Gagan Dev Riar Wiki, Age, Wife, Family, Biography & More

Gagan Dev Riar is an Indian actor and theatre artist. He is known for portraying Abdul Karim Telgi, a convicted Indian counterfeiter in the web series ‘Scam 2003: The Telgi Story’ (2023), which premiered on Sony LIV.

Wiki/Biography

Gagan Dev Riar was born on Saturday, 16 August 1980 (age 43 years; as of 2023) in Pathankot, Punjab. His zodiac sign is Leo. He studied at Ruparel College in Matunga, Mumbai. ^[1]Hindustan Times

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 5′ 9″

Hair Colour: Black

Eye Colour: Black

Family

Parents & Siblings

His father’s name is Devinder Singh Riar, and his mother’s name is Raj Kanwal Riar.

He has an elder sister named Sonika Riar; who is a fashion designer, and a brother named Karan Riar, who is a choreographer.

Wife

He is unmarried.

Relationships/Affairs

He is in a long-term relationship with his co-artist Mallika Singh. They have worked together in several plays.

Career

Web Series & Film

He made his debut as an actor with the television film ‘Sunsilk Real FM’ (2014), which was released on MTV India. He played the role of Jawahar in the film.

In 2015, he appeared alongside Sudev Nair in the Hindi web series ‘Not Fit.’ The series was streamed on the YouTube channel Dice Media and the OTT platform TVF Play. He played the role of Khalifa in the Hindi film ‘Sonchiriya’ (2019), starring Sushant Singh Rajput.

In 2020, he appeared in the BBC television drama miniseries ‘A Suitable Boy,’ in which played the role of Pran Kapoor. In 2023, he appeared in a lead role for the first time in the biographical web series ‘Scam 2003: The Telgi Story,’ which premiered on Sony LIV. In the series, he portrayed the convicted Indian counterfeiter Abdul Karim Telgi.

Theatrical Production 

In 2014, Gagan Dev Riar directed the play ‘James Aur Ek Giant Peach,’ based on Ronald Dahl’s novel ‘James and the Giant Peach.’ He composed the music and wrote lyrics for the play ‘Ek Punjab Ye Bhi’ in 2015. He also acted in the play. He worked as an actor and musician for the theatre play ‘Dhat Pagli’ in 2016.

In the same year, he acted in the play ‘Bade Miyan Deewaane,’ based on the Urdu novel ‘Budhbhas,’ written by Shaukat Thanvi.

In 2017, he performed in a lead role opposite Manjiri Pupala in the play ‘Renovation.’ He has performed alongside Mantra in the play ‘Piya Behrupiya,’ which was an adaptation of the play ‘Twelfth Night,’ written by Shakespeare.

He has also performed in the musical version of ‘Monsoon Wedding,’ by Mira Nair. He has acted in numerous plays including ‘Ishq Aaha,’ ‘Phir Se Shadi,’ ‘Parey,’ and ‘Stories in a Song.’

Facts/Trivia

• He pursues singing as his hobby.

• He wanted to become an actor since childhood. He started acting in theatrical production at the age of 16.

• He took formal training in acting at Ashok Kumars Academy Of Dramatic Arts in Chembur, Mumbai under a summer programme of two months.

• He was associated with Om Katare’s theatre group ‘Yatri’ for almost nine years.

• In an interview, he revealed that he was selected for the role of Sitaraman in the web series ‘Scam 1992:- The Harshad Mehta Story’ (2020), but due to some date issue, he couldn’t take up the role. While talking about it in the interview, he said,
  

  If not for date issues, I would have been part of the first choice for the character of Sitaraman, the SBI manager who was at the centre of the whole securities scam, which was later exceptionally played by Jamini Pathak.”

• Gagan Dev gained almost 20 kg body weight to play the role of Abdul Karim Telgi in the web series ‘Scam 2003: The Telgi Story.’

• He has worked with various actors such as Kunal Kapoor, Shishir Sharma, and Mantra.