Rahul Bose

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigation Jump to search
Rahul Bose

Bose at Four Season's new lounge launch

Born 27 July 1967 (age 51)
Residence Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Nationality Indian
Actor, Director, screenwriter, Social
activist, Rugby player, Founder of a
Occupation
Non Governmental Organisation The
Foundation
Years active 1993–present

Rahul Bose (born 27 July 1967) is an Indian film actor, director, screenwriter, social activist,
and rugby player. Bose has appeared in Bengali films such as Mr. and Mrs. Iyer, Kalpurush,
Anuranan, Antaheen, Laptop and The Japanese Wife. He has also appeared in Hindi films such
as Pyaar Ke Side Effects, Maan Gaye Mughal-e-Azam, Jhankaar Beats, Kucch Luv Jaisaa,
Chameli and Shaurya. He also played the antagonist in the 2013 Tamil-Hindi film
Vishwaroopam.[1] Time magazine named him "the superstar of Indian arthouse cinema" while
Maxim named him "the Sean Penn of Oriental cinema".[2] for his work in parallel cinema films
like English, August and Mr. and Mrs. Iyer. He is also notable for his social activism: he
participated in the relief efforts that followed the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami and is also the
founder of the anti-discrimination NGO, The Foundation.[3]
Contents
 1 Early life
 2 Stage and film career
o 2.1 Early career: 1993–2003
o 2.2 2003–present
 3 Filmography
o 3.1 Playback singing
o 3.2 Writer/director
o 3.3 Producer
o 3.4 Stage
 4 Awards
 5 Sports career
 6 Activism
 7 Personal life
 8 References
 9 External links

Early life
Rahul Bose was born to Rupen and Kumud Bose on 27 July 1967.[4] He describes himself as
"...half Bengali; one-fourth Punjabi and one-fourth Maharashtrian."[5]

Bose's first acting role was at age six when he played the lead in a school play, Tom, the Piper's
Son. As a child he took an interest in sports after his mother introduced him to boxing and rugby
union.[6] He also played cricket and was coached by cricketer Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi.[7]

He is an alumnus of the Cathedral and John Connon School in Mumbai. After being rejected by a
number of American universities, Bose attended Sydenham College. While at the college he
played on the school's rugby team and competed in the Western India Championships, winning a
silver medal in boxing. After his mother's death in 1987, Bose began working as a copy writer at
Rediffusion and was later promoted to advertising creative director. Bose left the job to become a
full-time actor after the release of his first film, English, August.[6]

Stage and film career

Early career: 1993–2003

Bose started his acting career on the Mumbai stage in Rahul D'Cunha's Topsy Turvey and Are
There Tigers In The Congo?. D'Cunha's aunt was the casting director for director Dev Benegal's
film English, August and suggested that Bose should play the lead role. After filming a screen
test, Benegal decided to cast him as civil servant Agastya Sen.[4] Based on the novel of the same
name by Upamanyu Chatterjee, English, August was one of the first Hinglish films and gained
Bose international recognition when it became the first Indian film to be purchased by 20th
Century Fox and won several awards at international film festivals.[8]

After English, August Bose found work in television; he was offered a role in India's first
English-language television serial, A Mouthful of Sky and also co-hosted BBC World's Style!
with Laila Rouass. In 1998 he appeared in Kaizad Gustad's Bombay Boys with Naseeruddin Shah
and starred in Dev Benegal's second film, Split Wide Open. To prepare for his role as a roving
water vendor, Bose lived in Mumbai's slums and observed a drug dealer for two weeks.[9] He
later cited this time—along with the 2002 Gujarat riots—as the beginning of the awakening of
his social conscience.[10] Although Split Wide Open was controversial in India because of its
depictions of sexual abuse,[11][12] Bose received the Silver Screen Award for Best Asian Actor at
the 2000 Singapore International Film Festival for his performance.[6] He also performed abroad
in the Leicester Haymarket in England where he starred in the English version of Tim Murari's
play, The Square Circle.[13][14]

In 1997, Bose was cast to play the role of Saleem Sinai in the BBC adaptation of Salman
Rushdie's novel Midnight's Children. The project was eventually canceled after the Indian and
Sri Lankan governments refused to allow filming.[15] After seeing Bose in English, August,
director Govind Nihalani cast him in the villain role opposite Ajay Devgan in the mainstream
film Thakshak. The film was not a financial success,[16] although Bose received positive
reviews.[17]

In 2001, Bose made his directorial debut with Everybody Says I'm Fine!. Starring Rehaan
Engineer and Koel Purie and featuring Bose in a supporting role, Everybody received mixed
reviews from critics, but won Bose the runner-up John Schlesinger Award for best directorial
debut at the 2003 Palm Springs International Film Festival.[18] In 2002, Bose starred opposite
Konkona Sen Sharma in Aparna Sen's art film Mr. and Mrs. Iyer. The film, a critique of
communal violence, was a critical success and won several awards at international film festivals
as well as three National Film Awards.[19][20]

2003–present

In 2003, Bose entered mainstream Bollywood cinema with Jhankaar Beats in which he played
one of two friends, R.D. Burman fans who are obsessed with winning a music competition.
Boosted by a successful soundtrack, Jhankaar Beats was a surprise hit in urban multiplexes[21][22]
and went on to win several awards for its music.[23] The same year, Bose appeared in another
Bollywood film, Mumbai Matinee which saw a UK release. He starred in Chameli opposite
Kareena Kapoor, playing a wealthy chain-smoking Mumbai banker who is stranded in the
monsoon rains with a prostitute. The film was not a box office success, but won several
Filmfare[24] and IIFA awards.[25][26]

He was the screenwriter of Hero Bhakti Hi Shakti Hai of Hungama TV in 2005.

