Rahul Bose

Rahul Bose

Bose at the premiere of Ben 10: Destroy All Aliens
Born (1967-07-27) 27 July 1967
Residence Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Occupation Actor, Director, screenwriter, Social activist, Rugby player, Founder of an 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]

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] He was scheduled to begin shooting his adaptation of Mohsin Hamid's novel, Moth Smoke in early 2010,[47] but the project was postponed after the film's financial backers pulled out.[48] He secured new funding, and the film will begin principal photography in summer 2013.[49][50] His other upcoming projects include Suman Mukhopadhyay's Shesher Kabita.[51]

Filmography

Year Film Role Other notes
1988 The Perfect Murder Prem
1992 Ramayana the legend of prince rama Bharata (voice)
1994 English, August Agastya Sen
1995 A Mouthful of Sky Sarkar, Pavan TV
1996 Bomgay The Lefty
1998 Bombay Boys Ricardo Fernandes
1999 Split Wide Open Kut Price
Thakshak Sunny
2001 Everybody Says I'm Fine! Rage
2002 Mr. and Mrs. Iyer Jahangir Chaudhary aka "Raja"
2003 Jhankaar Beats Rishi
Ek Din 24 Ghante Virendra
Mumbai Matinee Debashish "Debu" Chatterjee
Chameli Aman Kapoor
2004 White Noise Karan Deol
2005 "The Fall" Short film
Scrum in the Mud with Rahul Bose Himself TV documentary
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
2008 Before the Rains T. K. Neelan English
Malayalam bilingual film
Shaurya Major Siddhant Chaudhary
Maan Gaye Mughal-e-Azam Arjun
Dil Kabaddi Rishi
Tahaan Zafar
Kaalpurush Son
2009 Antaheen Abhik Choudhury
The Whisperers Sid Unreleased
2010 Fired Joy Mittal
The Japanese Wife Snehamoy Chatterjee
2011 Kuch Love Jaisa Raghav Passport Released 27 May 2011[52]
2011 I Am Jay
2012 Midnight's Children Zulfikar
Laptop Indro
2013 Vishwaroopam Omar Qureshi Tamil film
Shesher Kabita Amit Ray Bengali film
2014 Shondhey Namar Agey Prottush Alok Vhattacharjee Bengali film
2015 Dil Dhadakne Do Manav
2015 Under Construction Imtiaz Bangladeshi film
2015 Vishwaroopam 2 Omar Qureshi Tamil film
2015 Niruttara Abhijeet Kannada film

Playback singing

Year Film Song
2006 Anuranan "Akashe chhorano megher"

Writer/director

Year Film
2001 Everybody Says I'm Fine!
2009 The Whisperers
2016 Poorna

Stage

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

Awards

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.

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.

