Adarsh Gourav

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Adarsh Gourav
Gourav in 2023
Born
Adarsh Gourav Bhagavatula

1994 (age 29–30)
OccupationActor
Years active2007–present

Adarsh Gourav Bhagavatula (born 1994) is an Indian actor known for his works in Hindi and English-language films and television series. Gourav began acting with the drama film My Name Is Khan (2010). He is known for playing chauffeur Balram Halwai in the satirical film The White Tiger (2021), which garnered him international acclaim, and nominations for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role and the Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead.[1][2]

Adarsh has also starred in the teen comedy series Hostel Daze (2019–2021), the comic thriller series Guns & Gulaabs, and the drama film Kho Gaye Hum Kahan (both 2023).

Early life and education[edit]

Adarsh Gourav Bhagavatula was born into a Telugu speaking family in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand. His father Satishnarayana Bhagavatula is from Srikakulam district and his mother Padmavati Bhagavatula hails from Vizianagaram in Andhra Pradesh. Gourav was brought up in Jamshedpur and studied in Loyola School, Jamshedpur. He later moved to Mumbai and studied at Narsee Monjee College.[3]

In 2007, when Gourav's father, who was an employee of The Central Bank of India, got transferred to Mumbai, the family decided to relocate. He studied at the Lilavatibai Podar High School. While singing in the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival 2007, he was spotted and asked if he wanted to try acting. He agreed only because he was excited to be on television. After a year of auditioning, he was cast as the young Shahrukh Khan in the film My Name is Khan.[4][5] He studied in The Drama School in Mumbai.[6]

Gourav learnt Hindustani classical music for nine years under different Gurus.[7] He started getting interested in Western music while in Junior college and sang for the college band "Steepsky". They recorded a single called "Good guys finish last". In college, he sang for a progressive rock band called "Oak Island" which was also featured in MTV Indies-Never Hide Sounds.[7][8]

Career[edit]

He was scouted to sing for Raell Padamsee's theatre company. He also sang for films like Black and White and Chal Chalein.[citation needed] Although his acting career began when he was 14, Adarsh seriously started pursuing acting when he was cast to play one of the primary characters in a film titled "Banana", produced by John Abraham Entertainment and directed by Sajid Ali. While in his final year of college at Narsee Monjee College of Commerce, he worked with Anurag Kashyap in his anthology short film "Clean Shaven" with Radhika Apte. The next year he was cast as the lead in Rukh alongside Manoj Bajpayee[4] and as one of the antagonists in Sridevi's Mom.[8] To work on his craft, he took a break and went to The Drama School Mumbai in 2016. After finishing school, he worked in the Amazon production "Die Trying" and the TVF production Hostel Daze. He also played Prince Tarquin in the NCPA production "Lucrece" directed by Paul Goodwin in 2017. In 2018, he worked with Academy nominee Deepa Mehta on her Netflix series Leila.[citation needed]

After a few months of not being able to find any acting work, he was called in for an audition of The White Tiger.[9] His portrayal of Balram Halwai in the Netflix film has been lauded by all as the "star of Ramin Bahrani's film",[10] with the Evening Standard saying, "Gourav is nuanced and utterly engaging as Balram Halwai, a bright peasant who morphs from lickspittle chauffeur into something more ruthless.[11]" and Variety calling it a "small marvel".[12] The Telegraph said Gourav "gives the definition of a breakthrough performance"[13] The Entertainment Weekly called him "a largely unknown actor whose soulful combination of sheer will and vulnerability should, in a just world, win him the kind of accolades that helped make Slumdog's Dev Patel a star.[14] For his performance, Gourav was nominated for the Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead[15] and was also nominated for the BAFTA for Best Actor.[16]

In May 2023, he was a part of Audible's podcast series called Desi Down Under, along with Taaruk Raina and Prajakta Koli. The story is set in Sydney about three 20 year olds from Mangalore who go to Australia to learn surf-lifesaving skills at Coogee Beach.[17][18] Following this, Gourav starred alongside Siddhant Chaturvedi and Ananya Panday in the coming-of-age film Kho Gaye Hum Kahan directed by debutant Arjun Varain Singh.[19] Writing for NDTV, Saibal Chatterjee reviewed "Siddhant Chaturvedi has the meatiest role in Kho Gaye Hum Kahan but it is Adarsh Gourav who makes the biggest impact".[20]

Filmography[edit]

