A look at the life and acting journey of Ranjan Raj, who plays the character of 'Balmukund Meena' in T.V.F.'s critically acclaimed web series, 'Kota Factory'.
Kota Factory is one of the most successful web series in India's OTT space. The web series gave massive recognition to multiple young actors like Jitendra Kumar, Ahsaas Channa, Revathi Pillai, Urvi Singh, Mayur More, Ranjan Raj and many more. The first and second instalments of Kota Factory were directed by Raghav Subbu, who is the man behind T.V.F.'s famous shows, F.A.T.H.E.R.S. and Hostel Daze. While Abhishek Yadav wrote the first season, Saurabh Khanna joined him for the scripting of the second season, which was released in 2021.
After the tremendous success of Kota Factory's seasons one and two, T.V.F. dropped the trailer of its third season on Netflix on June 11, 2024. The trailer registered more than 23 lakh views in the first 13 hours of its release and was also trending at number five on YouTube.
The trailer confirmed that the series will be released on Netflix on June 20, 2024. The anticipation for Kota Factory's season 3 also gained a major push after Tillotama Shome was featured as a Chemistry teacher in the series. There's no denying that T.V.F. is all set to dominate the IMDb ratings with Kota Factory 3, which is directed by Pratish Mehra.
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It was back in 2019 when Total Viral Fever (T.V.F.) developed this experimental web series, which was shot in a black-and-white colour scheme. As per multiple reports, T.V.F. decided to make the Kota Factory colourless in order to showcase the boring and depressing side of students' lives in Kota.
According to a report in Postoast, T.V.F.'s idea to make Kota Factory colourless was also inspired by the iconic film, Schindler's List. The legendary film directed by Steven Spielberg was shot in black and white in order to show the miserable lives of Jewish people under the threat of Nazis.
Every character who has been a part of Kota Factory has a special place in the audience's hearts. However, there's one actor, who is considered as the backbone of Kota Factory and it is none other than Ranjan Raj. The actor portrays the character of 'Balmukund Meena', who is among some of the most iconic characters created by T.V.F. (Total Viral Fever). Over the years, Ranjan Raj has worked in a series of YouTube videos created by T.V.F. and has also proved the mettle of his acting skills in several Bollywood movies.
Ranjan Raj was born on May 18, 1994, in Bihar's Arwal into a lower-middle-class family. Right from an early age, Ranjan was quite good in his studies and wanted to become an engineer. Another reason behind his aspiration to become an engineer was the fact that his family was struggling financially, and he wanted to support them. Just like every aspiring engineer in India, he started preparing for JEE and joined a coaching facility in Patna.
After two years of hard work and dedication, Ranjan Raj finally cracked JEE and took admission in IIT Bombay. It was a dream come true moment for Ranjan, as he finally got the key to solve his family's financial instability. During his time at IIT Bombay, he started participating in creative things, and it was when Ranjan was introduced to the theatre for the first time. Ranjan decided to participate in plays and soon developed an interest in acting. The youngster, who once wanted to be an engineer, started questioning himself as his inclination towards acting started getting serious.
With a lot of courage and intense dedication towards his newfound passion, Ranjan Raj left IIT Bombay and started his journey from a college dropout to an actor. Ranjan bid farewell to IIT Bombay after completing his sixth semester. Soon, he started participating in a series of college plays and started turning heads with his acting skills.
Ranjan Raj got his break in 2014 when he appeared in a short film titled Interval 3D. After this, he worked on a series of small-budget projects. However, in 2016, Ranjan Raj made his Bollywood debut with the film, Rustom, which took his acting career to a completely different level.
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Ranjan Raj's work in Rustom helped him get a series of projects. After Rustom, he got the opportunity to be featured in T.V.F.'s Bisht, Please! And Amazon Prime's ImMATURE. In 2019, Ranjan again created a stir in Bollywood with his work in Chhichhore.
After which, he worked in films like Bala, Helmet, Kathal: A Jackfruit Mystery, and Dream Girl 2. He also continued making his name in the OTT space with his impressive work in series like Hostel Daze, Dosti Ka Naya Maidan, Kota Factory, Campus Diaries, and many more.
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With a massive fanbase of 148K followers on his Instagram handle, Ranjan Raj is one of the most famous actors in India's OTT space. Apart from his spectacular acting skills, he is also renowned for his humility. Despite making his mark in Bollywood and OTT space, he continues to stay grounded, which is one of the many reasons why he is a people's actor. We hope Ranjan continues to win everyone's hearts with his acting performances in Kota Factory season 3 and other upcoming projects.
What are your thoughts on Ranjan Raj's inspirational story from an IIT dropout to an actor? Let us know.
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