Rahul Bose (born 27 July 1967) is an Indian actor, director, social activist and former rugby player. He became the face of India’s English-language and independent cinema in the 1990s and 2000s with films such as English, August, Mr. and Mrs. Iyer and Chameli. He played rugby for India for more than a decade and has been president of the Indian Rugby Football Union since 2021.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Rahul Bose |
| Born | 27 July 1967, Bangalore (now Bengaluru), India |
| Age | 59 |
| Occupation | Actor, director, activist |
| Education | Cathedral and John Connon School, Mumbai; Sydenham College, Mumbai |
| Sport | Rugby union (India, 1998–2009) |
| Years active | 1988–present |
| Known for | English, August, Mr. and Mrs. Iyer, Chameli, Shaurya |
Early Life
Bose was born to a Bengali father, Rupen Bose, and a Punjabi-Maharashtrian mother, Kumud, and grew up in Mumbai. At school he acted in plays and was good at boxing, rugby and cricket. His mother died when he was twenty. He began his working life as a copywriter in advertising.
Career
His first lead role was in Dev Benegal’s English, August (1994), an English-language comedy about a young civil servant posted to a small town, which was the first Indian film bought by 20th Century Fox. He played a wildlife photographer in Aparna Sen’s Mr. and Mrs. Iyer (2002), a banker who shelters a sex worker, played by Kareena Kapoor Khan, in Chameli (2004), and an army lawyer in Shaurya (2008). Other films include Split Wide Open, Jhankaar Beats, Pyaar Ke Side Effects, 15 Park Avenue, the Bengali films Anuranan and Antaheen, Dil Dhadakne Do (2015) and Bulbbul (2020). Time magazine once called him “the superstar of Indian arthouse cinema”.
He directed Everybody Says I’m Fine! (2001) and Poorna (2017), the true story of Malavath Poorna, a tribal girl from Telangana who climbed Mount Everest at thirteen.
Bose was a member of the first Indian national rugby team, which played in the Asian championship in 1998, and he continued as a scrum-half and winger until 2009.
Social Work
After the 2004 tsunami he worked on relief in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which led him to start The Foundation, an organisation that funds the education of children from those islands and works against discrimination. He has been an ambassador for Oxfam and other charities.
Personal Life
Bose is unmarried and lives in Mumbai.
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was Rahul Bose born?
Rahul Bose was born on 27 July 1967 in Bangalore (now Bengaluru), India and is 59 years old.
What is Rahul Bose known for?
Known for: English, August, Mr. and Mrs. Iyer, Chameli, Shaurya.
Featured image: Rahul Bose at the Jaipur Literature Festival, 2025. Photo by Sriya Sarkar, licensed under CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
