# Sai Ketan Rao

Sai Ketan Rao (born 10 July 1994) is an Indian actor. He is known for portraying the lead role of Raghav Rao in StarPlus's Mehndi Hai Rachne Waali.
He was then seen in Star Plus's Chashni as Raunaq Babbar (Reddy). He played the double lead role of Agasthya Singh Chaudhary / Surya Pratap Reddy in Star Plus' Imlie.
Ketan's television debut was with Agni Sakshi. He also worked in Hindi web series and a few Telugu web series. His web series include Three Half Bottles (2019) on ZEE5, Love Studio (2020) on YouTube, Lovely (2021) on ShreyasET, and Aham Bhramhasmi (2021) on MX Player and Hungama Digital. He acted in Tollywood films such as Ajay Passayyadu (2019) and Strangers (2021) on Amazon Prime, and Mounam (2020) on Aha.
Rao participated as a contestant on the reality TV show, Bigg Boss OTT Season 3. He entered the show on June 21, 2024 and became one of the top four finalists. The series is streamed on JioCinema Premium.

## Early life

Sai Ketan Rao was born into a middle-class family in Lonavala, Maharashtra. His father is an architect from Maharashtra, while his mother is a nutritionist from Hyderabad.
He started his schooling in Solapur, Maharashtra but soon shifted to Pune, Maharashtra and finally settled down in Hyderabad, Telangana. He completed his tenth grade in Hyderabad from Vignan School and pursued B. Tech in Computer Science from Hyderabad Institute of Technology and Management. After completing his graduation, he completed his MBA in System Operations from Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management, Hyderabad Campus.
Ketan was a state-level boxer until suffering an injury due to bike accident.

## Personal life

In June 2024, he talked about his troubled childhood while the live streaming of Bigg Boss OTT 3. He revealed that his father abandoned the family and his mother raised him and his younger sister as a single parent.

## Career

Rao worked for an Australian company after completing his education, but he had a strong inclination towards acting since childhood, and joined Ramanaidu Film School. He started his acting career after completing theatre arts and worked on short films and feature films. He has a film production company by the name Aurum Motion Pictures.

## Filmography
### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Language | Channel |
| 2017 | Agni Sakshi | Pratap | Telugu | Star Maa |
| 2021 | Mehndi Hai Rachne Waali | Raghav Rao / RR | Hindi | StarPlus |
| 2023 | Chashni | Raunaq Babbar (Reddy) | Hindi | StarPlus |
| 2023–2024 | Imlie 3 | Agasthya Singh Chaudhary | Hindi | StarPlus |
| 2023–2024 | Imlie 3 | Surya Pratap Reddy | Hindi | StarPlus |
| 2024 | Bigg Boss OTT 3 | Contestant (4th Place) | Hindi | JioCinema |

### Short films

| Year | Title | Role | Language | Notes |
| 2016 | Devil In Disguise | Aryan Mishra | Telugu | Cameo |
| 2017 | Phasgaya Banda | Antony | Hindi | Supporting |
| 2018 | Panileni Gang | | Telugu | Lead |
| 2018 | Malli Kothaga | | Telugu | Lead |
| 2018 | Vadha | | Telugu | Lead |
| 2019 | My Dear Ravana | Lakshman | Telugu | Villain |
| 2020 | Mounam | | Telugu | Guest |
| 2020 | Chuppi | | Hindi, Telugu | |
| 2022 | aAh! | Amar | Hindi | Cameo |
| 2022 | Final Act | | Telugu | Lead |
| 2024 | Mumbai guy vs UP girl | Chinmay Rane | Hindi | Lead |
| 2025 | Pereira House | Inspector Danish Khan | Hindi | Lead |
| 2025 | Bestfriend Too Hot To Handle | | Hindi | Lead |

