Mugen Rao

Mugen Rao (born in 1995) is a Malaysian singer^[1] and film actor in Tamil films. In 2019, he won Season 3 of Bigg Boss Tamil. He is sometimes known as MGR.^[2]

Mugen Rao
Rao in 2020
Background information
Birth name	Mugen Rao
Born	(1995-10-20) 20 October 1995 (age 29)
Occupation(s)	Actor, singer
Years active	2009–present
Website	www.mugenrao.com

Personal life

Mugen was born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, one of three children.^[2] His father, Prakash Rao, died in 2020.^[3]

Career

He began his singing career with his father, a stage singer, and performed in fifty stage shows.^[2][4] He made his acting debut in the Malay TV show Senandung Malam, then had small parts in films including Gerak Khas and Ghora, in shorts, TV films, and advertising.^[2]

Rao's career took off in 2016, when his music video "Kayalvizhi" went viral on YouTube.^[5] His later music videos include "Anbe Aruyire", "Pogiren", "Mayakkurriye", and "Oththa Thamarai", which was shot in 2022 using virtual production technology.^[6]

In 2019, he was the first Malaysian contestant on Bigg Boss Tamil edition, and emerged as the winner.^[5][7] While on Bigg Boss Tamil, he sang the unreleased song "Sathiyama", which was only officially released in 2020.^[8] He then moved to Chennai and sought to break into Tamil cinema.^[9][10]

He signed a three-film deal in 2020,^[11] and was announced at the time to have a leading role in Vettri.^[12] He played the lead in Velan, directed by Kavin Moorthy and released in December 2021.^[13][14][15] In 2022, he began filming Mathil Mel Kadhal alongside Divya Bharathi.^[16]

Filmography

Films

Year	Film	Role(s)	Notes
2018	Ghora	Adhitya	Malaysian film
	Haran	Abdu
	Hey Coffeelopher	Ram
2019	Venpa	Yuvaraj Balakrishnan	Malaysian film (Special Appearance in Thandayuthabaaniye song)
2021	Velan	Velan	Also singer and lyricist
TBA	Vettri	TBA
TBA	Madhil Mel Kaadhal	TBA
TBA	Kaadhal Enbathu Saabama	TBA
TBA	Jinn	TBA	[17]

Web series

List of web series and roles

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2023	MY3	Adhitya Chandrasekhar	OTT Release	[18]

Short films

Year	Title	Notes
2017	I am Peter
2018	Light Up Someone's Life

Television

Actor

Year	Serial/Telemovie/Drama	Role	Channel	Language	Notes
2009	Senandung Malam	Paperboy		Malay
2010	Da Bomba	Supporting		Malay
2011	Gerak Khas	Supporting	TV2	Malay
2012	Sindiket Fixie	Supporting		Malay
2012	Rumah Kecil Itu	Supporting		Malay
2014	Rembau Ada WiFi	Supporting		Malay
2016	ASTRO Sitcom: Barber	Main Cast		Tamil
2016	Veetuku Oru Paati	Main Cast		Tamil
2016	Ippadiyum Pannalama	Main Cast		Tamil
2017	Agam Puram			Tamil
2018	Sekuriti		TV2	Tamil
2018	Sugamaana Sumaigal			Tamil
2019	Nee Yaar	Main Cast	TV2	Tamil	Best TV Drama Actor award

Reality shows (non fiction)

Year	Reality Show/Fiction/Live Show	Role	Channel	Notes
2016	360 Degrees: Season 11	Anchor	Astro Vaanavil
2017	360 Degrees: Season 12	Anchor	Astro Vaanavil
2017	Chinna Kabali	Anchor	Astro Vaanavil
2017	Astro Ponggal	Anchor	Astro Vaanavil
2018	Astro Ponggal	Anchor	Astro Vaanavil
2019	KL to KK: Let's roll	Host	Astro Ulagam
2019	Bigg Boss Tamil 3	Contestant	Vijay TV	Winner[19]
2019	Super Singer 7	Guest	Vijay TV	[20]
2020	Dancing Super Stars	Judge	Vijay TV

Discography

Singer

• Note: When he is credited as the composer, he is credited as Mugen Rao MGR.

Year	Song	Composer(s)	Co-singer(s)	Writer(s)	Ref.
2014	"Kaadhaley Kannir"	Coruz Hooks	A'sha, Coruz Hooks	Mugen Rao
2015	"Ring-Eh"	Razor Ray	A Sha		[21]
2016	"Kayalvizhi"	Coruz Hooks	Solo
2018	"Pogiren"	Prashan Sean	Prashan Sean
	"Abinaya	Shane Extreme, Mugen Rao	Solo
2019	"Yenggedi"	Shane Extreme	Solo		[22]
	"Maya"	Mugen Rao	Solo
	"Sathiyama"	Mugen Rao, Shane Extreme	Priyashankari
2020	"Arivum Anbum"	Ghibran	Kamal Haasan, Ghibran, Anirudh Ravichander, Yuvan Shankar Raja, Shankar Mahadevan, Bombay Jayashri, Sid Sriram, Devi Sri Prasad, Shruti Haasan, Andrea Jeremiah, Siddharth	Kamal Haasan	[23]
	"Thedinen"	Mugen Rao, Shane Extreme	Solo	Mugen Rao
2021	"Sathiyama Sollurandi"	Gopi Sundar, Mugen Rao	Sivaangi Krishnakumar
	"Kaanal Neer Aanathe"	Gopi Sundar	Solo	Lalithanand
2022	"Mudhal Kaathal"	Mugen Rao, Vivasvan	Solo	Mugen Rao, Vivasvan
2023	"Murugan Cassette Vol.1"	Mugen Rao	Havoc Brothers	Mugen Rao

