Biography

Born and raised in the UAE, Raaj Rao is a certified and multi award winning professional Actor and Filmmaker.

Although he has a background in Engineering, working in rigs overseas, his calling was always clear to him.

Dreaming of being an actor since the age of 8, he pursued that path, leading him to be trained by Bollywood Veteran Anupam Kher at his prestigious Actor Prepares Institute, India.

For over a decade Raaj Rao has worked in many feature/short films, TV Commercials and theatre. He's grown up watching and emulating his favorite heroes but over the years he's grown to love portraying the antagonist and characters with a gray shade. However he does have a wicked sense of humor which he manages to bring into his various character portrayals. He enjoys challenging himself with new roles.

Aside from being an Actor, he loves to tel stories and eventually ventured into Directing and Screen-writing films that have won multiple international awards. He's a hands-on all rounder, keenly involved in every aspect of the film from pre production to the editing to the marketing and distribution. Raaj has a keen eye for drawing out human emotion from his actors through his visionary storytelling, creating powerful narratives in the editing and sound design aspects.

He's a self taught dancer, effortlessly adapting to many dance forms. He's a martial artist and a fight choreographer.

He's also a voice over artist, having lent his voice for many big brand radio commercials such as Coca Cola, Huawei, HP, Garnier etc, he was the voice of Expo 2020's Mascot Opti in for their animation film and he was also the official voice of DIAFA 2022 - Distinctive International Arab Festivals Awards.

His most notable work: Feature films: Lead Role in Ifrit (Hindi Paranormal horror Thriller) - 2023 Release Feature role in The Ghost (Telugu/Indian Action Thriller Film) Starring Nagarjuna - Released on Netflix Feature role in Amriki Pandit (Hindi Comedy Drama) Starring R. Madhavan - 2023 release

Short Films: Lead/Antagonist role in Magnificent Man (English Superhero thriller) - 2019 Release Lead Role in The Unscripted (English Horror) - 2019 Release and for which he won Best Actor at the Black Sheep Festival 2019

TV Commercials: Feature role as Reporter for Mountain Dew with Superstar Hrithik Roshan Feature role for Dubai Tourism with Shah Rukh Khan Brands - Mountain Dew, Nesto, Aster, Saudi Telecom, Expo2020, MG cars, IKEA, Interpol, Rakez, Tradeling, Dubai Tourism, Caps-It, Careem etc

Along the years, he forged his way into this industry by also becoming an Action Director, Director, Screenwriter, Filmmaker, Producer, Model, Emcee/Presenter, Creative Conceptualizer, Production Head and Celebrity Coordinator.
- IMDb mini biography by: Raaj Rao