Abhilash Thapliyal is an Indian radio jockey, film actor and TV host who works primarily in the Hindi entertainment industry. He came into limelight after appearing in the Hindi film Dil Juunglee, where he played the role of Prashant.
Wiki/Biography
Abhilash was born on Tuesday, 24 November 1987 (age 35 years; in 2022) in Udhampur, Jammu and Kashmir. His zodiac sign is Sagittarius. An army boy, Abhilash was brought up by his parents in Delhi, Gwalior, Gurdaspur, and Jaipur. Due to his father’s transferable job, he attended various military schools in India. In 2005, he studied at Kendriya Vidyalaya No. 4, Jaipur. According to Abhilash, he did higher secondary education in the science stream; however, he always wanted to pursue a career as a radio jockey. Shortly after completing his higher secondary education, he pursued a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Mass Communication at Delhi University, New Delhi, from 2005 to 2008. From 2010 to 2012, he obtained an MA in Mass Communication and Journalism at Sikkim Manipal University . In an interview, Abhilash spoke about his interest in pursuing a career as a radio jockey and said,
Let me tell you that no one in my family knows about the media and has nothing to do with it. I belong to a middle class military background family that has seen almost all of India. I just believe that I should do whatever I like and my family always supports me for this. I studied in the science stream at school, but soon I found out that I wanted to be a doctor or an engineer. So why not do something fun. At that time, we found out about radio, where we found out about getting paid to talk and play songs.
Abhilash Thapliyal’s childhood image with his father
Physical appearance
Height: 5′ 8″
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Black
Family
Abhilash belongs to a Pahadi-Hindu family in Pauri Garhwal in Uttrakhand.
Parents & Siblings
Abhilash’s father is a retired Army officer. In 2021, he died after suffering from cancer. Abhilash’s mother is a housewife. He has a sister who lives in Jammu and Kashmir.
Abhilash Thapliyal with his parents
Wife
On 15 April 2015, Abhilash Thapliyal got married to his long-time girlfriend Anubhooti Panda, who works as a manager at Indian Oil Corporation Ltd., Mumbai. The couple met each other during their graduation day in 2007.
Abhilash Thapliyal with his wife
Relationships/Affairs
Before marrying Anubhooti Panda, he dated her for a long time.
old picture of Abhilash Thapliyal and his wife
Religion/Religious Views
Abhilash follows Hinduism.
Career
Radio
In 2006, Abhilash, while he was pursuing his studies in New Delhi, ventured into the career of a Radio Jockey and anchored his first radio show Mehfil on All India Radio, New Delhi. In 2007, he worked as a Jockey and Primetime Radio Producer with Radio Tarang FM 104, Hisar, where he hosted the Airtel shows Shaam ka Signal and Hafta Bandh. Abhilash, during an interview, recalled his experience working with Radio Tarang in Hisar and shared that he used to receive a salary of Rs 10,000 per month. He said,
Phir kya tha apan bhi lag gaye and joined radio in Hisar during college itself. I used to travel from Delhi to Hisar. At that time I got ten thousand cash as salary. The day I came from Hisar to Delhi by Haryana Roadways bus with salary, my condition was bad. I used to think that no one needs to know that cash is kept in my bag. Due to the discomfort during the journey, I used to manage my bag somehow.”
Abhilash Thapliyal shared an old photo on Facebook reminiscing about his first job as a radio jockey. He captioned the photo “That’s me 11 years ago. A crazy college student who will travel 170 km one way to do what he loves most, “talk on the radio”
In July 2008, he started working with Radio City 91.1, New Delhi; at the radio station, he was part of Radio City’s ‘City Ban Gaya Behtar’ campaign and was the radio jockey of choice for the morning show. In 2010, he worked as a morning show host at Fever FM, New Delhi. In January 2016, he started working as a Radio Jockey at Red FM, Mumbai. In 2019, he started working with one of India’s biggest radio networks, Big FM 92.7, where, he hosted his self-titled show ‘Mumbai Ka Sabse Bada Struggler Abhilash (Radio Jockey).’
Television
In 2016, he made his television debut as a host with the MTV show He Thand Rakh. In 2018, he was part of the ensemble cast of the Colors Entertainment TV show Ki Raat.
Abhilash Thapliyal (centre) in a still from Colors Entertainment’s TV show Ki Raat
In the same year, he was featured in the Sony Entertainment show Comedy Circus. In 2019, he was featured in Apna News comedy show Aayega.
Movie
In 2018, he made his film debut with the Hindi film Dil Juunglee, in which he played the role of Prashant. In 2022, he appeared in a cameo role in the film Raksha Bandhan.