References

  1. 1 2 Vats, Rohit (29 August 2011). "Why Rahul Bose is perfect for 'Vishwaroopam'". IBN Live.
  2. 1 2 World Youth Peace Summit (2003). "Rahul Bose: Actor/Producer/Humanitarian". Retrieved 5 August 2008.
  3. ↑ Ayaz, Shaikh (23 November 2006). "Rapid fire with Rahul Bose". DNA. Retrieved 5 August 2005.
  4. 1 2 "Hard work is never enough". The Times of India. 13 September 2003. Retrieved 11 September 2009.
  5. ↑ Vivek Fernandes (25 July 2002). "ESIF is deep, dark, sexual, funny...". Rediff. Retrieved 2 December 2009.
  6. 1 2 3 "Rahul Bose: Split wide open". The Times of India. Asia Africa Intelligence Wire. 31 August 2003. Retrieved 16 December 2008.
  7. ↑ Gupta, Richa (21 June 2007). "Bose, up close". The Indian Express. Retrieved 16 December 2008.
  8. ↑ Chatterjee, Saibal (29 November 1995). "On With The Offbeat". Outlook. Retrieved 2 December 2009.
  9. ↑ Bhattacharya, Roshmila (26 September 2003). "Like a Virgin". Screen Weekly. Retrieved 11 September 2009.
  10. ↑ Anuradha Sengupta (21 October 2007). "Being Rahul Bose: Nothing run-of-the-mill, please". IBN. Retrieved 31 December 2009.
  11. ↑ Peer, Basharat (31 March 2001). "Not for me a process that is illegal!". Rediff. Retrieved 11 September 2009.
  12. ↑ Desai, Jigna (2004). "Sex in the Global City: The Sexual and Gender Politics of the New Urban, Transnational and Cosmopolitan Cinema in English". Beyond Bollywood: the cultural politics of South Asian diasporic film. Routledge. pp. 197–8. ISBN 978-0-415-96684-9. Retrieved 10 September 2009.
  13. ↑ Chris Arnot (10 November 2009). "Bollywood it ain't". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
  14. ↑ "Going Solo". The Indian Express. 16 February 2000. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
  15. ↑ Rushdie, Salman (2002). Step across this line: collected nonfiction 1992–2002. Random House. p. 77. ISBN 978-0-679-46334-4.
  16. ↑ "Second coming". The Indian Express. 6 April 2000. Retrieved 5 December 2009.
  17. ↑ Bella Jaisinghani (9 December 1999). "Dark horse". The Indian Express. Retrieved 2 December 2009.
  18. ↑ Uma DaCunha (27 February 2003). "Mani, Madhuri and Rahul Bose..". Screen Weekly. Retrieved 2 December 2009.
  19. ↑ Patrick Frater (11 September 2002). "India's Madhu takes international rights on Mr And Mrs Iyer". Screen Daily. Retrieved 2 December 2009.
  20. ↑ "Devgan, Konkona bag National Film Awards". Rediff. 26 July 2003. Retrieved 2 December 2009.
  21. ↑ Roshmila Bhattacharya (4 July 2003). "Small Wonders". Screen Weekly. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
  22. ↑ Sushmita Biswas (10 December 2005). "The new melody moguls". Calcutta Telegraph. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
  23. ↑ "Cinema unplugged, music unleashed". The Indian Express. 17 January 2008. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
  24. ↑ "For Hrithik, it is a Preity night to remember". Rediff. 22 February 2004. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
  25. ↑ Tony Tharakan (12 June 2005). "6 IIFA awards go to 'Veer-Zaara'". The Tribune. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
  26. ↑ "Indians bag honours at the Asian Television Awards". Outlook. PTI. 2 December 2005. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
  27. ↑ "National Awards: Your say". CNBC-TV18. 22 August 2006. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
  28. ↑ Raja Sen (15 September 2006). "Mallika's hot in Pyaar Ke Side Effects". Rediff. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
  29. ↑ Taran Adarsh (22 September 2006). "Tough competition!". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
  30. ↑ Gupta, Shubhra (12 January 2007). "Apna sapna? Money, money". The Hindu. Retrieved 19 May 2011.
  31. ↑ "Box Office 2006". BoxOffice India. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
  32. ↑ Taran Adarsh (15 September 2006). "Pyaar Ke Side Effects – Movie Review". IndiaFM. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
  33. ↑ "Rahul's going great!". The Times of India. 28 August 2008. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
  34. ↑ Alaka Sahani (23 January 2008). "Rumblings of success". The Indian Express. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
  35. ↑ "I want to do an action film, says Rahul Bose". Press Trust of India. 28 November 2009. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
  36. ↑ "'Bombay Summer' rules New York film fest, bags three awards". Deccan Herald. 20 November 2009. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
  37. ↑ "Bollywood wins big at National Film Awards". Reuters India. 23 January 2010. Retrieved 9 April 2010.
  38. ↑ Taran Adarsh (4 April 2008). "Shaurya". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
