Rajeev Siddhartha (born 11 April 1986) is an Indian actor / director His work spans productions across film, television, theatre and digital web series. Siddhartha began his career in 2007 with the film Dil Dosti Etc and received critical acclaim as Romil in ALTBalaji's web series show Romil & Jugal in 2017.[1]
Early life and education
Siddhartha was born in Dhanbad, Jharkhand on 11 April 1986.[2][3] He spent his formative years in boarding schools in Mussoorie and Dehradun. He studied at The Doon School, Dehradun after which he went on to study economics at the honours level from St. Stephen's College, Delhi. He is also an MBA graduate from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management and Higher Studies (NMIMS), Mumbai. After his MBA, Siddhartha worked for a year religiously at an investment bank.[4][5]
Career
Siddhartha acted in the film Dil Dosti Etc whilst in college. After completing his MBA and working at an investment bank, he took to the Mumbai theatre scene in 2011 with Lillete Dubey's Adhe Adhure. Mumbaitheatreguide.com praised his performance in the play stating, "Rajeev Siddhartha plays the son to perfection, faithfully portraying the repressed angst of the character."[6] Subsequently, he acted in the plays August Osage County, Wedding Album, The Dancing Donkey, Gauhar and The Merchant of Venice.[5][7] His performance as Bassanio in The Merchant of Venice received mixed responses.[8][9] His theatre experience has extended to Cineplays (original Hotstar series),[10][11] namely Adhe Adhure and Vijay Tendulkar's classics Khamosh Adalat Jaari Hai and Kanyadaan.[12][13][14]
Simultaneously, he has essayed roles in films and TV shows: he was one of the antagonists in Anil Kapoor's 24 that aired on Colors in 2013.[15] He has also starred in Subhash Kapoor's Jolly LLB featuring Arshad Warsi and Boman Irani. In 2017, Siddhartha played Romil in the ALTBalaji's Romil and Jugal, a same sex love story. Bollywood Life praised both Siddhartha and his co-actor Manraj saying "they prove their calibre as actors".[1] He has subsequently acted in many web series including Four More Shots Please!, Hundred, Aashram, Marzi and the Netflix original film Upstarts.[16][17][18][19]
