Actor · Telugu cinema
Ashutosh Rana
Ashutosh Rana movies: 15 Telugu films on file, 2004–2019. Earliest on file: Venky (2004). Latest release: Ranarangam (15 August 2019).
- Films on file
- 15 (15 as actor)
- Years on file
- 2004–2019
- Born
- 10 November 1967 · November birthdays (Wikidata)
- Selected films on file
- Thadaka, Balupu, Ranarangam
- Record
- Q3595110 on Wikidata
Ashutosh Rana (born Ashutosh Ramnarayan Neekhra, 10 November 1967) is an Indian actor, poet, television presenter, author and singer. He works mainly in Hindi films and has also acted in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada cinema. Best known for villainous roles, he has won two Filmfare Awards and a Filmfare OTT Award. In Telugu, his role in Tadakha earned him a SIIMA nomination for Best Actor in a Negative Role.
Early life
Rana was born in Gadarwara, Madhya Pradesh, and spent part of his childhood in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. He graduated from Dr. Hari Singh Gaur University in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh. The politician Rameshwar Neekhra is his cousin, and he is married to the actress Renuka Shahane.
Television
Rana’s early work was on television, beginning with the serial Swabhimaan and followed by Farz, Sazish, Jax Kabhi and Waris. He hosted the show Baazi Kiski and the reality series Sarkaar Ki Duniya, filmed on Mango Island near Karwar in Karnataka. In 2010 he played the villain Thakral in the Star Plus serial Kaali – Ek Agnipariksha.
Films and villain roles
His breakthrough in cinema came with Dushman, in which he played a cold-blooded psychopathic killer. The role won him the Filmfare Award, Screen Award and Zee Cine Award for best performance in a negative role, and he repeated the Filmfare and Zee Cine wins for Sangharsh. Most of his film career since has been in negative and supporting parts, across Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films. His Telugu work includes Tadakha, for which he was nominated for the SIIMA Award for Best Actor in a Negative Role (Telugu).
Away from villainy, in 2021 he won the Filmfare OTT Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Web Original Film for playing a grieving father in Pagglait.
Theatre
Rana returned to the stage in 2024 with Humare Ram, produced by Rahul Bhuchar under the Felicity Theatre banner and directed by Gaurav Bhardwaj. The play has run for over 450 shows, including a performance at the Dubai Opera, and an international tour including the Eventim Apollo in London was scheduled for 2026.
Writing
Rana is also an author and philanthropist. His books include Maun Muskaan Ki Maar (2019) and Ramrajya (2024).
Career on file
Ashutosh Rana appears in 15 Telugu films on file at Tollywood Desk, dated from 2004 to 2019. The earliest of them is Venky (2004), and the most recent release is Ranarangam (2019). The most widely covered of these, counted by Wikipedia language editions, are Thadaka (2013), Balupu (2013) and Ranarangam (2019). Other recent releases on file are Kalki (2019), Viswamitra (2019) and Saakshyam (2018).
Brahmanandam is the most frequent co-star, sharing seven films with Ashutosh Rana, followed by Kajal Aggarwal (2) and Prakash Raj (2). Music on two of them is by S. Thaman. Across these films the credits on file name 15 different directors, 16 music directors and 54 other credited actors.
Runtime is on file for 15 of them; they average 150 minutes, and the longest is Okka Magaadu at 178 minutes. Two of them have a streaming (OTT) release noted on the site. By decade the list splits into 2000s (4) and 2010s (11). 2019 is the busiest single year, with three films.
Figures come from the films on file at Tollywood Desk and change as records are added.