Early work (2010–2012) After graduating from the FTII in 2008, Rao spent the next year visiting studios and meeting casting directors. Upon reading a newspaper advertisement that mentioned
Dibakar Banerjee was looking for newcomers for his found footage anthology film
Love Sex Aur Dhokha (2010), he auditioned for the film and was selected. The film consists of three stories; Rao appears in the second story opposite
Neha Chauhan. He played Adarsh, a supermarket supervisor who cons an employee into sleeping with him so he can record the act on a hidden camera and sell it. The film and Rao's performance met with critical acclaim. It also emerged as a profitable box-office venture.
in 2011After the success of his debut film, producer Ekta Kapoor offered Rao the lead role in the found-footage horror film Ragini MMS'' (2011). Initially reluctant to accept the role due to its similarity to his previous work, he eventually agreed at the insistence of casting director Atul Mongia. His next release was
Bejoy Nambiar's crime thriller
Shaitan (2011), in which he played a corrupt police officer.
Raja Sen, who was critical of the film, praised Rao's performance, describing him as "reliably terrific". Impressed by Rao's performance in
Love Sex Aur Dhokha,
Anurag Kashyap cast him in
Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 2 (2012), the sequel to his crime drama
Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1. His subsequent role was that of independence activist
Lokenath Bal in
Bedabrata Pain's historical drama
Chittagong (2012), which was based on the
Chittagong armoury raid. His final release of the year was in a supporting role in
Reema Kagti's thriller
Talaash: The Answer Lies Within, where he played a cop. The film, starring
Aamir Khan and
Rani Mukerji, had worldwide earnings of over ₹1.74 billion (US$24 million) to emerge as the
year's eighth highest-grossing Hindi film—Rao's highest-grosser to that point.
Rajeev Masand was appreciative of Rao's performance despite his short appearance. Rao followed this with the
Hansal Mehta-directed biographical drama
Shahid, where he plays the title role of late lawyer
Shahid Azmi. To prepare for the role, Rao met with Azmi's family to accurately emulate his personality. He also studied the
Quran and attended court proceedings to better understand the behaviours of lawyers whilst in court. Rao expressed that he was "emotionally drained" as the character was challenging and complex.
Anupama Chopra called the film Rao's "triumph"; "His
Shahid has strength, anguish and a controlled anger, but also real charm". The film was also a major box-office success; Rao received the
National Film Award for Best Actor and his first
Filmfare Award for Best Actor (Critics).
Breakthrough (2013–2016) Abhishek Kapoor's social drama film
Kai Po Che! was Rao's first venture in 2013, a role he believed showcased a different facet of his acting abilities. Co-starring
Sushant Singh Rajput and
Amit Sadh, the film is based on
Chetan Bhagat's 2008 novel
The 3 Mistakes of My Life. The film received widespread critical acclaim, with particular praise towards the lead performances. Shilpa Jamkhandikar of
Deccan Herald felt that Rao stood out and played off the role "beautifully". He received his first nomination for the
Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. Rao has since credited the success of both
Shahid and
Kai Po Che! with giving him access to a wider variety of roles. in 2014 The same year, he acted in a short film titled
Bombay Mirror directed by
Shlok Sharma along with
Vijay Maurya. He then collaborated with Mehta on his drama film
CityLights (2014). Co-starring his wife
Patralekha, the film tells the story of a poor farm family from
Rajasthan that comes to Mumbai in search of a livelihood. To prepare for the role, Rao lived in the small town of Sadri in the Pali district of Rajasthan for a month, grew a moustache and became well-versed with the dialect. It proved to be a moderate financial success. He then played a brief supporting role as a manipulative fiancé in
Kangana Ranaut's comedy-drama
Queen. The film had its world premiere at the
Busan International Film Festival and was a critical and commercial success, grossing ₹970 million (US$14 million) worldwide.
Saibal Chatterjee of
NDTV noted that Rao "brings remarkable restraint to bear upon his interpretation of the disgustingly conservative city slicker who cannot see beyond his nose". In 2015, Rao appeared in a supporting role in the romantic comedy
Dolly Ki Doli, co-starring
Sonam K Ahuja,
Pulkit Samrat and
Varun Sharma. It met with mixed reviews and emerged as a modest commercial success at the box-office. He followed this the
Mohit Suri-directed romantic drama
Hamari Adhuri Kahani (2015), in which he played an abusive husband who leaves his wife (played by
Vidya Balan). He then reunited with Mehta once again in his biographical drama
Aligarh. Based on the life of Professor
Ramchandra Siras (played by
Manoj Bajpayee), Rao portrayed a journalist who attempts to uncover a story.