Actor in music videos

Year	Song	Music	Notes
2014	"Anbe Aaruyirae"	Prashan Sean
2015	"Aayiram Sorkal"	Emzzie Boi	Also co-lyricist
2016	"Kadhal Enbathu Saabama"	Lawrence Soosai
	"Nanba Vaa"	Jose Franklin
2022	"Mayakirriye"	AniVee
	"Othai Thamarai"	Sandy Sandellow
2023	"Single Aayiten Di"	Dharan Kumar
	"Makka Makka"	Harris Jayaraj

References

1. Sriram Ranganath (2 October 2019). "Bigg Boss Tamil 3, Day 100 Written Update: How Mugen Rao Made The 100th Day Extra Special". NDTV. Archived from the original on 2 October 2019. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
2. "Bigg Boss Tamil 3: From being influenced by gangster culture in Malaysia to a talented lyricist, lesser known facts of Mugen Rao". Times of India. 24 June 2019. Archived from the original on 23 November 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
3. "Mugen Rao's father passes away". IndiaGlitz. 28 January 2020. Archived from the original on 20 November 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
4. "EXCLUSIVE: Velan Interview With Malaysian Actor Mugen Rao - Varnam MY". 31 December 2021. Archived from the original on 28 September 2023. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
5. "Malaysian Mugen Rao wins India's 'Bigg Boss 3' reality TV show". Malay Mail. 27 October 2019. Archived from the original on 20 November 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
6. M Suganth (25 March 2022). "Shoot at Site: Mugen's new music video is shot using virtual production technology". Times Of India. Archived from the original on 20 November 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
7. "Mugen Rao wins Bigg Boss Tamil season 3 MGR". The Hindu. 7 October 2019. Archived from the original on 20 November 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
8. "WATCH: Mugen Rao's Infamous Tune, Sathiyama is Finally on YouTube! - Varnam MY". 2 May 2020. Archived from the original on 28 September 2023. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
9. Gautam Sunder (15 October 2019). "Mugen Rao can't wait to conquer the world, beginning with Kollywood first". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 20 November 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
10. "Mugen Rao Ranks 11th on the Chennai Times 30 Most Desirable Men 2019 - Varnam MY". 16 March 2020. Archived from the original on 28 September 2023. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
11. "Malaysian artiste Mugen Rao signs deal to star in 3 Kollywood movies". The Star. 29 September 2020. Archived from the original on 20 November 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
12. "'Bigg Boss' winner Mugen Rao, Miss India Anukreethy Vas to debut in 'Vettri'". The Hindu. 28 September 2020. Archived from the original on 20 November 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
13. "Mugen looked perfect for the role of Pollachi native boy in Velan: Director Kavin". Times Of India. 22 December 2021. Archived from the original on 20 November 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
14. Bhuvanesh Chandar (26 April 2021). "Velan to feature Mugen Rao in two looks; first look out". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 20 November 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
15. "Mugen Rao's Velan cleared with a clean 'U' certificate". Times Of India. 7 November 2021. Archived from the original on 20 November 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
16. Sharanya CR (2 December 2021). "Mugen Rao & Divya Bharathi's Mathil Mel Kadhal is a love story set in Chennai". Times Of India. Archived from the original on 20 November 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2022.
17. Chandhini R (18 January 2023). "Mugen Rao's next titled Jinn; Film commences production". Cinema Express. Archived from the original on 19 January 2023. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
18. "'MY3': First look of Hansika, Shanthnu, Mugen's web series out". www.thehindu.com. 22 August 2023. Archived from the original on 4 September 2023. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
19. "Bigg Boss winner Mugen Rao continues to dream bigger dreams". www.nst.com.my. Archived from the original on 20 November 2022. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
20. "WATCH: Mugen Rao Performs with Anirudh at the Super Singer Finale - Varnam MY". 11 November 2019. Archived from the original on 28 September 2023. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
21. "Ring Eh Song Lyrics - Mugen Rao (MGR, 2014)". www.exlyrics.com. 30 September 2020. Archived from the original on 28 September 2023. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
22. "Mugen's 'Yenggedi' Receives Praises From India's Popular Playback Singer Suchitra On Twitter! - Varnam MY". 14 October 2020. Archived from the original on 28 September 2023. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
23. "Mugen Rao Joins Kamal Hassan and Other Big Names for the Track Arivum Anbum! - Varnam MY". 24 April 2020. Archived from the original on 28 September 2023. Retrieved 5 October 2023.

External links

• Mugen Rao at IMDb

Preceded by Riythvika	Bigg Boss Tamil Winner (Series 3) 2019	Succeeded by Aari Arujunan