Actor · Telugu cinema
Rahul Dev
Rahul Dev movies: 31 Telugu films on file, 2001–2025. Earliest on file: Akasa Veedhilo (2001). Latest release: Jack (10 April 2025).
- Films on file
- 31 (31 as actor)
- Years on file
- 2001–2025
- Born
- 27 September 1968 · September birthdays (Wikidata)
- Record
- Q7283589 on Wikidata
Rahul Dev (born Rahul Dev Kaushal, 27 September 1968) is an Indian actor and former model who has worked in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali and Odia films, frequently in villainous roles. One of the leading Indian male models of the 1990s, he made his screen debut in Champion (2000), which brought him a Filmfare nomination for Best Villain. He was also a contestant on the tenth season of Bigg Boss in Hindi.
Early life
Rahul Dev was born in New Delhi. His father, Hari Dev, was an Assistant Commissioner of Police who introduced his sons to Afghan culture and spoke Pashto and Persian. His younger brother, Mukul Dev, also became an actor, and he has a sister, Rashmi. He studied at St. Columba’s School in Delhi.
Cricket and engineering
As a young man he wanted to be a cricketer and represented Delhi at under-19 level, coached by Gurcharan Singh. He went on to study engineering instead, and in 1993, in his final year of college, he was spotted by the fashion designer Rohit Khosla, who encouraged him to try modelling.
Modelling and business
Dev began modelling professionally in 1994 and became one of the country’s top male models in a decade regarded as the best for Indian male models. Moving between Delhi and Mumbai, where he settled in 1996, he appeared in advertisements for brands such as Tata and Raymond and in lifestyle and entertainment magazines. The same year he started modelling he founded his own company, Rap Overseas, which produces and exports leather garments. He retired from modelling in 2002 to concentrate on acting.
Acting career
His debut in Champion (2000), in a villain’s role, earned him a nomination for the Filmfare Best Villain Award in 2001. He built a career across several language industries, including Telugu and Tamil cinema. In Malayalam he played the assassin Sheik Imran in Amal Neerad’s Sagar Alias Jacky Reloaded (2009), and he later appeared in Sringaravelan. He played a villain in the Punjabi film Dharti (2011) and appeared in the Bhojpuri film Dulhan Chahi Pakistan Se 2 (2018).
His television debut came in December 2013, when he played the demon Arunasur in the mythological series Devon Ke Dev…Mahadev. On Bigg Boss season 10 he lasted until day 63.
Personal life
Dev has a son, Siddhant, and has spoken publicly about raising him as a single father. As of 2020 he was in a relationship with the model and actress Mugdha Godse.
Career on file
Rahul Dev appears in 31 Telugu films on file at Tollywood Desk, dated from 2001 to 2025. The earliest of them is Akasa Veedhilo (2001), and the most recent release is Jack (2025). Measured by how many Wikipedia language editions cover them, the best-known titles here are Yevadu (2014), Simhadri (2003) and Munna (2007). Other recent releases on file are Inttelligent (2018), Okka Ammayi Thappa (2016) and Loukyam (2014).
Brahmanandam is the most frequent co-star, sharing 14 films with Rahul Dev, followed by Kajal Aggarwal (4) and N. T. Rama Rao Jr. (4). Music on seven of them is by Mani Sharma, with Devi Sri Prasad (6) and M. M. Keeravani (5) next. Across these films the credits on file name 27 different directors, 14 music directors and 82 other credited actors.
Runtime is on file for 24 of them; they average 156 minutes, and the longest is Seetayya at 179 minutes. Nine of them have a streaming (OTT) release noted on the site. By decade the list splits into 2000s (17), 2010s (13) and 2020s (1).
Figures come from the films on file at Tollywood Desk and change as records are added.