Actor
Sai Ketan Rao, whose last TV show Mehendi Hai Rachne Waali on Star Plus made him a household name, is currently enjoying the success of his latest
Telugu movie release Pellikuturu Party. Playing the role of Geeky Uday, the second lead in the movie, Sai is happy with the way the movie has panned out. “We shot the movie in October 2020 but then due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we didn’t release it. Now when everything is going back to normal and theatres have opened, we thought it would be a good time to release the movie,” says Sai. In the romantic comedy, Sai plays an introvert who is super frustrated as he has to go on a road trip with family. Talking about him being a known TV figure, he shares, “When we had started the serial Mehendi Hai Rachne Waali, we didn’t expect such a great response from the audience. We were all new faces and even the show was not slotted in a prime-time slot. I am very happy with how things have turned out.”
Sai’s TV debut began with Agni Sakshi. He also worked in a couple of Hindi and Telugu web series like Three Half Bottles, Love Studio, Lovely and Aham Bhramhasmi. He also acted in Tollywood films such as Ajay Passayyadu, Mounam and Strangers. Born in Lonavala, Maharashtra, his father is from Maharashtra while his mother is from
Hyderabad. He spends his time shuttling between the two places. Interestingly, not many know that he is a Computer Science engineer and got an MBA before he ventured into acting. “After I gave my Class 10 exams, I knew that I wanted to pursue acting but my parents said education is important. So, I finished my education first and then pursued my passion,” he informs. The other fact that few people know about Sai is that he has changed his name from Sai Ketan Khadsay to Sai Ketan Rao as an homage to his maternal grandfather. Sharing the story behind changing his last name, he says, “I was very close to my maternal grandfather. He mattered the most to me and after his death, I decided to take his last name, Rao. So, everyone in this industry knows me as Sai Ketan Rao, whereas on paper, it is still Khadsay, which comes from my father. My parents supported me in this decision.” At the moment, the actor is reading scripts and is yet to sign the dotted lines. “I am going through a few interesting scripts in both Hindi and Telugu, but I haven’t finalised anything yet,” he signs off.
