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Siddharth Randeria is an Indian actor, writer, theatre director, theatre producer, and theatre artist, who predominantly works in the Gujarat film industry. He is known for appearing in the Gujarati film Gujjubhai the Great (2015). He is also popular for his Gujjubhai series of theatre plays.
Wiki/Biography
Siddharth Randeria was born on Saturday, 17 December 1955 (age 67 years; as of 2022) in Bombay, State of Bombay, India (now Mumbai, Maharashtra, India). His zodiac sign is Sagittarius. Siddharth’s passion for acting blossomed at a tender age, influenced by his father’s Gujarati theatre background. He started performing in plays as a child artist and in 1969, at the age of 14, performed in the play Chakko-Makko.
In his college days, Siddharth was associated with his college’s theatre group and took part in several inter-college drama competitions, winning prizes for his performances. He continued to take part in inter-college plays for three years and later switched to Indian National Theatre, where he was selected for a play based on World War 2 called Vairi. Many popular faces were a part of the play including Paresh Rawal, Mahendra Joshi, Arundhati, Shankar Nag, and Homi Wadia. Meanwhile, he joined an architectural firm to supplement his income. He worked as an interior designer for 15 years before becoming a full-time theatre artist.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 8″
Hair Colour: Bald
Eye Colour: Dark Brown
Family
Siddharth Randeria belongs to a Gujarati family.
Parents & Siblings
Siddharth Randeria is the son of Madhukar Randeria, a Gujarati professor, who pioneered modern Gujarati Theatre. Madhukar was also a renowned actor and writer and had authored 10 books in the Gujarati language.
Wife & Children
Siddharth Randeria’s wife, Shefali Randeria, is an artist and creative head at Siddharth Randeria Production LLP. Together, they have two sons, Ishaan Randeria, and Anvit Randeria. Ishaan is a director, screenplay writer, and scriptwriter. Anvit is a concept artist, colourist, and illustrator.
Career
Theatre
Siddharth Randeria started his career as a theatre artist in 1970 and has taken part in many popular Gujarati plays like Gurubrahma, Rang Che Rajja, Bas Kar Bakula, Carry On Lalu, Parnela Chaiye Kone Kahiye, Khandan, and Ramat Shooniya Chaukadini.
Besides being a theatre artist, he has also worked as a writer and director in theatre plays. He has received immense popularity with his iconic Gujjubhai series on stage. Starting with Gujjubhai E Gaam Gajaavyu in 2002, Siddharth went on to star in many popular plays of the series including Lage Raho Gujjubhai (2007), Lo Gujjubhai Ghode Chadya (2010), Gujjubhai ni Golmaal (2012), Gujjubhai Banya Dabangg (2015), Rang Rangila Gujjubhai (2017), and Bluffmaster Gujjubhai (2019). The series has completed several hundred shows across the world.
Films
Gujarati
He made his Gujarati film debut in 2015 with the film Gujjubhai The Great. He played the role of Hasmukh Gandhi, an ordinary Gujarati man, who resides with his family and infuses delightful humour into their everyday existence. With a tongue-in-cheek demeanour, he fearlessly expresses his thoughts on his wife, son, and mother-in-law, adding a touch of wit to the dynamics of their household.
Three years later, he appeared in its sequel- GujjuBhai – Most Wanted. In the same year, he played the lead role in the Gujarati film Natsamrat (2018), a remake of the Marathi film of the same name.
He then appeared in the blockbuster film Chaal Jeevi Laiye! (2019), which became one of the highest-grossing Gujarati films of all time. The film ran in the theatres for around a year. He has also starred in the Gujarati films Kehvatlal Parivar (2022) and Bushirt T-shirt (2023).
Hindi
In addition to Gujarati films, he has also worked in a few Bollywood films including Khal Nayak (1993), Kya Kehna (2000), and Short Kut (2009).
TV Serials
In 1999, he appeared in Doordarshan’s TV serial Waqt Ki Raftar. He has also appeared in the TV serial Kudkudiya House No. 43.
Awards
- The Spirit of Ahmedabad Award from Gujarat CM Anandiben Patel at the Sabarmati Festival
- GIFA Award for Best Actor for the Gujarati film Natsamrat (2018)
- Awarded at Gujarat Ratna Award Ceremony, AMA, Ahmedabad (2019)
- The Glory of Gujarat Award (2019)
Favourites
Facts/Trivia
- He loves travelling and listening to music in his leisure time.
- A gourmet, Siddharth Randeria loves trying out different cuisines.
- Siddharth is popularly known as Gujjubhai after his character in the play series Gujjubhai.
- He is often spotted consuming alcohol on various occasions.
- Siddharth owns Siddharth Randeria Production LLP under which he has produced many popular Gujarati plays.
- With an impressive tally of over 12,000 live performances, he has secured the record for the highest number of appearances by an actor in live shows.
- In an interview, while talking about his cult series Gujjubhai, Siddharth said,
Firstly, to draw a parallel this series of plays is like Coca Cola. It was never meant to be a beverage but became one by accident and now its an unbeatable brand. It’s the same with Gujjubhai. It was not pre-meditated. I just gave the play a name, GUJJUBHAI GAAM GAJAVYU and it became such a huge success that the producers felt we should use the name again and hence we did LAGE RAHO GUJJUBHAI which was another turning point in my life. In three years it completed 750 shows and I don’t think any other play has done so well. This could have still gone on but the fatigue had set in and everybody felt we should do something else. In fact I shut it with sold out shows. This cemented the name as a brand. None of the stories are similar or continued and the only constant in the play is me.”