Rahul Khanna is an Indian actor, Video Jockey, and writer. He predominantly works in Bollywood. He is the son of politician and actor Vinod Khanna and elder brother of Bollywood actor Akshaye Khanna.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Rahul Khanna was born on Tuesday, 20 June 1972 (age 51 years; as of 2023) in Mumbai. His zodiac sign is Gemini. He pursued his schooling at the Bombay International School in Mumbai. He completed his graduation at St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai. Later, he studied fine arts and acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute and the School of Visual Arts in New York City.
Rahul Khanna’s childhood picture with his father
Rahul Khanna’s childhood picture
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 8″
Weight (approx.): 75 kg
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Dark Brown
Body Measurements (approx.): Chest: 41 inches; waist: 32 inches; Biceps: 13 inches
Family
Rahul Khanna belongs to a Khatri family.
Parents & Siblings
Rahul Khanna’s father, Vinod Khanna, was an Indian actor and politician, and his mother, Geetanjali Khanna, was a model. He has a younger brother, Akshaye Khanna, who is a famous Bollywood actor. His father passed away on 27 April 2017 due to cancer and his mother passed away on 15 December 2018 due to unknown reasons. [1]Jansatta
Rahul Khanna with his father, Vinod Khanna
Rahul Khanna’s childhood picture with his family
Rahul Khanna with his brother Akshaye Khanna
Rahul Khanna has a stepbrother, Sakshi Khanna, and a stepsister, Shraddha Khanna, an actor, from his father’s second marriage to Kavita Khanna.
Sakshi Khanna (left), Kavita Khanna (centre), and Shraddha Khanna (right)
WifeÂ
Rahul Khanna is unmarried.
Religion/Religious Views
Rahul Khanna follows Hinduism. In an interview, Rahul talked about his perspective on the existence of god and said,
I believe in God but not in a religious sense. I think of him more as a universal life force that governs us all. When I pray I pray to , “whomsoever it may concern.” [2]Hindustan Times
Career
Television
Rahul Khanna made his television debut with MTV Asia, a youth entertainment TV channel, for which he served as a Video Jockey for four years, from 1994 to 1998. In 1999, Rahul left MTV Asia and started hosting the Asian Variety Show for AVS TV Network in North America. He hosted ASV till 2001. In 2006, he started hosting Discovery Week for the Discovery Channel. Rahul has hosted many shows and events including the IIFA Awards, the Miss India pageant, the Screen Awards, the Stardust (magazine) Awards, the Miss India Worldwide pageant, Naomi Campbell’s Fashion for Relief show at Mumbai Fashion Week, the GQ (India) Men of the Year Awards in 2009 and 2010, Teacher’s Achievement Awards 2008 & 2010, and The International Film Festival of India in 2011.
In 2015, Rahul Khanna appeared in the American television series The Americans. In The Americans (2013), he played the role of Yousaf Rana, an officer in the Pakistan ISI Covert Action division.
Rahul Khanna (right) on the sets of The Americans (2013)
Films
After leaving MTV in 1998, he made his film debut with Deepa Mehta’s film 1947 Earth (1999) starring Aamir Khan. He has appeared in many films including Bollywood/Hollywood (2003), Fireflies (2014), Lost (2023), and Wake Up Sid (2009).
Rahul Khanna in a still from the Bollywood film Wake Up Sid (2009)
Web series
In 2019, Rahul Khanna appeared in Leila, a Netflix original dystopian drama web series, directed by Deepa Mehta. In 2022, Rahul appeared in Lost (2022), a drama thriller Indian film, on ZEE5.
Rahul Khanna in a still from the web series Lost (2022)
Advertisements
Rahul Khanna has appeared in advertisements for many brands including Toyota, Lay’s Chips, Pepsi, DTC (Diamond Trading Company/ De Beers group), Trent (Westside), and Tommy Hilfiger.
