Mohit Raina (born 14 August 1982)
is an Indian actor who appears in
Hindi
Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
films and television. He started his acting career with a
science fiction show ''Antariksh'' (2004) and later went on to play a role in ''
Don Muthu Swami'' (2008). He is best known for the lead role of the
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 ...
god
Shiva
Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...
in the television series ''
Devon Ke Dev – Mahadev'' and ''
Mahabharat'', prior to which he is known for the roles as lead in ''
Chehra'' , ''
Ganga Kii Dheej'' and supporting role in
Bandini.
Early life and background
Mohit Raina was born into a
Kashmiri Pandit
The Kashmiri Pandits (also known as Kashmiri Brahmins) are a group of Kashmiri Hindus and a part of the larger Saraswat Brahmin community of India. They belong to the Pancha Gauda Brahmin group from the Kashmir Valley, located within the In ...
family on 14 August 1982 to Dr. Udesh Chandar Raina and Dura raina
and raised in
Jammu
Jammu () is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute ...
. He was educated at Kendriya Vidyalaya School, Jammu and earned a bachelor of Commerce degree from University of Jammu. He moved to
Mumbai
Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
to begin a career in modelling.
He hoped that modelling would provide him with a route into acting work and lost from his teenage weight of so that he could participate in the 2005 Grasim
Mister India modelling contest. He was placed among the top five contestants in that competition.
Career
Mohit's acting career began in 2004 with a science fiction
TV show called ''
Antariksh''. In 2008, he starred as Jai Kishan in the comedy film ''
Don Muthu Swami'', which was not a success at the box office and caused him to return to television work.
In 2009 he appeared in the ''
Chehra'' TV series, a suspense drama revolving around a disabled girl. Mohit played her husband Garv, a young business tycoon.
[ He was also part of '' Bandini''.
In 2011, he was cast as the lead in Nikhil Sinha's '' Devon Ke Dev – Mahadev''.] The series focused on the god Shiva and portrays his journey from a hermit to a householder through his marriage to Sati and later to Parvati
Parvati (, , IPA: /Sanskrit phonology, pɑɾʋət̪iː/), also known as Uma (, , IPA: Sanskrit phonology, /ʊmɑː/) and Gauri (, , IPA: /Sanskrit phonology, gə͡ʊɾiː/), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the Devi, ...
. Mohit worked on improving his physique for the role,[ and started learning the ]Indian classical dance
Indian classical dance, or ''Shastriya Nritya'', is an umbrella term for different regionally-specific Indian classical dance traditions, rooted in predominantly Hindu musical theatre performance,, Quote: All of the dances considered to be part ...
form Kathak
''Kathak'' is one of the eight major forms of Classical Indian dance, Indian classical dance. Its origin is attributed to the traveling bards in ancient northern India known as ''Kathakar'' ("storyteller"), who communicated stories from the ...
, which is integral part of his role as Shiva. ''The Times of India
''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...
'' said the role created fans due to his "fab abs, groovy smile and acting chops" He played over 30 different characters in the series, which ran for three years, ending in December 2014, by which time Mohit had become a celebrity.
Mohit has played the adult 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 ...
, in the historical serial ''Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat
''Chakravartin Ashoka Samrat'' () is a 2015 Indian historical drama TV series that aired on Colors TV from 2 February 2015 to 7 October 2016. with Siddharth Nigam portraying the young version of the character.
Series is based on the life of Em ...
'' on Colors TV
Colors TV is an Indian general entertainment pay television channel owned by JioStar, a joint venture between Viacom18 and Disney India. Its programming consists of Soap opera, family dramas, Comedy, comedies, fantasy shows, youth-oriented Rea ...
. The series started broadcasting from 2 May 2016.
After Ashoka, Mohit also played the lead role as Havildar Ishar Singh in '' 21 Sarfarosh - Saragarhi 1897'' which is based on the Battle of Saragarhi.
Mohit played the role of Major Karan Kashyap in the Bollywood film '' Uri: The Surgical Strike'', released on 11 January 2019.
He made his web debut with the ZEE5
ZEE5 or Z5 is an Indian subscription video on demand and over-the-top streaming service, owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. It was launched in India on 14 February 2018 with content in 12 languages. The ZEE5 mobile app is available on We ...
web series '' Kaafir'', starring opposite Dia Mirza.
Mohit Raina is playing the character of Dr. Kaushik Oberoi the series '' Mumbai Diaries 26/11''. The show is created by Nikkhil Advani
Nikkhil Suresh Advani (born 28 April 1971) is an Indian director, producer and screenwriter who works in Hindi cinema. He along with his sister, Monisha Advani and Madhu Bhojwani, co-founded the entertainment company Emmay Entertainment.
Early ...
and produced by Emmay Entertainment
Emmay Entertainment and Motion Pictures LLP is an Indian content production company based in Mumbai, India. It was founded by Nikkhil Advani, Monisha Advani and Madhu Bhojwani in 2011. After its inception, it began with full-length feature f ...
. It also stars Konkana Sen Sharma, Tina Desai, and Shreya Dhanwanthary.
Personal life
On 1 January 2022, Raina revealed that he had married his longtime girlfriend Aditi Chandra. The couple had their first child, a baby girl on 16 March 2023.
Filmography
Films
Television
Web series
Awards and nominations
See also
* List of Indian television actors
* List of Indian film actors
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Raina, Mohit
Living people
1982 births
Kashmiri actors
Kashmiri Pandits
Indian male television actors
Indian male models
Indian male film actors
Male actors in Hindi cinema
People from Jammu (city)
21st-century Indian male actors