Gagan Malik is an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

actor and

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

activist. He won the Best Actor Award in the World Buddhist Film Festival organised by the United Nations for his role as

Prince Siddhartha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

in the Sri Lankan Sinhala film '' Sri Siddhartha Gautama''. Malik is also known for his leading role as lord

Rama Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda' ...

in '' Ramayan.''

Early life and modelling career

Malik was born and brought up in a

Jat The Jat people (, ), also spelt Jaat and Jatt, are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, many Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in l ...

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

family in Delhi, India. His father is a businessman from

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. He has three elder brothers and a sister. He was educated in Hansraj school Central in Delhi. In his childhood, his mother used to read the epic ''Ramayana'' to him. When he was young, he used to participate in his colony Ramleela and he have always played the character of Ram in it. Prior to his acting debut, Malik played first class cricket in India. He also played cricket for the Ranji Trophy team in Delhi. After twelve years of cricket he moved to acting. Malik has vast experience in TV commercials (''Times of India'', ''Skoda'', ''Birla Sun Life Insurance''), music videos, modeling and designer shows. In 2004, he won Mr. Photogenic in national male beauty pageant ''Mr India''.

Career

In 2005, Malik landed a starring role in ''

Hum Ladkiyan ''Hum Ladkiyan - Maayke Se Sasural Tak'' was a Hindi television drama series that first aired on 13 October 2008 on Sony TV channel. The story focused on the life journey of the four vivacious girls. Plot The story is set in Benaras, the holy ...

''. It tells the story of the young engineer Siddharth, Indian-born engineer, raised and living in the U.S. arrives in

Varanasi Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.* * * * The city has a syncretic tradition of I ...

to work on the Ganga Cleaning Project. The show premiered in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

on 9 September 2005. He began his acting career in television with ''

Kumkum Kumkuma is a powder used for social and religious markings in India. It is made from turmeric or any other local materials. The turmeric is dried and powdered with a bit of slaked lime, which turns the rich yellow powder into a red color. In ...

'' on

Star Plus StarPlus is an Indian Hindi-language general entertainment pay television channel owned by JioStar, a joint venture between Viacom18 and Disney India. Its programming consists of family dramas, romantic comedies, youth-oriented reali ...

and then he played a lead role in

Zee TV ZEE TV also known as Z TV is an Indian Hindi language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. It was launched on 1 October 1992 as the oldest privately owned television channel in India. History ...

's show ''

Saath Saath Banayenge Ek Aashiyaan ''Saath Saath Banayenge Ek Aashiyaan'' (international title: East Meets West) is a Hindi television serial that aired on Zee TV starting from 10 March 2008 until 6 November 2008, based on the concept of how culture impacts on an individual's li ...

'', he also appeared in Star One's, TV serial ''

Shakuntala Shakuntala () is a heroine in ancient Indian literature, best known for her portrayal in the ancient Sanskrit play '' Abhijnanashakuntalam'' (The Recognition of Shakuntala), written by the classical poet Kalidasa in the 4th or 5th century AD ...

''. In 2012, he played the lead role of Ram in '' Ramayan''. The show was immensely popular in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

and hence Malik, together with his co-stars Neha Sargam and Neil Bhatt, were invited to perform in a special stage show in

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

organised by

antv ANTV (abbreviation from Andalas Televisi, stylized antv, alternatively spelled ANteve which was also known as a brand before 2003) is an Indonesian free-to-air television broadcaster based in South Jakarta. It is owned by Visi Media Asia (Viva ...

. In 2013, Malik debuted in international film with the Sri Lankan

Sinhala language Sinhala ( ; Sinhala: , , ), sometimes called Sinhalese ( ), is an Indo-Aryan language primarily spoken by the Sinhalese people of Sri Lanka, who make up the largest ethnic group on the island, numbering about 16 million. It is also the first ...

film " Sri Siddhartha Gautama" as the titular character. "Siddhartha Gauthama" film inspired by the spiritual odyssey of The Buddha has won international awards at the

Delhi International Film Festival Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its right bank, ...

in India and the United Nations Buddhist Film Festival in Vietnam and broken box office records in Sri Lanka. He won the Best Actor Award in the 2014 World Buddhist Film Festival for his role in "Siddhartha Gauthama". Malik is part of celebrity cricket team ''Jaipur Raj Joshiley'' for Indian sport-reality entertainment show Box Cricket League season 2. Currently he plays the role of Lord Rama in ''

Sankatmochan Mahabali Hanuman ''Sankat Mochan Mahabali Hanumaan'' is an Indian-Television drama series that aired weekly on Sony Entertainment Television (India) It tells the story of Hanuman from the viewpoint of Krishna and Rukmini. The series ran from May 2015 to August ...

