Rahul Bose

Rahul Bose (born 27 July 1967) is an Indian actor, director, screenwriter, and social activist. 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'', ''Dil Dhadakne Do'', '' Chameli'' and ''Shaurya''. He also played the antagonist in the Tamil thriller ''Vishwaroopam'' (2013) and its sequel. ''Time'' magazine named him "the superstar of Indian arthouse cinema" while ''Maxim'' named him "the Sean Penn of Oriental cinema" 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.

Early life

Rahul Bose was born to father Rupen and mother Kumud Bose on 27 July 1967.

Bose's first acting role was at the age of six when he played the lead character 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. He also played cricket and was coached by former India cricket captain Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi.

He is an alumnus of the Cathedral and John Connon School. 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 copywriter 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''.

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. 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.

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. He later cited this time—along with the 2002 Gujarat riots—as the beginning of the awakening of his social conscience. Although ''Split Wide Open'' was controversial in India because of its depictions of sexual abuse, Bose received the Silver Screen Award for Best Asian Actor at the 2000 Singapore International Film Festival for his performance. 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''.

In 1997, Bose was cast to play the role of Saleem Sinai in the BBC
...