Bose's second film pairing with Konkona Sen Sharma, 15 Park Avenue released in January 2006.
Directed by Aparna Sen and filmed in English, 15 Park Avenue won the 2006 National Film
Award for Best Feature Film in English.[27]

Bose (far left) on the set of National Award-winning Hindi film I Am in 2010

With his next effort, the romantic comedy Pyaar Ke Side Effects, Bose moved once more into
mainstream Bollywood cinema. The film follows the rocky relationship of Bose's commitment
phobic Mumbai DJ Sid and his Punjabi girlfriend, Trisha played by Mallika Sherawat. Critics
noted the freshness of Bose's narration style which involves breaking the fourth wall, a device
not commonly used in Indian cinema.[28] The film opened well in multiplexes[29][30] and was a
moderate financial success, eventually ranking among the top-grossing films of 2006.[31] Both
Bose and Sherawat received positive reviews for their performances.[32] Sherawat and Bose also
starred together in another Bollywood comedy, Maan Gaye Mughal-e-Azam (2008), which was a
commercial and critical failure.[33]

In 2006, Bose starred in the first of a trio of Bengali films, Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury's
Anuranan. Anuranan was well received on the festival circuit and ran successfully for three
months in Bengal. It was then dubbed into Hindi and released nationally.[34] Kaalpurush, Bose's
second Bengali film, was released commercially in April 2008. Kaalpurush details a father-son
relationship and earned writer-director Buddhadev Dasgupta a National Film Award for Best
Feature Film. Bose teamed with Chowdhury again in 2009 for Antaheen which tells the story of
online relationships. Like Anuranan, Antaheen was released commercially in West Bengal and
was screened at various film festivals, including the Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council Film
Festival (MIACC) and the International Film Festival of India (IFFI).[35][36] Antaheen went on to
win several National Awards including one for Best Film.[37]

Bose continued working in a mix of mainstream and arthouse films in 2008, with the English-
language film, Before the Rains. Before the Rains was released in the US and the UK and Bose's
performance was praised by many critics, although the film received mixed reviews. Bose also
appeared in Shaurya, a military court room drama modelled on the American film A Few Good
Men. Bose's performance was well-received; critic Taran Adarsh said his "performance easily
ranks as one of his finest works".[38] His appearance in Dil Kabaddi paired him with Konkona
Sen Sharma for the third time, this time playing a husband and wife undergoing marital
difficulties.[39] The Japanese Wife, with Japanese actress Chigusa Takaku, the third Aparna Sen
film in which he has appeared, released on 9 April 2010.[40][41][42] He also appeared as a
contestant in the reality show Khatron Ke Khiladi where he was eliminated in the 12th round.[43]
He hosted the second series of Bloomberg UTV reality show The Pitch.[44] His role as a gay man
harassed by the police in I Am was appreciated by critics.[45]

He appeared in Deepa Mehta's version of Midnight's Children where he played the role of
General Zulfikar.[46] He also played the villain in the 2013 Tamil film Vishwaroopam.[1] Naren
Weiss who was 19 years old at the time, acted opposite Bose in all of his scenes for
Vishwaroopam, and credited Bose for working with him during filming.[47] He was scheduled to
begin shooting his adaptation of Mohsin Hamid's novel, Moth Smoke in early 2010,[48] but the
project was postponed after the film's financial backers pulled out.[49] In 2013, he also played
opposite Konkona Sen Sharma again in Suman Mukhopadhyay's Shesher Kabita.[50] In 2017, he
directed, produced and acted in the biopic Poorna about the youngest girl to climb Mount
Everest.[51]