'' in

Sony TV Sony Television, Sony TV, or Sony HD may refer to any of the following television-related products from Japanese conglomerate Sony: * Television sets designed and manufactured by Sony Corporation in Japan ** Trinitron, television hardware brand (196 ...

. In 2016, he confirmed that he is "strongly involved" in an international film based on the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

. It is reported will be the most expensive movie made on the Buddha. The pre production is on and the team will be shooting the teaser towards July or August.

Personal life

Gagan Malik married his high-school sweetheart, when he was 22. His wife's name is Pooja and they live in Mumbai. Malik said, "I am married and have my Sita with me who is very supportive. Otherwise, I am all sorted and therefore don’t have to worry about any kind of controversies." In 2014, Gagan Malik renounced

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

and embraced

on Poson Poya day in

Mihintale Mihintale is a mountain peak near Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka. It is believed by Sri Lankans to be the site of a meeting between the Buddhist monk Mahinda (buddhist monk), Mahinda and King Devanampiyatissa which inaugurated the presence of Buddhis ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. On 10 February 2022, Malik ordained at Temple in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. His short-termed

monkhood Monasticism (; ), also called monachism or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual activities. Monastic life plays an important role in many Christian churches, especially ...

will last for 15 days which he would take the opportunity to further study the teachings of

Buddhism in Thailand Buddhism in Thailand is largely of the Theravada school, which is followed by roughly 93.4 percent of the population. Thailand has the second largest Buddhist population in the world, after China, with approximately 64 million Buddhists. Buddh ...

. But he remained a Buddhist monk for 4 months (until June 2022), during which time he visited major Buddhist sites related to the life of the

and

Ambedkar Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (Bhīmrāo Rāmjī Āmbēḍkar; 14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who chaired the committee that drafted the Constitution of India based on t ...

Filmography

Film

Television

Theater

*2005 ''Bharati'' as Siddharth (lead role)

Music videos appearances

*Chalte Chalte remix - Music Today *Ang Lag Ja Balam Universal

Charity

In 2013, the idealist actor Gagan Malik, together with Navin Gooneratne who produced "Sri Siddharta Gautama" film, launched the "Lotus World" project based on the fundamentals of Buddhism by The Light of Asia Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Sri Lanka focused on the advancement of Buddhism throughout the world through audio visual media, to invite likeminded people around the world to the "Lotus Family" to serve humanity. The idea is to form a Family of Members of like thinking based on the Noble Eightfold Path. Three basic principles have been identified. The first is Goodness – cultivating purity of self through Right Speech, Right Action and Right Livelihood. The second is Friendship – extending the hand of friendship to all who wish to be in the Family of Members and the community at large. The third is Mindfulness – elevating self-awareness through the practice of Mindfulness Meditation resulting in greater clarity and peace of mind . Gagan Malik considers Emperor

Ashoka Ashoka, also known as Asoka or Aśoka ( ; , ; – 232 BCE), and popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was List of Mauryan emperors, Emperor of Magadha from until #Death, his death in 232 BCE, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynast ...

, who spread the Buddhism in the world, and

Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (Bhīmrāo Rāmjī Āmbēḍkar; 14 April 1891 – 6 December 1956) was an Indian jurist, economist, social reformer and political leader who chaired the committee that drafted the Constitution of India based on t ...

, who revived the

Buddhism in India Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or 5th century BCE. It is the world's fourth- ...

, as his role models. He says that the greeting ''Namo Buddhay'' (trans: salutations to the Buddha) is never complete without ''

Jai Bhim Jai Bhim (alternatively spelled Jay Bhim or Jai Bheem; ; pronounced or ) is a slogan and greeting used by followers of B. R. Ambedkar, an Indian politician, social reformer and first Law and Justice Minister of India. It refers to Ambedkar's ...

'' (trans: salutations to Ambedkar). He stressed that playing the role of Sri Siddharta Gautama had entirely changed his life and his attitude, which is how Lotus World was born. The satisfaction of "doing something for another person" is what has encouraged actor Gagan Malik to give-up the glamorous life style of a film star. As the founder of this project, Malik hopes that children would learn the joy of serving others, books to record their good deeds as a part of the Lotus World's "One good deed a day project" were presented at the launch.Lotus World: A journey to unearth "inner happiness"
/ref>

References

External links

*
Lotus World by Gagan Malik
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malik, Gagan Indian male television actors Living people Indian male soap opera actors 21st-century Indian male actors Buddhist activists 21st-century Indian Buddhists Navayana Buddhists Converts to Buddhism from Hinduism Year of birth missing (living people) Buddhist missionaries