1998–2007: Television debut and success He started working with a
Delhi based production house and also modelled for brands like LML, Green Label Whiskey,
Videocon and many more. He began his television career with a negative role in the show
Kya Hadsaa Kya Haqeeqat (2002). In 2002 he was offered
Balaji Telefilms'
Kahiin To Hoga, a romantic drama. He portrayed the character of Sujal Garewal who is 6 feet tall, dark handsome and rich, a Mills & Boonish hero and a scorned lover. For portraying Sujal Garewal, he became a recipient of many awards and accolades for Best Debut and Best Actor. In 2006, he entered
C.I.D as ACP Prithviraj and also acted as Sharim in the
Pakistani show,
Sun Leyna. His portrayal of this character received appreciation from audiences as well as critics. He was cast as Dr. Aamir Ali, who returns to
India from
England and becomes the reluctant pawn of a terrorist group.
CNN-IBN's
Rajeev Masand added, "Uninhibited, spontaneous and blessed with unmistakable presence, Khandelwal holds the screen like a seasoned artist. Using his face as a canvas to display emotions, he emerges as the biggest strength of this little film." The film grossed domestically. For his work in the film, he received the nomination of
Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut. In 2011, Khandelwal had two film releases. His first appearance was in the
Bejoy Nambiar's thriller film
Shaitan (2012) co-starring
Kalki Koechlin. Khandelwal was next seen in Sanjiv Goenka's
Soundtrack opposite
Soha Ali Khan. He played the role of DJ, Raunak [Rajeev Khandelwal], who gets addicted to drugs and alcohol and loses his hearing ability. His career nosedives, but his love for music helps him resurrect himself. Subhash K. Jha of
NDTV reviewed "his performance is so accomplished that he proves, not for the first time, that he's among the most engaging actors today. For the money, time and attention, he is the true rock star."
Taran Adarsh added "Playing an emotionally unstable character is always taxing and an edgy journey for any actor, but Rajeev emerges triumphant with a bravura performance." Khandelwal next played alongside
Shreyas Talpade and
Mugdha Godse in the romantic comedy,
Will You Marry Me? (2012). However the film did not receive very good reviews.
Taran Adarsh praised Khandelwal as:"Rajeev Khandelwal handles his part with gusto." The film grossed domestically. His next release was the psychological mystery thriller,
Table No. 21 (2013) with
Paresh Rawal and
Tena Desae where he played the role of Vivaan Agasthi.
Zee News reviewed his performance as "In this film, Rajeev has proven, yet again, the limit to which his acting skills reach, which – no doubts about that – is the sky." The film grossed domestically. He next featured in the romantic comedy film
Ishk Actually (2013) opposite
Neha Ahuja. He portrayed the character of Neil, who falls passionately for a girl named Gia. Many reviewers questioned Khandelwal about the reason for signing the film and called it "Boredom".
The Times Of India cited of his performance:"Rajeev Khandelwal makes his presence felt, while the rest are mediocre. The film grossed domestically. Khandelwal next acted in the adventure film,
Peter Gaya Kaam Se alongside
Lekha Washington and
Prashant Narayanan. The film's release is on hold. Khandelwal plays the character of Peter Rodrigues in the film.
Rajshri Productions' drama thriller
Samrat & Co. opposite
Madalasa Sharma was Khandelwal's next release. He played the role of Samrat Tilakdhari, a detective who is approached by a lady with a strange case.
CNN-IBN criticised the film as:"Why so many good actors like Rajeev Khandelwal, Girish Karnad, Smita Jaykar and Indranil Sengupta agreed to do this film is the one mystery we were unable to solve." Faheem Ruhani of
India Today reviewed:"After watching this film you miss the Rajeev Khandelwal who debuted in the brilliantly made
Aamir (2008). Better to watch the more thrilling CID on TV than suffer Samrat and his company. The film grossed domestically.
2015–present: Comeback on television and recent work In 2015, Khandelwal appeared in the Indo-Australian film
Salt Bridge where he played the role of Basant, an Indian migrant who arrives in Australia and meets an Australian woman. The film was in a competition for
Oscar and has received appreciation from critics. In February 2015, Khandelwal made a comeback to television after seven years with Shrishti Arya and
Goldie Behl's media drama based finite television show,
Reporters opposite
Kritika Kamra. He played the role of Kabir Sharma, the Editor-in-Chief of KKN with a horrid past who falls passionately for a junior reporter, Ananya Kashyap. The show received good reviews and ended on 19 October 2015. He has also worked in Rajeev Jhaveri's directorial
Fever. Khandelwal will be soon seen in
Remo D'Souza's
DOA Death of Amar co-starring
Zarine Khan. This was his first experience working on a
public sector project. Rajeev khandelwal was the host of zee TV's Juzz baatt which aired on television in 2018 and had 26 episodes. ==Other work==