Filmography
Year Film Role Other notes
1988 The Perfect Murder Prem
Ramayana the Legend of Prince
1992 Bharata (voice)
Rama
1994 English, August Agastya Sen
1995 A Mouthful of Sky Sarkar, Pavan TV
1996 Bomgay The Lefty
1998 Bombay Boys Ricardo Fernandes
Split Wide Open Kut Price
1999
Thakshak Sunny
2001 Everybody Says I'm Fine! Rage
Jahangir Chaudhary a.k.a.
2002 Mr. and Mrs. Iyer
"Raja"
Jhankaar Beats Rishi
Ek Din 24 Ghante Virendra
2003 Debashish "Debu"
Mumbai Matinee
Chatterjee
Chameli Aman Kapoor
2004 White Noise Karan Deol
"The Fall" Short film
Scrum in the Mud with Rahul
Himself TV documentary
Bose
2005
Silsilay Neel Kashyap
15 Park Avenue Joydeep "Jojo" Roy
Ctrl+Alt+Del Kabir
2006 Anuranan Rahul Chatterjee
 Pyaar Ke Side Effects Siddharth "Sid" Bose
The Other Side of Bollywood Himself Documentary
2007 Chain Kulii Ki Main Kulii Varun Roy
English
Before the Rains T. K. Neelan
Malayalam bilingual film
Shaurya Major Siddhant Chaudhary
2008 Maan Gaye Mughal-e-Azam Arjun
Dil Kabaddi Rishi
Tahaan Zafar
Kaalpurush Son
Antaheen Abhik Choudhury
2009
The Whisperers Sid Unreleased
Fired Joy Mittal
2010
The Japanese Wife Snehamoy Chatterjee
2011 Kuch Love Jaisa Raghav Passport Released 27 May 2011[52]
2011 I Am Jay
Midnight's Children Zulfikar
2012
Laptop Indro
Bilingual film in Hindi and
Vishwaroopam Omar Qureshi
2013 Tamil
Shesher Kabita Amit Ray Bengali film
2014 Shondhey Namar Agey Prottush Alok Vhattacharjee Bengali film
Dil Dhadakne Do Manav
2015
Under Construction Imtiaz Bangladeshi film
2016 Niruttara Pradeep Kannada film
Also Director and Producer
2017 Poorna: Courage Has No Limit Dr. R.S. Praveen Kumar
Biopic on Malavath Purna
Bilingual film in Hindi and
2018 Vishwaroop 2 Omar Qureshi
Tamil

Playback singing

Year Film Song

2006 Anuranan "Akashe chhorano megher"

Writer/director

Year Film
2001 Everybody Says I'm Fine!
2009 The Whisperers
2017 Poorna: Courage Has No Limit

Producer

Year Film
2017 Poorna: Courage Has No Limit

Stage

Year Title Role

1989 Topsy Turvey
1993 Are There Tigers in the Congo?
1996 Art Mark
The Square Circle Lakshmi/Lakshman
1999
Seascape with Sharks and Dancer

Awards
 2007 – "Artiste for Change" Karmaveer Puraskaar award[53]
 2008 – IBN Eminent Citizen Journalist Award[54]
 2009 – Youth Icon Award for Social Justice and Welfare[55]
 2010 – Green Globe Foundation Award for Extraordinary Work by a Public Figure[56]
 2012 – Hakim Khan Sur Award for National Integration – Maharana Mewar Charitable
Foundation[57]
 2012 – Lt. Governor's Commendation Award for services to Andaman & Nicobar
Islands[58]

Sports career

Rahula Bose juggles a rugby ball at the All India & South Asia Rugby Tournament

In 1998, Bose was part of the first Indian national rugby team to play in an international event,
the Asian Rugby Football Union Championship.[59] He has played both scrum-half and right-
winger positions.[60] In an interview with Daily News & Analysis, Bose announced that he would
not return to the team for the 2009 season.[61]

Activism
Bose assisted in the relief efforts in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands after the 2004 Boxing Day
tsunami. As a result of this work, Bose launched the Andaman and Nicobar Scholarship Initiative
through his NGO, The Foundation.[62] The scholarship program provides for the education of
underprivileged children from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.[63]

Bose is associated with several charitable organizations such as Teach for India, Akshara Centre,
Breakthrough, Citizens for Justice and Peace and the Spastics Society of India. He is closely
associated with the Teach For India movement to eradicate inequity in education. In addition, he
became the first Indian Oxfam global ambassador in 2007.[64] He is the founder and chairman of
The Group of Groups, an umbrella organisation for 51 Mumbai charitable organisations and
NGOs.[65] He is also an ambassador for the American India Foundation, the World Youth Peace
Movement[66] and Planet Alert.[67] He was also a vocal proponent of Narmada Bachao Andolan
and its efforts to halt the construction of the Narmada dam.[68][69] He also recorded the Terre des
hommes audio book Goodgoodi karna, gale lagana; Sparsh ke niyam sikhiye (English: Tickle
and hugs: Learning the touching rules), which is designed to give children resources against
sexual abuse.[70]

Bose has given lectures on gender equality and human rights at Oxford and during the 2004
World Youth Peace Summit.[2] In 2009, he toured Canada lecturing on global climate change
under the auspices of Climate Action Network[71] and demonstrated with protesters at the
Copenhagen Climate Change Summit.[72] In 2011, he worked in conjunction with Bhaichung
Bhutia to raise funds for victims of the Sikkim earthquake.[73]

At the 8th convocation of BRAC University Bangladesh on 17 February 2013, Bose delivered
the convocation speech.[citation needed]

Personal life
Bose has one elder sister, Anuradha, who is married to Tariq Ansari, the owner and director of
Mid-Day Multimedia.[74] She had a cameo role in Everybody Says I'm Fine!.[75] Bose is single.