Raaghav Chanana
Raaghav was studying Economics at LSE when he realized that acting was his true calling. And he was reassured when the universe conspired to have him cast in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, directed by Stephen Beresford, and performed for 10 weeks in the heart of London's West End. He also played the lead role of Rahim, the quintessential singing-dancing hero in a Bollywood style musical, Yeh Hai Mumbai Meri Jaan (This Is Mumbai, My Dear), directed by Sanjoy Roy, and which toured across the UK, performed at the Belfast Festival at Queen's, Ireland, and at the Esplanade Festival in Singapore.
He donned the director's hat with Patrick Marber's Closer, and then proceeded to form his own theatre company, Fly On The Wall, under which he produced &/ directed avant-garde theatre. Alongside, he has continued working as an actor with theatre directors like Roysten Abel, Sunil Shanbag, Atul Kumar and Rehaan Engineer. Currently, he is performing as the NRI American groom in Girish Karnad's widely performed Wedding Album, directed by Lilette Dubey.
From theatre, Raaghav went on to star as the romantic lead in a telefilm produced by Shahrukh Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment, when he was picked as a winner in a nationwide acting contest held by MTV. Having hosted travel shows and also worked in music videos & commercials with reputed directors, Raaghav graduated to film with his English feature debut as part of the lead ensemble in Lessons in Forgetting. The film went on to bag the National Award for Best English Film.
Following the critical success of his debut, Raaghav bagged the pivotal series regular role of Prithvi Singhania in the Indian version of the multi award winning American TV series, 24, which has marked a paradigm shift in Indian television. He recently collectively received the Golden Petal Award for Best Ensemble Cast on Indian Television for 24, and his layered performance in it has been widely acclaimed.