### Films

| Year | Title | Role | Language |
| 2017 | Nene Raju Nene Mantri | Pellikoduku | Telugu |
| 2019 | Ajay Passayyadu | Vikram | Telugu |
| 2019 | Vykuntapali | Abhi | Telugu |
| 2021 | Strangers | Varun | Telugu |
| 2021 | Most Eligible Bachelor | Harsha's Friend | Telugu |
| 2022 | Pellikuturu Party | Geeky Udey | Telugu |
| 2022 | Vala | Kabir | Telugu |
| 2025 | Baaghi 4 | | Hindi |

### Web series

| Year | Title | Role | Language | Platform | Notes |
| 2019 | Three Half Bottles | Aditya | Hindi | Zee5 | Lead |
| 2019 | Beyond Breakup | | Telugu | MX Player | Guest |
| 2020 | Love Studio | Nishant | Telugu | YouTube | Lead |
| 2021 | Lovely | Rohit | Telugu | YouTube | Lead |
| 2021 | Aham Bhramhasmi | Darsh | Telugu | Amazon Prime, MX Player | Lead |
| 2021 | The Baker and The Beauty | Rohan Kapoor | Telugu | Aha | Cameo |

### Music videos

| Year | Title | Production | Singer | Writer | Starring |
| 2022 | Mashhoor Banegi | AUM Studios | Prateek Gandhi | Ritika Chawla | Shivangi Khedkar |
| 2022 | Ishq Ho Jayega | Aurum Motion Pictures | Prateek Gandhi | Ragini Mahajan | Shivangi Khedkar |
| 2023 | Phir Kabhi | Minara Music | Amit Mishra | Shabbir Ahmed & Lovely Singh | Sanaya Pithawala |
| 2024 | Jee Nahi Paunga | Red Ribbon Musik | Shariq Shez | Rehana Faaiz | Urmita Ghosh |
| 2025 | Haste Haste | SVMT Music & Desi Tadka Music | Amarinder | | Eugeniya Belousova |

### Special appearances

| Year(s) | Title | Role | Language | Channel | Refs |
| 2024 | Ghum Hai Kisikey Pyaar Meiin | Surya Pratap Reddy | Hindi | StarPlus | |
| 2024 | Udne Ki Aasha | Surya Pratap Reddy | Hindi | StarPlus | |

## Accolades

| Year | Organizer | Category | Show | Result |
| 2021 | IWMBuzz Style Awards | Emerging Fashion Icon (Male) | Mehndi Hai Rachne Waali | Won |
| 2022 | 21st Indian Television Academy Awards | Best Actor (Popular) | Mehndi Hai Rachne Waali | Nominated Top 20 |
| 2022 | Iconic Gold Awards | Best Debut TV Actor of the Year (Male) | Mehndi Hai Rachne Waali | Won |
| 2022 | 14th Gold Awards | Best Onscreen Jodi (with Shivangi Khedkar) | Mehndi Hai Rachne Waali | Nominated |
| 2022 | 14th Gold Awards | Debut in a Lead Role (Male) | Mehndi Hai Rachne Waali | Nominated |
| 2022 | 22nd Indian Television Academy Awards | Popular Actor - Drama TV | Mehndi Hai Rachne Waali | Nominated |
| 2022 | Bollywood Life Awards 2022 | Best Breakthrough Star | Mehndi Hai Rachne Waali | Won |
| 2022 | Bollywood Life Awards 2022 | Best Social Media TV Couple (with Shivangi Khedkar) | Mehndi Hai Rachne Waali | Nominated |
| 2023 | 23rd Indian Television Academy Awards | Best Actor | Mehndi Hai Rachne Waali | Nominated |
| 2023 | 23rd Indian Television Academy Awards | Best Actor | Chashni | Nominated |
| 2023 | Grand Tycoon Global Achievers Awards (Film Fare Middle East) | Emerging Talent of the Year | | Won |
| 2023 | Mestarlet Excellence Awards 2023 | Rising Actor of the Year - Male | Imlie | Won |
| 2024 | 24th Indian Television Academy Awards | Best Actor (Popular) | Imlie | Nominated |