Writing
Rahul writes blogs for his own website. His essays and articles have been published in many reputed magazines and newspapers including Harper’s Bazaar India, Vogue India, Cosmopolitan (magazine) India, Elle (India), GQ India, Marie Claire India, The Times of India, and Deccan Herald. [3]Rahul Khanna
Rahul Khanna for the cover of The Leela Magazine in 2019
Awards
- In 2000, he won the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut for the film 1947 Earth (1999).
- In 2015, Rahul won the Actor of the Year award at the Anokhi Awards at The Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto, Canada.
Rahul Khanna at the Anokhi Awards
Favourites
- Food:Â Â Frittata, Smoked Salmon
- Fashion personality: Cary Grant
- Travel Destination(s): Goa, Alibaug, Singapore
- Brand(s): Dior, Gucci, Kiehl’s
- Designer(s): Rajesh Pratap Singh, Tom Ford
- Film(s): As Good as It Gets (2010), Cinema Paradiso (1988)
- Song: A Whiter Shade of Pale by Annie Lennox
- Actor: Jack Nicholson
- Cuisine: Japanese
- Beverage: Black Coffee, Red Wine, Dirty Martini
- Show(s): F.R.I.E.N.D.S (1994), Two and a Half Men (2003), Everybody Loves Raymond (1996), Frasier (1993)
Facts/Trivia
- In 2010, Rahul Khanna joined hands with PETA for their Dishoom movement and supported their cause for saving elephants. In an interview, while talking about saving elephants, Rahul said,
Zoos cannot provide for the complex needs of the animals whom they hold captive, These majestic animals belong in the wild, but instead, they are locked up like criminals â even though theyâve committed no crime. A more respectful way to observe these animals is through the fascinating wildlife programmes available to everyone on TV.” [4]PETA India
Rahul Khanna’s shoot for the Dishoom movement of PETA in support of elephants
- Rahul Khanna’s hobbies include surfing, box collecting, and reading.
- On 23 February 2014, Rahul Khanna posted a picture on his Instagram account, announcing that he suffered from Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). In the picture, there is a plate of gummy bears arranged in a colour-coordinated manner from lightest to darkest shade.
Rahul Khannaâs Instagram post about OCD
- Rahul is a dog lover. He often posts pictures of himself with his dog on Instagram. He has adopted a street dog and named him Zukie, and through his Instagram posts, he urges other people to adopt and not shop.
Rahul Khanna with his dog Zukie
- Rahul Khanna enjoys a massive fan following with more than 200 thousand followers on Instagram.
- In 2022, Rahul Khanna curated his own fashion line of menâs accessories collection for Chokore, a premium fashion accessories brand, named RKXC.
Rahul Khanna for a photo shoot for his fashion line
In an interview, talking about the inspiration behind the fashion line, Rahul said,
The inspiration for RKXC was my own accessories collection! And my experiences sourcing items for it. I believe every personâs closet should contain a few staples that never go out of style, will last a lifetime, and be of a quality that could, realistically, be passed down to the next generation. However, when I wanted to add a particular new item, I discovered that it was easy to find flashy accessories that were embellished or patternedâbut that wasnât the case when it came to classic, high-calibre, foundational pieces. So, I set about assembling, what I consider to be, the foundation blocks on which a modern Indian person can build a world-class accessories collection.” [5]Runway Square
- Rahul Khanna describes himself as a “Boutique Bollywood Actor,â and, in an interview, when asked about the reason behind it, he said,I live part of the year in India and the rest in the US. I have done that throughout my life. Whenever anyone in the US gets to know I am an actor â and because how huge the industry is out here â they naturally conclude that I am very prolific and work on five films at a time. And I have to explain to them that I actually donât do so much work. As a result, everyone started throwing around this word âboutiqueâ because thatâs the term they use for an investment agency or hotel thatâs slightly more contained and Niche.” [6]The Telegraph
References
| ↑1 | Jansatta |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | Hindustan Times |
| ↑3 | Rahul Khanna |
| ↑4 | PETA India |
| ↑5 | Runway Square |
| ↑6 | The Telegraph |