Aligarh met with critical acclaim upon its release, with particular praise for Bajpayee and Rao's performances.
Sukanya Verma called Rao "pitch-perfect" in his role of "inquisitive journalist". Rao received his second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. Rao collaborated with
Vikramaditya Motwane for his survival drama
Trapped (2016). It tells the story of a man trapped in his apartment without food, water and electricity for days. Rao found the role to be one of his most challenging to date. In preparation for the film, he had to lose weight and—to maintain it—remained on a carrot and coffee diet throughout the course of filming. Despite being a
vegan, Rao ate meat in some scenes for the first time in his life, as Motwane insisted on realism.
Trapped premiere at the 2016
Mumbai Film Festival and was released theatrically the following year to positive reviews from critics. Subhash K. Jha wrote that Rao "immerses himself in the judiciously assembled plot with such radiant authenticity that after a while we cease to watch the skill that underlines the outstanding performance". He earned his second Filmfare Award for Best Actor (Critics).
Commercial success (2017–2018) Rao's first release in 2017 was the romantic comedy
Behen Hogi Teri with
Shruti Haasan; it met with an unfavourable critical response though critics praised Rao's performance. He followed this with another romantic comedy titled
Bareilly Ki Barfi, directed by
Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari and co-starring
Kriti Sanon and
Ayushmann Khurrana. The film and Rao's performance met with widespread critical acclaim.
Namrata Joshi wrote: "Rao is a hoot and brings the house down with his chameleon turn and comic timing [the] a role that could have become a caricature in the hands of a lesser actor". The film was a commercial success and Rao won his first Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. Rao also made a cameo appearance in
Dinesh Vijan's
Raabta in which he had to apply prosthetics for multiple hours daily during shooting to appear as a 324-year-old man. in 2017A significant turning point in Rao's career came in
Amit V. Masurkar's black comedy
Newton in which he plays an upright government clerk sent on election duty to a
Naxal-controlled town. Rao asked Masurkar if he could curl his hair and blink his eyes frequently during filming to make the character more distinct, and Masurkar agreed. The film premiered at the
67th Berlin International Film Festival and was met with unanimous critical acclaim, as did Rao's performance. Rajeev Masand commented, "It's hard to separate the actor from the character, and not many of our artistes can claim to possess that gift". The role earned him the
Asia Pacific Screen Award for Best Actor and his third nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor (Critics). His final theatrical release of the year was
Shaadi Mein Zaroor Aana with
Kriti Kharbanda, which met with mixed critical response. He also made his digital debut with
ALTBalaji's historical biographical web mini-series
Bose: Dead/Alive. Based on the 2012 book ''India's Biggest Cover-up
by Anuj Dhar, he portrays nationalist leader Subhash Chandra Bose. For the role, Rao gained and went half bald. Anvita Singh of India Today'' felt it was not Rao's best performance, but because of his skill as an actor he "does grab your attention". Rao reunited with Mehta for the biographical crime film
Omerta, where he portrays the role of terrorist
Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh. To prepare for the role, Rao watched several videos, documentaries and hate speeches by Sheikh to "gather a lot of hatred and anger" inside himself. He said he was "disturbed" while shooting the film because of the complexities of the character and described it as "easily the toughest character" he had played to this point. The film had its world premiere at the
2017 Toronto International Film Festival and was released in India in 2018. The film and Rao's performance met with critical acclaim, with Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV calling it a "pitch-perfect performance". He starred next in the musical comedy
Fanney Khan (2018) with
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Anil Kapoor. A remake of the 2000 Belgian film ''
Everybody's Famous!, the film was a critical and commercial failure. Stree'' (2018), the
Amar Kaushik-directed horror comedy was his next release. Based on the Bangalore urban legend known as
Nale Ba, the film also starred
Shraddha Kapoor. The film, and Rao's performance, met with positive critical feedback. Rachit Gupta of
The Times of India noted that Rao "handles the many shades of comedy, horror and romance with great ease". It also earned him his first nomination for the
Filmfare Award for Best Actor.
