Tarun Dhanrajgir

Tarun started his career as a model and he worked for few notable Indian brands like Charminar Filter Cigarettes, Raymond and Mafatalal Suitings. From 1980 to 1981 he trained under the famed acting coach Mr. Roshan Taneja. During this period he also worked in two plays "Oedipus" and "Jasma Odhan", where he got to share the stage with actors like Naseeruddin Shah, Ratna Pathak Shah and Alok Nath.[1]

In 1985/86 Tarun acted in two television serials for Doordarshan – Terah Panne directed by Vikas Desai based on Thirteen prominent female personalities from Indian History where he co-starred with Hema Malini, who played all the different personalities, in several episodes in various roles specially remembered for the character of Udai Singh in the episode of ‘Panna Dai’.[1][2]

And Trishna which was an Indian adaptation of the famous English classic Pride and Prejudice where he essayed the role of the Indian Darcy- Rahul Mehta. The other cast included Sangeeta Handa, Kitu Gidwani and Rishabh Shukla amongst others.[3]

In 1987 Tarun featured in the lead opposite Uppasna Khosla in a Hindi feature film originally titled ‘Raag Anurag’ but eventually released on Zee Cinema as ‘Saajan ka Dard’. Directed by Govind Moonis who had earlier directed the super hit film Nadiya Ke Paar. Also in the cast were eminent actors Ashok Kumar, Dr. Shriram Lagoo, Urmila Bhatt and Beena Banerjee.[4][5]

In 1988/89 Tarun also featured in a television series titled ‘Shraddha’ opposite Anuradha Patel. Again telecast on the national channel Doordarshan.[1]

In 1995 Tarun starred in two television series one in Telugu in the title role of 'Agent Vikram' which was telecast on Gemini TV. And Aarohan in the lead opposite Pallavi Joshi which was eventually aired on DD National from 1996 to 1997.[1]

Though shot in 1995 ‘Aarohan’ released this year. In 1996 Tarun switched roles to move behind the camera and during the period from 1996 to 1998 he wrote the Screenplay and Directed a Television Series for the Veda Foundation based on the life of Acharya Srila Prabhupada the founder Acharya of ISKCON titled ‘Abhay Charan’ which was telecast on DD National.[6][7]

From 2002 to 2004 Tarun moved to South Africa, contracted by Veda Foundation, to direct two full length features in English with local talent titled ‘Kevin’ and ‘Hladini’ shot in Cape Town and Johannesburg respectively. Again based on true life characters.

In 2006 Tarun returned to the stage to portray the Character of Prince Abdulla of the Qutub Shahi dynasty in a musical drama titled ‘Taramati’ based on a true life love story between the prince and a dancer named Taramati produced by the Qadir Ali Baig Foundation and directed by Mohammad Ali Baig and designed by the famous theatre personality M. S. Sathyu.

In 2007 Tarun started a full length feature film in Hindi titled ‘Kis Hudh Tak’ with an all new star cast which he wrote, directed and produced. Which eventually released in 2010.[8]

At this time Tarun also acted in a BBC programme Zero Hour (2004 TV series) season 3 and episode 2 for Television based on the events that led to the brutal massacre of the Royal Family of Nepal wherein he essayed the role of King Birendra the ruler of Nepal.

In 2018 Tarun acted with the Malayalam super star Mammooty in a Telugu film titled Yatra, a biopic based on the life of former Chief Minister of the old state of Andhra Pradesh Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy in the role of N.D Tiwari who represented the Congress High Command from Delhi.[6]

At the end of the same year Tarun started a feature film in Hindi titled Bolo Hau. Which he wrote, directed and produced. And introduced Jahnavi Dhanrajgir in the lead.[6][9]

In 2021, he acted as a Governor of Kerala in a Malayalam-language film One and also appeared in a biographical sports film Saina.[1][10][11]