Saurabh Shukla

Biography

Saurabh Shukla (born 5 March 1963) is a National Award-winning Indian actor, screenwriter, and film director who works in Hindi and a few Tamil and Telugu films.

He is famous for his roles in Satya (1998), Nayak: The Real Hero (2001), Yuva (2004), Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006), Barfi! (2012), Jolly LLB (2013), Kick (2014), PK (2014), Jolly LLB 2 (2017), and Raid (2018). He has also worked on a short documentary with Ruth Agnihotri and Rachael Agnihotri in Goa.

In 2014, he won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Jolly LLB.

Born to Jogamaya Shukla, who was the first female tabla player of India, and Shatrughan Shukla, a vocalist from Agra Gharana, Shukla's family left Gorakhpur for Delhi when he was two years old.

He completed his schooling and did graduation from S.G.T.B. Khalsa College, Delhi. His professional career began in 1984 with his entry into the theatre.

Shukla began serious theatre in 1986 with roles in plays like A View From The Bridge (Arthur Miller), Look Back in Anger (John Osborne), Ghashiram Kotwal (Vijay Tendulkar), and Hayvadan.

In 1991, he joined the NSD Repertoire Company – the professional wing of the National School of Drama – as an actor. The next year he got his first break when Shekhar Kapur, impressed with his work, created a role for him in Bandit Queen.

Shukla also played the role of Vijay Anand's sidekick Gopi in the 1994 Doordarshan crime drama Tehkikaat. The series was directed by Karan Razdan, but Kapur directed the first episode. He also wrote and acted in Zee TV's 9 Malabar Hill.

He also appeared in a recurring albeit short role of Aamir's Jason (chieftain's spy) in the 1990s Doordarshan TV serial Mulla Nasiruddin, which had Raghubir Yadav in the lead role. The series was based on the folklore of Mulla Nasiruddin.

Shukla is also a part of a comic theater play 2 to Tango, 3 to Jive.