Stree was a major financial success. In the same year Rao appeared briefly in Tabrez Noorani's
Love Sonia which was about
sex trafficking. His final release of 2018 was
5 Weddings.
Commercial failure with continued acclaim (2019–2023) Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga, a film about a closeted lesbian, was Rao's first release of 2019. Co-starring Sonam K Ahuja,
Anil Kapoor and
Juhi Chawla, the film received mixed critical responses but was widely praised for its positive mainstream representation of
homosexuality. However, the film underperformed commercially. He then appeared alongside
Kangana Ranaut in the black comedy
Judgementall Hai Kya. His performance earned him his fourth nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor (Critics). His final acting venture of the year was
Mikhil Musale's comedy
Made in China, in which he played a Gujarati businessman tasked with marketing a Chinese aphrodisiac in India. Based on the novel by Parinda Joshi, the film received mixed reviews.
Anna M. M. Vetticad noted that while the film had its flaws, "the best thing about it are Rao and [Boman] Irani who are a pleasure to watch even in this middling affair". The film performed moderately at the box office. Rao's first release of 2020 was
Ramesh Sippy's romantic comedy
Shimla Mirchi, which had been delayed for several years. It received negative reviews and was a box office failure. He next appeared in the
Anurag Basu-directed anthology film
Ludo, featuring an ensemble cast including
Abhishek Bachchan,
Aditya Roy Kapur,
Sanya Malhotra,
Fatima Sana Shaikh and
Pankaj Tripathi. The film was released directly on
Netflix due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. Anupama Chopra highlighted him as one of the film's "standouts". The film earned him his second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor and his fifth nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actor (Critics). In the same year, he reunited with Mehta for the sports comedy
Chhalaang, portraying a
Haryanvi physical instructor opposite
Nushrratt Bharuccha. It premiered on
Amazon Prime Video. In 2021, Rao made his Hollywood debut with
Ramin Bahrani's
The White Tiger, which was based on the
eponymous novel by
Aravind Adiga. Co-starring
Priyanka Chopra and
Adarsh Gourav, it was released directly on to
Netflix and was met with critical acclaim. David Rooney from
The Hollywood Reporter noted that Rao "deftly balances a Western-schooled urge to tell himself he's a fair-minded man with the unmistakable air of privileged entitlement". He continued his collaborations with Maddock Productions for their horror-comedy
Roohi co-starring
Janhvi Kapoor. The film received mixed critical feedback and emerged as another box-office failure for Rao which was attributed to theatres being closed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. He next starred in
Abhishek Jain's family drama
Hum Do Hamare Do, in which he portrayed an orphan who deceives his fiancée (played by Sanon) by hiring people to pose as his parents. Initially slated for a theatrical release, the decision was later dropped due to the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in India. The film was panned by critics with
Saibal Chatterjee of
NDTV commending Rao on salvaging a "poorly-written protagonist". in 2022|leftIn 2022, Rao starred opposite
Bhumi Pednekar in
Harshavardhan Kulkarni's
Badhaai Do, in which they portrayed a couple in a
lavender marriage to prevent their parents from pressuring them into traditional marriages. He was drawn to the role of a gay police officer due to the unique challenge it offered and, to prepare, he underwent an extensive diet and exercise regimen to achieve the physical appearance Kulkarni envisioned for the character. The film, and Rao's performance, earned unanimous critical acclaim with
The Quint's Stutee Ghosh particularly taking note of "his vacant impassive expression that makes you realise how stifled he feels in a police uniform". His performance was featured in several publications' lists of the best Hindi cinema performances of the year. He also earned his first Best Actor award at Filmfare. Rao followed this with the thriller film
HIT: The First Case, a remake of the 2020 Telugu film of the
same name. Co-starring Sanya Malhotra, Rao, once again, portrayed a police officer who works in the Homicide Intervention Team (HIT). Critics generally considered the film inferior to the original but appreciated Rao's performance; Devesh Sharma of
Filmfare praised him for ensuring that a weak script did not hinder his performance and praised his chemistry with Malhotra. Both
Badhaai Do and
HIT: The First Case were commercial failures. After making a brief cameo appearance reprising his role from
Stree in
Bhediya, Rao starred alongside
Radhika Apte and
Huma Qureshi in
Vasan Bala's
Monica, O My Darling. Released directly on to Netflix, he expressed his indifference toward the film receiving commercial success and that his primary hope was for the film's content to be appreciated. Rao's performance was praised by Anna MM Vetticad of
Firstpost who took note of his ability to distinguish his roles as police officers without becoming monotonous.