Abhilash Thapliyal in a still from Hindi movie Dil Junnglee (2018)
Web Series
In 2017, he made his debut in the TVF web series TVF Inmates, where he played the role of Suckesh. In 2021, he was featured in the TVF series TVF Aspirants where he played the role of Shwetketu.
Abhilash Thapliyal as Shwetketu in a still from the TVF web series Aspirants
In 2022, he appeared in the horror film Blurr ZEE5 where he played the role of Chander. In an interview, he talked about the series and said,
How I got the cast for the film was very interesting. I got different parts. I started shooting for the role, and then it changed. It’s challenging for me. Didn’t have time to get ready. Even though I had made some preparations, because it came at the last minute, Mr. Ajay’s instructions helped me a lot.” He also shared an interesting shooting experience. “There was one place where I had to cut pieces of chicken. My director was so precise that he asked me to go home and rehearse. I have to be careful with the little details,” revealed the actor. Sharing the USP of the film, he concluded, “It is a thriller, which looks very international. Darr lag sakta hai agar akele dekhe, kisike sath dekhiye. (You might be scared if you watch it alone. Watch it with someone.”
In 2022, she appeared in the SonyLIV series Faadu where she played the role of Roxy.
SonyLIV Faadu series where she plays the role of Roxy (2022)
In 2023, he worked in the TVF series SK Sir Ki Class, where he played the title role of himself.
Poster of the TVF miniseries Kelas Sir Ki (2023)
Awards, Honors, Achievements
- In 2013, he won the Radio Jockey Fever 104 FM Award at New York Fest 2013.
- In 2014, he won the Radio Jockey Fever 104 FM Award at New York Fest 2014.
- In 2014, he was awarded the Best Cross-Station Radio Jock Award at the Fever 104 FM National Conference.
- In 2014, he was awarded the Delhi Election Campaign Award at Fever 104 FM’s National Conference.
- In 2015, he won the Most Innovative Show Award at the Goa Fest Abby Awards.
Abhilash Thapliyal (right) at Goa Fest Abby Awards
Facts/Trivia
- According to Abhilash, initially, he wanted to serve in the Indian Army like his father and applied to the National Defense Academy (NDA); however, his application was rejected. Soon after the NDA rejection, he decided to pursue a career in Radio. In an interview, Abhilash spoke about this and said,
That was my first and last attempt to join the Army. After my form was rejected, I pursued my studies from Delhi University and went on to become a radio jockey and actor. My dream is still a dream. If I could go back in time and change one thing, it would be my choice in the Army.
- In 2015, various YouTube videos of Abhilash Thapliyal went viral where he was seen spoofing famous politician Arvind Kejriwal. Following the viral video, he became known as The Muffler Man; however, later, he stopped uploading political related videos. According to Abhilash, he was afraid of political satire. In an interview, Abhilash spoke about this and said,
I feel a little afraid of doing political satire now. There are many incidents in 2021. People are not open to political jokes. They were offended. Once upon a time Shekhar Suman would imitate Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lalu Prasad. It used to be fun to watch them and even politicians used to take it positively. Today, politicians don’t really understand humor. So what if I commit satire and someone files a case against me? I don’t want that. I just control myself. Bahut saare character shuru kiye the, jo ab nahi kar raha hu. But you never know, I might.
- In an interview, Abhilash Thapliyal talks about how he decided to pursue a career in films. Abhliyal plays Muffler Man (Arvind Kejriwal) at an event in Delhi, where he meets film director Amit Sharma who asks Abhilash to shift to Mumbai and pursue a career as an actor in the entertainment industry. Later, after Abhilash moved to Mumbai, Amit called him to work with his team.
- Although Abhilash is a teetotaler, after he took alcohol as an experiment for his role in the web series Faadu (2022). According to Abhilash, he took three shots of tequila. In an interview, Abhilash spoke about his experience of consuming alcohol for the first time and said,
I asked my friends what was the safest thing to try and they said tequila. I took 3 shots and I didn’t know what was happening around me. I’m zoning out and in. I have asked my wife not to enter the room. I just want to understand that much. The problem with such characters is that they can become caricatures. And I want my character to be as possible. I called some of my friends and asked if I sounded like a drunk. My friends pulled my leg all night. There were some other experiments we did during filming that I didn’t talk about.”
- In an interview, Abhilash spoke about his experience playing the role of a drunkard in Iyer Tiwari’s web series Fadu (2022). On the sets of Faadu, when Abhilash dresses up as a drunk Roxy, he is stopped by the production crew; according to Abhilash, he became unrecognizable to others with his looks.
Abhilash Thapliyal as Roxy in the web series Faadu (2022)
- He follows a non-vegetarian diet.
Categories: Biography
Source: SCHOOL TRANG DAI
