# Rajesh Tailang

Rajesh Tailang is an Indian actor, known for his appearance in films and web series. He garnered a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Actor at the 2nd Canadian Screen Awards. He is also a poet, showcasing his creativity beyond acting. He is the brother of late cartoonist Sudhir Tailang.

## Early life

Tailang was born in Bikaner, Rajasthan to late Shrikrishna Tailang. His brother late Sudhir Tailang was a Padma Shri recipient famous political cartoonist. Rajesh is an alumnus of National School of Drama.

## Career
### Early work (1994-2007)

He started his acting career 1994 with a DD National first daily soap Shanti - Ek Ghar Ki Kahani. His first film was Govind Nihlani’s Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa. Later he acted in films like, Jayate…, Thakshak, Dev, Mangal Pandey and Amal and few TV serials and Telefilms.

### Mainstream success (2013- present)

In 2013, he gained mainstream recognition with the film Siddharth directed by Richie Mehta , for which he received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for best actor in a leading role. The film was well-received by various international film critics, who praised Rajesh's performance. In 2015, he appeared in several notable projects, including Umrika, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, and Phantom. He continued to build his filmography with roles in Omerta, Mukkabaaz, Haseena Parkar, Aiyaari. His portrayal of Ramakant Pandit in the web series Mirzapur, Mohan Kumar in Netflix series Selection day, Bhupendra Singh in Delhi Crime and Rajendra Rathore in Bandish Bandits significantly increased his popularity through OTT space. Later he appeared in films like Commando 3, Panga, Comedy Couple, Pagglait, Khuda Hafiz 2, Chhatriwali, Ulajh.
He continued his OTT journey with series Rangbaaz, Dahan, Crackdown, Trial by fire.

### Book

Tailang authored the book Chand Pe Chai, which was published by Vani Prakashan in 2022.

## Filmography

Key :
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |

### Films

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1997 | …Jayate | Advocate Nayyer | |
| 1998 | Hazaar Chaurasi Ki Maa | Somu's Father | |
| 1999 | Thakshak | Randheer | |
| 2004 | Dev | ACP Waman Bhonsle | |
| 2005 | Mangal Pandey: The Rising | Brahmin Sepoy of India | |
| 2007 | Amal | Dhaba Owner | |
| 2013 | Siddharth | Mahendra Saini | |
| 2015 | Umrika | Postman | |
| 2015 | The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel | Babul | |
| 2015 | Phantom | Raw Agent Alok | |
| 2017 | Haseena Parkar | Advocate Shyam Keswani | |
| 2018 | Omerta | General Mahmood | |
| 2018 | Mukkabaaz | Shravan's Father | |
| 2018 | Aiyaary | Brigadier K Srinivas | |
| 2019 | Commando 3 | Roy | |
| 2020 | Panga | National Coach Sinha | |
| 2020 | Comedy Couple | Mukesh | |
| 2021 | Pagglait | Tarun | Netflix Release |
| 2021 | Andaman | UPSC Interview panel chairman | Open Theater |
| 2022 | Khuda Haafiz: Chapter 2 – Agni Pariksha | TV News Reporter Ravi Kumar | |
| 2023 | Chhatriwali | Rajan Kalra | |
| 2024 | Kooki | Dhanajay Mishra |
| 2024 | Ulajh | Salim Sayeed | |

### Short films

| Year | Films | Role | Director |
| 2015 | Mast Qalandar | Master | Divij Roopchand |
| 2016 | Zoya (Short) | Zoologist | Sahirr Sethhi |
| 2024 | Ek Kadam | Mahendra Solanki | Rajeev Upadhyay |

### Web series

| Year | Title | Role | Platform |
| 1995 | Shanti | Manu | Doordarshan |
| 2018–present | Mirzapur | Ramakant Pandit | Amazon Prime Video |
| 2018 | Selection Day | Mohan Kumar | Netflix |
| 2019–present | Delhi Crime | Bhupender Singh | Netflix |
| 2020 | Crackdown | Ashvini Rao | Voot |
| 2020 | Bandish Bandits | Rajendra | Amazon Prime Video |
| 2021 | Dhindora | Parshad | YouTube |
| 2022 | Dahan: Raakan Ka Rahasya | Parimal Singh | Disney+ Hotstar |
| 2022 | Rangbaaz | Mukul Kumar | Zee5 |
| 2023 | Trial By Fire | Veer Singh | Netflix |
| 2024 | Gaanth Chapter 1 - Jamnaa Paar | Trilok Mishra | JioCinema |
| 2025 | Bada Naam Karenge | Rajesh Jaiswal | SonyLiv |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Film/web | Category | Result | Ref. |
| 2014 | Canadian Screen Awards | Siddharth | Actor in a Leading Role | Nominated | |
| 2022 | Filmfare OTT Awards | Rangbaaz | Best Supporting Actor (Drama) | Nominated | |