Rahul Bhat

Rahul Bhat Biography

Rahul Bhat is an Indian actor who works mainly in Hindi cinema. He was born on 7 December 1977 in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, into a Kashmiri Pandit family, and began his career as a fashion model, taking part in the 1998 Graviera Mr India contest, where he won the Mr Photogenic award. Advertisements and music videos followed before he became widely known as Sameer in the Sony Entertainment Television soap Heena, which ran from 1998 to 2003.

His first film role came in Yeh Mohabbat Hai (2002), followed by Nayee Padosan (2003). Dissatisfied with the parts he was offered, Bhat stepped away from acting and set up the production company Filmtonic Entertainment, producing television serials including Meri Doli Tere Angana (2007–2008) and Tum Dena Saath Mera (2009). He returned to acting in Anurag Kashyap’s Ugly (2013), which premiered in the Directors’ Fortnight section at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival and drew strong reviews for his performance.

Bhat has since worked with Kashyap again on Dobaaraa (2022) and Kennedy (2023), which premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival and reached Indian streaming on ZEE5 on 20 February 2026. In 2025 he played DSP Rajesh Tomar in the Netflix series Black Warrant, a performance that won him Best Supporting Actor – Drama Series (OTT) at the 25th ITA Awards. His first English-language project, Lost & Found in Kumbh, was introduced with a first-look presentation at the Cannes Film Market in May 2025.

Basic Details

• Full name: Rahul Bhat
• Profession: Actor, television producer
• Date of birth: 7 December 1977
• Birthplace: Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India
• Nationality: Indian
• Years active: 1997 – present
• Known for: Ugly, Section 375, Kennedy, Black Warrant

Career Highlights