Raghu Ram
Indian television producer and actor (born 1973) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Raghu Ram Ambadapudi (born 15 April 1973)[3] is an Indian actor and television presenter who predominantly works in Hindi and Telugu television shows, and films. He began his career as the creator of Hindi reality shows MTV Roadies (2003–2014) and MTV Splitsvilla (2008–2009).[1] Ram later also hosted various television shows.
Raghu Ram | |
|---|---|
Raghu in 2011 | |
| Born | Raghu Ram Ambadapudi 15 April 1973[1] Machilipatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India |
| Occupations | |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Spouses | [2] |
| Relatives | Rajiv Lakshman (brother) |
He made his film debut with the Hindi romantic comedy Jhootha Hi Sahi (2010) and got breakthrough with the Tamil action comedy Doctor (2021). He made his Telugu debut with the crime comedy Keedaa Cola (2023).
Early life
Raghu Ram was born into a Telugu family in New Delhi, along with his twin brother, Rajiv Lakshman.[1][4]
Ram attended Deshbandhu College and Sri Venkateswara College,[5] finally earning his degree at Osmania University in Hyderabad.[1]
Career
Summarize
Perspective
Early career
Raghu Ram started his career at MTV India supervising shows including MTV Love Line with VJs Malaika Arora and Cyrus Broacha, and also spearheaded MTV Select and the first few seasons of MTV Super Select with VJ Nikhil Chinapa.[1]
In 2004, Ram appeared in the first season of the reality TV show Indian Idol as a contestant with judges Anu Malik, Farah Khan and Sonu Nigam.[6] He was rejected due to inefficient singing ability and signature attitude traits.[7] He later explained in his autobiography that picking a fight with the judges was actually a prank he played, on the suggestion of one of his colleagues and his wife who were working there as moderators.[6]
MTV India
The MTV Roadies format was created by Nikhil J Alva, the founder of Miditech Studios and the show went on air in 2003.[8] The format creator, Nikhil J Alva, had conceptualized Roadies as a series that would unite Indian youth around acts of social service and kindness as they travelled around India. He had envisioned that the show would create a new generation of youth icons. In fact, the winners of Season 1, Rannvijay Singha and Season 2, Aayushman Khurana, validated the format creators original premise. At that time, Raghu Ram and Rajiv Ram, were employees of Miditech Studios and worked as Associate Producers. Seeing the popularity of the series soar, MTV moved the production of the series in-house and assigned it to Raghu Ram and Rajeev Ram, who had by this time been employed by MTV, as Anchor/Producers. It was at this time that the show took a dramatic turn from its original social-do-good premise, to crass, in-your-face and aggressive reality. The ratings climbed, but the show appeared to lose its soul.[1][9] The show was originally titled MTV: Find The Road, and was initially met with skepticism by the senior producers of the channel. It started to gain popularity from its second season onwards and went on to become the longest running reality show on Indian television.[5] Ram was later appointed the senior supervising producer of MTV India and the executive producer of Roadies as well as MTV Splitsvilla, another reality show which he had launched in 2008.[1][10]
In 2014, Ram announced that he wouldn't be attached with Roadies from season X2, after being associated with the show for 11 years.[10][11] He said on Twitter, "Roadies is happening. I'm not gonna do it though. I'm done with it. Moved on. About time, too."[12]
In April 2011, Ram, along with MTV Roadies co-hosts, his brother Rajiv and Rannvijay Singh, had to face a difficult situation in Pune when some activists of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) tried to blacken their faces.[13] This was for using foul language on national television while they were participating in a promotional rally in the city.[13]
Ram wrote an autobiography titled Rearview: My Roadies Journey, published in 2013.[14]
Post-Roadies
In April 2016, Ram launched a web series titled A.I.SHA My Virtual Girlfriend, a webcam fiction show, through the online content platform Arre.[15][16][17] Ram along with his brother have performed in the comedy series Comedy Nights Bachao on Colors TV.[18] Raghu Ram has also performed in the comedy serial Entertainment Ki Raat.[19] In 2019, Ram and his brother Rajiv starred in Amazon Prime Video's Skulls and Roses. The show received negative reviews and it was not continued for the second season.
Film career
Ram and his brother have acted in a few Hindi films like Tees Maar Khan in 2010 along with Akshay Kumar as the Johari brothers, though the film didn't do well at the box office.[10] In the same year, Ram also acted in Jhoota Hi Sahi with actor John Abraham.[10]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Language |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Jhootha Hi Sahi | Omar | Hindi |
| Tees Maar Khan | Johri Bro. | ||
| 2013 | Love You Soniye | Mahendra Singh Gill | Punjabi |
| 2016 | Varthak Nagar | Kunwar Singh | |
| 2021 | Doctor | Melvin | Tamil |
| 2023 | Keedaa Cola | Shots | Telugu |
| 2024 | Gandhi Tatha Chettu | ||
| Mechanic Rocky | Chanti / R. Kranthi | ||
| 2025 | Good Bad Ugly | Zakaba | Tamil |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Network | Language | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003–2014 | MTV Roadies | Self | MTV | Hindi | Also creator |
| 2008–2009 | MTV Splitsvilla | Self | Also co-creator | ||
| 2017 | MTV Dropout Pvt Ltd | Mentor | |||
| 2018 | India's Best Judwaah | Judge | Zee | ||
| Entertainment Ki Raat | Self | Colors | |||
| 2016–2019 | A.I.SHA My Virtual Girlfriend | Siddharth Babar | Arre | ||
| 2016 | Soadies | Raghu Ram | JioCinemas | ||
| 2017 | TVF InMates | Raghu Ram | TVF | ||
| 2019 | Skulls & Roses | Host | Amazon Prime | Also co-creator | |
| 2023 | IRL In Real Love | Netflix | Creator and Director | ||
| 2024 | Jamnapaar | Rajat Thapar | Amazon miniTV |
Personal life
Raghuram was married to actress Sugandha Garg.[20] In 2016, they announced their separation, after having been married for almost a decade. Their divorce was finalised in 2018.[2][21]
In 2018, he married singer Natalie Di Luccio.[22] On 8 January 2020, they had a son.[23]
Publications
Ram's autobiography Rearview: My Roadies Journey was published by Rupa Publications in 2013.[5][24]
References
Bibliography
External links
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