Rajkumar Rao is an Indian film actor popular in Bollywood films. He made his acting debut in Bollywood in 2010 with the film LSD but shot to fame with his role in the movie 'Kai Po Che!'. Later on he grabbed the opportunities in movies like Ragini MMS, Queen, City Lights and many more. He was last seen in the movie Aligarh alongwith Manoj Bajpayee. He was born on 31 August 1984 in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. He has completed his schooling in Gurgaon and graduated in Arts from Delhi University. He was simultaneously doing theatre with Kshitij Repertory and Shri Ram Centre (SRC) in Delhi. He has graduated from Pune's Film and Television Institute of India in acting discipline. He is a very ambitious actor. Before entering into bollywood, he was a good theatre artist.

In 2013, Rao played the role of Govind in the film Kai Po Che!, Abhishek Kapoor's adaptation of Chetan Bhagat's novel The 3 Mistakes of My Life. The movie was a commercial and critical success, and earned praise for the lead performances. Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV remarked, "No praise would be enough for Raj Kumar Rao. Delivering a measured performance as the self-effacing man lost in "the magic of numbers" he is a consummate scene-stealer." He followed Kai Po Che! with a leading role in the biopic Shahid, based on the life of the slain lawyer and human rights activist Shahid Azmi. It earned praise from the critics with Anupama Chopra writing: "Shahid is Raj Kumar's triumph. His Shahid has strength, anguish and a controlled anger, but also real charm. His smile lights up the frame. See Shahid for him." The role earned him a National Film Award for Best Actor and a Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor.