Nakuul Mehta

Nakuul Mehta (born 17 January 1983) is an Indian actor who primarily works in Hindi television. Mehta is known for his portrayal of Shivaay Singh Oberoi in Ishqbaaaz and Ram Kapoor in Bade Achhe Lagte Hain 2. He is a recipient of four ITA Awards, four Gold Awards and three Indian Telly Awards.

Mehta made his television debut in 2012 with Pyaar Ka Dard Hai Meetha Meetha Pyaara Pyaara playing Aditya Kumar, which earned him two Best Debut Male awards. Later, he earned critical acclaim with his portrayals in Ishqbaaaz and Bade Achhe Lagte Hain 2. Both these shows earned him two ITA Awards for Best Actor Popular and established him as a leading television actor.

Mehta made his web debut in 2016 with I Don't Watch TV, which he co-produced. He has since starred in the series Never Kiss Your Best Friend (2020-2022), the short film Ved and Arya (2020) and Bade Achhe Lagte Hain 3 (2023). Mehta is married to singer Jankee Parekh with whom he has a son and daughter.

Nakuul Mehta's family hails from Udaipur, Rajasthan. His father, Pratap Singh Mehta, is a veteran of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, while his great-great grandfather Laxmilal Mehta was the military commander of the Mewar region.

Mehta completed his Master of Commerce from Mumbai University. He was also trained in dance forms including jazz, hip hop, break, folk, salsa and contemporary. He is a trained ballroom dancer having learned under India's foremost ballroom teacher and Bollywood choreographer Sandip Soparrkar. He represented Maharashtra in the All India Dance Sport Federation in June 2011. He was a silver medalist in the Latin Ballroom Category and is a gold medal winner in the Standard Ballroom category.

Mehta did commercials, music videos, and was associated with theatre for a long time. He made his acting debut with the 2005 Telugu film, Abhimaani and then worked in another Telugu film Indian Beauty in 2006. In 2008, he made his Hindi film debut with Haal-e-Dil, playing a painter Shekhar opposite Amita Patak. Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama noted, "Nakuul Mehta in all fairness, is very confident, a bundle of energy and knows his job well. His expressions are perfect at all times." In 2011, he appeared in the short film Avant Garde, which received praises and was showcased at various film festivals. The film was a box office failure.

From 2012 to 2014, Mehta played Aditya Kumar in his television debut Pyaar Ka Dard Hai Meetha Meetha Pyaara Pyaara, opposite Disha Parmar. For his work in the show, he won the Indian Telly Award for Fresh New Face - Male and the Gold Award for Debut in a Lead Role - Male. In 2015, Mehta hosted India's Got Talent 6.

From 2016 to 2018, Mehta played Shivaay Singh Oberoi in Ishqbaaaz opposite Surbhi Chandna. The show proved to be a major success for him and earned him recognition. For playing Shivaay, he won numerous accolades including ITA Award for Best Actor - Popular, Indian Telly Award for Best Actor in a Lead Role and his pairing with Chandna won them Gold Best Onscreen Jodi award. In 2017, he played Shivaay in Indian television's first spin-off series, Dil Boley Oberoi opposite Surbhi Chandna. Also, from 2018 to 2019, he played Shivansh Singh Oberoi opposite Niti Taylor, post leap in Ishqbaaaz.