Sharad Kelkar Indian Actor Born 1976 in Gwalior

Early life

Sharad Kelkar is an Indian actor and voice actor who works mainly in Hindi and Marathi television, film and web series. He was born on 7 October 1976 into a Marathi family and was raised in Gwalior. His father worked as an engineer for the public works department of the Madhya Pradesh government. Kelkar completed a management degree at the Prestige Institute of Management in Gwalior and also studied at the Laxmibai National Institute of Physical Education in the same city. Before acting became his full-time work he was listed as a model.

Career

Kelkar began on television in 2004 with the Doordarshan show Aakrosh, in which he played a police inspector. In 2006 he and his wife, the actress Keerti Gaekwad Kelkar, took part in the dance reality programme Nach Baliye 2. He then moved into presenting, hosting Rock-N-Roll Family in 2007 and Pati Patni Aur Woh in 2009, and from 2010 to 2013 he fronted the crime programme Shaitaan: A Criminal Mind. As an actor he drew attention for the role of Thakur Digvijay Singh Bhadoria in Bairi Piya, and in 2011 he joined the serial Uttaran as Satya. The following year he took over the part of Dr. Ashutosh in Kuch Toh Log Kahenge. The earliest title in his screen credits is the film Hulchul, from 2004.

His work in cinema grew from 2013, when he played a possessive elder brother in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Goliyon Ki Raasleela Ram-Leela. In 2014 he was the main antagonist, Sangram, in the Marathi film Lai Bhaari, which became the highest-grossing Marathi film at that time. Hero followed in 2015, and from September 2015 to April 2016 he led the &TV series Agent Raghav - Crime Branch as the investigator Raghav Sinha. In 2016 he appeared in Mohenjo Daro, where he played Srujan, and in Rocky Handsome, released on 25 March. In the same year he made his Telugu debut as the villain Bhairav Singh in Sardaar Gabbar Singh.

In 2017 he appeared in the television drama Koi Laut Ke Aaya Hai and played the antagonist Dhauli in Bhoomi. He also had roles in Irada and Baadshaho, and he made his debut as a producer with the Marathi film Idak: The Goat, which was screened at the Cannes festival. Three Marathi films, Rakshas, Madhuri and Youngraad, followed in 2018.

The year 2019 marked his entry into streaming, through the Amazon Prime series The Family Man, and he played one of the antagonists in Housefull 4. In January 2020 he played the Maratha ruler Shivaji I in Tanhaji, and he appeared in Laxmii the same year, with a critic at Firstpost writing that his portrayal was mature. His credits from that period also include the ZEE5 series Black Widows, in which he appeared opposite Mona Singh in December 2020.

In 2021 he played a military officer in Bhuj: The Pride of India. In 2022 he took a police officer role in Operation Romeo, appeared as an antagonist in Code Name: Tiranga, and played the warrior Bhaji Prabhu Deshpande in the Marathi historical film Har Har Mahadev. In 2023 he was an investigating officer in Chor Nikal Ke Bhaga and a golf coach in Slum Golf. His Tamil debut came in 2024 as Aryan in Ayalaan, and the same year he appeared as the businessman Ravi Mantha in the biopic Srikanth and in the Marathi action film Raanti. From July 2025 he played Aryavardhan in the Zee TV serial Tumm Se Tumm Tak, his first television role after a break of eight years. His most recent listed credit is the series Taskaree: The Smuggler's Web, from 2026.

Recognition

In 2010 Kelkar received a Gold Award for best actor in a negative role (critics) for Bairi Piya. He was nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor in Marathi for Lai Bhaari in 2014, and for a SIIMA Award for best actor in a negative role in Telugu for Sardaar Gabbar Singh in 2017. In 2023 he was recognised at the Pinkvilla Style Icons Awards, and in 2025 he received the Personality of the Year honour at the NDTV Entertainment Awards.

Personal life

Kelkar married Keerti Gaekwad Kelkar, who is also a television actress, on 3 June 2005. The two met as co-stars and later appeared together on Nach Baliye 2.