  39. ↑ Sneha Mahadevan (21 November 2008). "The game of life!". Screen. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
  40. ↑ "Aparna Sen's 'The Japanese Wife' to be released on April 9". Outlook India. 24 February 2010. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
  41. ↑ "'The Japanese Wife' most splendid film of my life: Rahul Bose". Press Trust of India. 21 April 2009. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
  42. ↑ Joginder Tuteja (29 October 2009). "Horror, thriller, romance, drama – It's a new beginning for Rahul Bose". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
  43. ↑ "I did Khatron Ke Khiladi for the money: Rahul Bose". NDTV. PTI. 11 January 2011. Retrieved 20 May 2011.
  44. ↑ Bhattacharyya, Gautam (26 December 2011). "Globosport makes the right moves". Gulf News. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  45. ↑ Shekhar, Mayank (30 April 2011). "Mayank Shekhar's review: I Am". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 20 May 2011.
  46. ↑ Sneha, Mahadevan (16 September 2010). "Rahul Bose's relief measures". DNA. Retrieved 20 May 2011.
  47. ↑ Sharma, Ritesh (26 June 2009). "Interview: Rahul Bose". Glamsham.com. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
  48. ↑ Jha, Subhash K. (4 August 2009). "Rahul Bose puts direction plans on hold". The Times of India. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
  49. ↑ "Rahul Bose to make English movie on Pakistani novel". NDTV. 13 March 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2012.
  50. ↑ Shetty, Shakti (16 January 2013). "Rahul Bose to finally direct his second film". Mid Day.
  51. ↑ Mukherjee, Roshini (12 January 2012). "Rahul Bose & Konkona Sen in Shesher Kabita". The Times of India. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  52. ↑ "All For a Good Cause". The Indian Express. Retrieved 20 May 2011.
  53. ↑ "The Changing Climate". Businessworld. ABP Group. 30 November 2007. Retrieved 1 December 2008.
  54. ↑ "CJ Awards: Honouring you in your right to fight". CNN-IBN. 17 October 2008. Retrieved 20 May 2011.
  55. ↑ "Rahul, Priyanka, Hrithik bag youth icon awards". The Times of India. 27 September 2009. Archived from the original on 1 October 2009. Retrieved 28 September 2009.
  56. ↑ "Akshay's son wins Green Globe Foundation Award". NDTV. 6 February 2010. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
  57. ↑ Mukherjee, Roshini (23 February 2012). "Rahul Bose to be honoured in Udaipur". The Times of India. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  58. ↑ Dalal, Sayantan. "Rahul Bose gets felicitated". DNA India. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
  59. ↑ Natarajan, H (17 November 1998). "Bose leads Bombay Boys to Singapore". The Indian Express. Retrieved 16 December 2008.
  60. ↑ "Rage for RUGBY". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 10 May 2004. Retrieved 16 December 2008.
  61. ↑ Bhowmik, Aveek (9 June 2008). "Rahul Bose's rage for Rugby". Daily News & Analysis. Retrieved 16 December 2008.
  62. ↑ "The Team". The Foundation. Retrieved 8 April 2013.
  63. ↑ "Rahul Bose launches scholarship scheme". The Times of India. 22 November 2006. Retrieved 8 May 2008.
  64. ↑ "Rahul Bose appointed Oxfam's global ambassador". The Times of India. 31 July 2007. Archived from the original on 3 December 2008. Retrieved 5 August 2008.
  65. ↑ "Citizens' groups, NGOs chalk out action plan for elections". Express News Service. 20 March 2009. Retrieved 7 April 2009.
  66. ↑ Singh, Shalini (20 January 2007). "Being outraged isn't enough". Tehelka. Retrieved 5 August 2008.
  67. ↑ "India's Swades Movement to Combat Climate Change, "Planet Alert" Launches with an 18 Hour Radio-thon across 45 Cities on June 5th, World Environment Day". Radio and Music.com. 6 June 2009. Retrieved 10 June 2009.
  68. ↑ Gupta, Surbhi (10 August 2005). "Take a break!". The Times of India. Retrieved 16 December 2008.
  69. ↑ Mukherjee, Amrita (5 June 2006). "Aamir is 25 times more famous than me: Rahul". The Times of India. Retrieved 16 December 2008.
  70. ↑ "When to shun that tickle, hug". The Times of India. 24 September 2009. Retrieved 28 September 2009.
  71. ↑ Urvashi Sarka (8 November 2009). "Ace player, actor and activist". The Hindu. Chennai, India. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
  72. ↑ "Rahul Bose and Danish model join hands". The Times of India. 13 December 2009. Retrieved 14 December 2009.
  73. ↑ Sen, Zinia (2 October 2011). "B'wood going all out to raise money". The Times of India. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
  74. ↑ Ajwani, Deepak (19 June 2010). "Tariq Ansari, Mid Day's MD: I Never Closed the Door on Anyone". Forbes India. Retrieved 20 May 2011.
  75. ↑ "Anuradha Ansari". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 20 May 2011.
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