kitchen, a remake of the Malayalam version was released to highly positive reviews from critics and audiences.[20] In 2024, he made his Hindi debut in the action-thriller Jigra (2024), starring Alia Bhatt and Vedang Raina.[21]

Personal life

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Rahul Ravindran is married to singer Chinmayi Sripaada 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. They have twin children (a boy and a girl).[22]

He has a younger brother, Rohit, who is a professional photographer.[citation needed]

Filmography

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Key
Denotes films that have not yet been released

Actor

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List of Rahul Ravindran film credits as actor
Year Film Role Language Notes
2010 Moscowin Kavery Moscow Tamil Debut
2012 Vinmeengal Jeeva Tamil
Sooriya Nagaram Vetrivel Tamil
Andala Rakshasi Gautham Prakash Telugu Telugu Debut; Nom.SIIMA Award for Best Male Debut (Telugu)[citation needed]
2013 Pelli Pustakam Rahul Srinivas Telugu
Vanakkam Chennai Deepak Tamil
Nenem Chinna Pillana Krish Telugu
2014 Galipatam Aarav Reddy Telugu
Ala Ela Karthik Telugu
2015 Tiger Vishnu Telugu
Srimanthudu Karthik Telugu
2018 Howrah Bridge Arjun Telugu
Hyderabad Love Story Karthik Telugu
U Turn Aditya Tamil Bilingual film
Telugu
2021 Most Eligible Bachelor Passerby Telugu Cameo Appearance
Shyam Singha Roy Manoj Singha Roy Telugu
2022 Sita Ramam Rahul Varma IFS Telugu
2023 The Great Indian Kitchen Husband Tamil [23]
2024 Guntur Kaaram Vyra Raja Gopal Telugu
Chaari 111 CM GMR Telugu [24]
Jigra Muthu Hindi

Director

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List of Rahul Ravindran film credits as director
Year Film Language Notes Ref.
2018 Chi La Sow Telugu National Film Award for Best Original Screenplay [25]
2019 Manmadhudu 2 Telugu [26]
2024 The Girlfriend Telugu Filming [27]

Dubbing artist

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List of Rahul Ravindran film credits as dubbing artist
Year Film Actor Role Language Notes
2018 Chi La Sow Prospective Groom Telugu
2021 83 Jiiva Telugu Dubbed Version
2023 Anni Manchi Sakunamule Ashwin Kumar Telugu

References

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  1. ^ Lakshmi, V. "Hyderabad is as much home as Chennai is: Rahul Ravindran". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 21 May 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  2. ^ "Samantha's emotional message to her first hero – Tamil News". IndiaGlitz.com. 24 June 2020. Archived from the original on 21 May 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  3. ^ "Direction has been my dream forever: Rahul Ravindran". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 21 May 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  4. ^ "Playback Singer Chinmayi to Tie Knot with Actor Rahul Ravindran in 2014". International Business Times. 17 September 2013. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 28 October 2013.
  5. ^ "I'm glad my work was appreciated: Rahul". The Times of India. 8 September 2010. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012.
  6. ^ "Aascar's back-to-back releases". Behindwoods. 2009. Archived from the original on 17 November 2009. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
  7. ^ Moviebuzz (2010). "Movie Review: Moscowin Kaveri". Sify. Archived from the original on 30 August 2010. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
  8. ^ Srinivasan, Pavithra (2010). "Moscowin Kaveri is beautiful nonsense". Rediff. Archived from the original on 29 August 2010. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
  9. ^ "VINMEENGAL REVIEW". Behindwoods. Archived from the original on 18 April 2012. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
  10. ^ Rangarajan, Malathi (17 March 2012). "Reaching for the stars". The Hindu. Chennai, India. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
  11. ^ "Soorya Nagaram Review". Super Good Movies. Archived from the original on 31 March 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  12. ^ "Nenem Chinna Pillana movie to release on Nov 8th". Teluguwoods. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
  13. ^ Chowdhary, Y. Sunita (26 December 2014). "Rahul reaps the benefits". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 8 April 2023. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  14. ^ "Review : Tiger – Emotional Action Entertainer". 28 June 2015. Archived from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  15. ^ "Srimanthudu review. Srimanthudu Telugu movie review, story, rating". IndiaGlitz.com. Archived from the original on 9 August 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  16. ^ "Rahul Ravindran: I am happy that Telugu cinema made it big in National Awards". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  17. ^ "Rahul Ravindran comes on board for U-turn remakes with Samantha". 25 January 2018. Archived from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  18. ^ "Exclusive Interview : Rahul Ravindran – I went into depression post Manmadhudu 2's failure". 16 April 2020. Archived from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  19. ^ "Chinmayi and Rahul Ravindran become parents to twins". The News Minute. 22 June 2022. Archived from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  20. ^ "'It was my responsibility to do this film': Rahul Ravindran". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 15 March 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
  21. ^ Features, C. E. (26 September 2023). "Rahul Ravindran onboards the cast of Alia Bhatt, Vasan Bala's Jigra". Cinema Express.
  22. ^ "Singer Chinmayi blessed with twin babies, a boy & girl". The Times of India. 22 June 2022. Archived from the original on 16 April 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  23. ^ "'The Great Indian Kitchen' movie review: A well-intentioned, functional remake". New Indian Express. 4 February 2023. Archived from the original on 4 February 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2023. Cast: Aishwarya Rajesh, Rahul Ravindran, Poster Nandakumar, Kalairani, and Yogi Babu
  24. ^ "Chaari 111 Movie Review : Vennela Kishore shines in spy comedy with missed potential". The Times of India.
  25. ^ "Chi La Sow Review: Rahul Ravindran gifts a cute rom-com". IndianToday. Archived from the original on 25 March 2019. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  26. ^ "Nagarjuna starrer Manmadhudu 2 launched". IndianExpress. 25 March 2019. Archived from the original on 25 March 2019. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  27. ^ "Rashmika Mandanna's new movie titled The Girlfriend". 123telugu.com. 22 October 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2023.