Feature films[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
2010 My Name Is Khan Young Rizwan Khan
2016 Madly Allwyn Anthology segment: "Clean Shaven"
2017 Rukh Dhruv
Mom Mohit "Bunty" Chadda
2021 The White Tiger Balram Halwai Nominated—AACTA International Award for Best Actor
Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Nominated—Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead
2023 Kho Gaye Hum Kahan Neil Pereira
2024 Woh Bhi Din The Joyjeet "Joy" Ganguly

Short films[edit]

Year Title Role
2014 Who Killed My Valentine? Unknown
2020 Toothache Arjun
2020 Mr Radish Dhawal Parekh
2022 Kiss[21] Sam

Television[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
2018 Die Trying Jason
2019 Leila Naz Chaudhary
2019–2021 Hostel Daze Ankit Pandey Nominated—Filmfare OTT Award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series
2023 Extrapolations Gaurav
Guns & Gulaabs[22] Jugnu/Chhotu Ganchi
TBA Alien Slightly [23]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "2021 films: new releases and what's coming out". The Week. 15 January 2021.
  2. ^ "The White Tiger's Adarsh Gourav Wins AWFF 'Rising Star' Award". Quint. 24 March 2021.
  3. ^ Ramachandran, S. (31 January 2021). "Telugu boy earns his stripes". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  4. ^ a b Jhunjhunwala, Udita (20 January 2021). "The White Tiger's Adarsh Gourav on discovering the 'invisibility' of Balram, and learnings from his co-actors". First Post.
  5. ^ Kanetkar, Riddhima (30 October 2020). "Who is Adarsh Gourav? All you need to know about Priyanka Chopra, Rajkummar Rao's 'The White Tiger' co-star".
  6. ^ Shekhar, Mimansa (21 January 2021). "Who is Adarsh Gourav, the actor from The White Tiger?". Indian Express.
  7. ^ a b Chakraborty, Rimi (29 October 2021). "Who is Adarsh Gourav? The man who stole the show in the trailer of Priyanka Chopra Jonas's The White Tiger". GQ India.
  8. ^ a b Arora, Simran (20 January 2021). "Adarsh Gourav From 'The White Tiger' Has A Boy Next Door Look Which Is As Unique As His Acting". Mens XP.
  9. ^ "Adarsh Gourav says mainstream Bollywood movies never attracted him". Hindustan Times. 1 February 2021.
  10. ^ "The White Tiger first reviews: Critics call it roaring success, 'more realistic' Slumdog Millionaire that'll make Adarsh Gaurav a star". Hindustan Times. 14 January 2021.
  11. ^ O'Sullivan, Charlotte (21 January 2021). "Netflix's The White Tiger review: this tale of two Indias is as angry, smart and dark as Parasite".
  12. ^ Gleiberman, Owen (5 January 2021). "'The White Tiger' Review: Ramin Bahrani's Absorbing Tale of an Indian Servant on the Rise Is Like 'Slumdog Millionaire' With More Reality".
  13. ^ Collins, Robbie (20 January 2021). "The White Tiger, review: the punchy, propulsive tale of a grubby ascent to the top".
  14. ^ Greenblatt, Leah (5 January 2021). "The White Tiger brings exhilarating big-screen storytelling to Netflix". Entertainment Weekly.
  15. ^ "2021 Film Independent Spirit Award Nominations Announced!". Film Independent. 26 January 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  16. ^ "BAFTA 2021: The White Tiger Stars Priyanka Chopra And Adarsh Gourav Feature On Longlist". NDTV.com. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  17. ^ "All about Audible India's latest original offering is Desi Downunder". www.telegraphindia.com. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  18. ^ "Adarsh Gourav talks about his new Audible series Desi Down Under, and why he never wants to feel 'settled' as an artist". Hindustan Times. 13 May 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  19. ^ "Siddhant Chaturvedi announces the start of 'Kho Gaye Hum Kahan' shoot; co-stars Ananya Panday and Adarsh Gourav share their excitement - Times of India". The Times of India. 8 March 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
  20. ^ "Kho Gaye Hum Kahan Review: Moderately Entertaining And Occasionally Perceptive". NDTV. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  21. ^ "Varun Grover's short film 'Kiss' heading to Beijing Queer Film Festival". The Economic Times. 14 November 2022. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  22. ^ PTI (9 April 2022). "Raj and DK wrap up shoot of Netflix series 'Guns & Gulaabs'". ThePrint. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  23. ^ Shackleton, Liz; Andreeva, Nellie (20 July 2023). "'Alien': Alex Lawther & Samuel Blenkin Among Quartet Cast As FX Series Starts Production With No SAG-AFTRA Actors Amid Strike". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 21 July 2023.

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