# Rahul Khanna

Rahul Khanna (born 20 June 1972) is an Indian actor, VJ, model and writer who works in Bollywood. He is the eldest son of actor Vinod Khanna and the elder brother of Akshaye Khanna.

## Early life and background

Khanna was born and raised in Mumbai. His father was a Bollywood star & a politician, Vinod Khanna, his mother was ex-model Gitanjali Taleyar Khanna, and his younger brother is Bollywood actor, Akshaye Khanna.
Khanna studied at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute and the School of Visual Arts in New York City.

## Career
### Film

He made his feature film debut in Deepa Mehta's 1947 Earth (1999), alongside Aamir Khan. His performance earned him several awards including the Filmfare Best Male Debut Award. He has since appeared in Mehta's Bollywood/Hollywood (2003) and Wake up Sid starring Ranbir Kapoor and Konkana Sen Sharma.
Khanna's mainstream Bollywood films include Elaan and Raqeeb and his international credits include The Emperor's Club with Kevin Kline.

### Television

MTV Asia, VJ, 1994–1998
Asian Variety Show, Host, AVS TV Network, North America, 1999–2001
Discovery Week, Host, Discovery Channel, 2006
Khanna has also hosted numerous events like the IIFA Awards, the Miss India pageant, the Screen Awards, the Stardust (magazine) Awards, the Miss India Worldwide pageant, Naomi Campbell's Fashion for Relief show at Mumbai Fashion Week, the GQ (India) Men of the Year Awards 2009 & 2010, Teacher's Achievement Awards 2008 & 2010, The International Film Festival of India 2011, The Hello (magazine) Hall of Fame Awards 2011 and The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards 2012.

### Commercials and endorsements

Khanna has been associated with several brands including Toyota, Lay's Chips, Pepsi, DTC (Diamond Trading Company/ De Beers group), Trent (Westside), Tommy Hilfiger, Jaypee Group's Jaypee Greens, Johnnie Walker Blue Label, Kiehl's, Maggi and Audi.
Khanna has appeared in a PETA India campaign to protect elephants and birds.

### Writing

Khanna has a signature humorous writing style. Apart from writing for his own blog, his pieces and essays have been published in several leading newspapers, magazines and websites including Harper's Bazaar India, Vogue India, Cosmopolitan (magazine) India, Elle (India), GQ India, Marie Claire India, The Times of India, Deccan Herald and The Huffington Post India.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1999 | Earth | Hassan | Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut |
| 2001 | 3 AM | Morris | |
| 2002 | Bollywood/Hollywood | Rahul Seth | |
| 2002 | The Emperor's Club | Deepak Mehta | |
| 2005 | Elaan | Karan Shah | |
| 2007 | Raqeeb | Remo Matthews | |
| 2008 | Tahaan | Kuka Saheb | |
| 2008 | Dil Kabaddi | Rajveer Singh | |
| 2009 | Love Aaj Kal | Vikram Joshi | |
| 2009 | Wake Up Sid | Kabir Chaudhary | Chief Editor of Mumbai Beats' Magazine |
| 2014 | Fireflies | Shiv | |
| 2023 | Lost | Ranjan Verma | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Director | Notes |
| 2013 | 24 | Tarun Khosla | Abhinay Deo | Season 01 Episode 10 & 11 |
| 2014 | The Americans | Yousaf Rana | Stefan Schwartz | Episode: "Yousaf" |
| 2015 | The Americans | Yousaf Rana | Daniel Sackheim | Episode: "EST Men" |
| 2015 | The Americans | Yousaf Rana | Daniel Sackheim | Episode: "Baggage (The Americans)" |
| 2015 | The Americans | Yousaf Rana | Kevin Dowling | Episode: "Salang Pass" |
| 2015 | The Americans | Yousaf Rana | Andrew Bernstein (director) | Episode: "One Day in the Life of Anton Baklanov" |
| 2015 | The Americans | Yousaf Rana | Daniel Sackheim | Episode: "March 8, 1983" |
| 2019 | Leila | | Deepa Mehta | |