Bheed—a social thriller in
black-and-white about the events that transpired during the
COVID-19 lockdown in India—was Rao's sole theatrical release of 2023. The film received positive critical acclaim; however, its box-office performance was limited due to its controversial political themes. Rao's consistent portrayal of "troubled police officers" earned praise from Deepa Gahlot of
Rediff.com. He followed this by portraying a mechanic who is the reluctant heir to his father's criminal empire in Netflix's
Guns & Gulaabs, reteaming with
Raj & DK after
Stree. Set against the backdrop of the 1990s in the fictitious town of Gulaabgani, Rao assists a police officer (played by
Dulquer Salmaan) in bringing down a high-profile
opium deal. Writing for
The Hindu, Shilajit Misra found Rao's portrayal of the character to be reminiscent of actor
Charlie Chaplain.
Commercial resurgence (2024-present) Rao had four releases in 2024 and began by portraying visually-impaired industrialist
Srikanth Bolla in his biopic
Srikanth. To authentically capture the mannerisms of the visually-impaired, Rao spent time at schools for the blind and engaged in conversations with the students. He also analysed videos of Bolla to accurately emulate his body language.
Srikanth ended Rao's series of commercial failures and earned positive critical reception. Reviewers for
Firstpost and
Scroll.in deemed his performance among the best in his career, earning him another Best Actor (Critics) award at Filmfare. In the unremarkable sports drama
Mr. & Mrs. Mahi, Rao portrayed a failed cricket player who vicariously fulfils his aspirations to pursue the sport through his wife (played by Janhvi Kapoor). In a negative review of the film, Shilajit Mitra wrote that he "effectively sells the frustration and peevishness of a dunce like Mahendra". The highest-grossing film of Rao's career came in the horror sequel
Stree 2, in which he reprised his role as Vicky. He admitted that the film's substantial success gave his confidence a "much-needed" lift following a series of commercial failures. While acknowledging his comic timing,
WION's Shomini Sen felt that Rao had been overshadowed by the performances of the supporting cast, but
The Times of India's Abhishek Srivastava thought that he was in "top-form".
Stree 2 emerged as the
highest-grossing Hindi film of 2024 as well as the
seventh highest-grossing Hindi film of all time, with a worldwide gross of over . For his performance, he was nominated for the Best Actor award at Filmfare. In
Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video, Rao and
Triptii Dimri played newlyweds in 1997 searching for their missing sex tape. Citing it as one of his rare weak performances in a negative review of the film,
Hindustan Times' Rishabh Suri believed that Rao had been constrained by poor-writing, though he appreciated his comic timing.
Mint's Udita Jhunjhunwala analysed that the actor had begun to be
typecast as "the small-town boy facing a harrowing situation". Both
Mr. & Mrs. Mahi and
Vicky Vidya Ka Woh Wala Video underperformed commercially. In the fantasy film
Bhool Chuk Maaf (2025), Rao played a man stuck in a time loop on his wedding day. The film faced several delays in its release due to the
2025 India–Pakistan conflict and problems between distributors. While dismissing the film and its writing,
Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com lamented Rao's recurring career choices, dubbing him the "perennially exasperated small-town lad grappling with a rom-com crisis". However,
India Today's Vineeta Kumar commended his comic timing but agreed that the direction felt "disjointed and undercooked". Against expectations,
Bhool Chul Maaf emerged as a successful financial venture. Initially dissuaded from pursuing an action film due to the lack of compelling scripts, Rao was eventually drawn to
Maalik, feeling it offered far more than conventional action. To prepare for his role as the eponymous
gangster, he underwent a physical transformation that required him to build muscle and grow out both his hair and beard. In a mixed review for
The Hollywood Reporter India, Rahul Desai commended Rao as a "shapeless actor [who] manages to infuse details into the character that the writing cannot". It emerged as a box-office bomb. The following year, Rao starred again as a small-town boy in the comedy
Toaster (2026) for Netflix, which he also produced. Commenting on his career trajectory, Shreyas Pande of
The Hindu observed that the actor once portrayed "familiar, everyday faces that were often ignored amidst the noise", but has since diversified his oeuvre into more mainstream roles, where he is no longer as revelatory and instead "just has a bunch of jokes up his sleeves". == Personal life ==