Personal details
- Professions: Actor
Ankur Vikal’s journey into acting didn’t start with red carpets or spotlights—it kicked off in the humble lanes of Gujarat, listening to his granddad spin stories that probably beat any Netflix show today. His early life tuned his ears to the messiness, the beauty, and the heartbreak in the world around him. That’s probably where he got his knack for playing characters with real bite. He didn’t just jump into acting straight away. First, he dabbled in architecture at Maharaja Sayajirao University—yeah, talk about taking the scenic route. But soon enough, the call of the stage got too loud to ignore, and he wound up at the National School of Drama in New Delhi. Graduated in 2000 and just hit the ground running after that. With the Motley Theatre Company, he really cut his teeth, performing in all sorts of languages and nailing roles that critics couldn’t help but rave about. The guy’s just got range. His film debut came in 2001 with Mango Souffle, which shook things up with its bold storytelling. But if you ask most people, they’ll remember him as "Maman" in Slumdog Millionaire—creepy, charismatic, unforgettable. The role grabbed a SAG award in 2009, and people all over the world sat up and took notice. Then came Nirbhaya, a gut-wrenching stage production based on the 2012 Delhi bus rape case. That play didn’t just make waves, it made a freaking tsunami—snagging awards at Edinburgh and sparking conversations wherever it played. Ankur keeps choosing stories that matter, whether it’s indie films, web series, or gritty theatre. He’s not just an actor; he’s a storyteller chasing the truth.
Ankur’s grandfather—yeah, the guy grew up in an orphanage back in Lahore. Life wasn’t exactly easy, but somehow he came out of it with this wild, poetic soul. He’d scribble under the name Vikal, which honestly sounds cooler than most rapper names. Religion? Nah, not his thing. He pretty much rolled his eyes at all that, but nature? That was his jam. Trees, rivers, just the whole vibe of being outside—he called that sacred. And he was all about yoga and meditation, like, way before it was trendy. He started teaching Ankur all that zen stuff when he was just a kid—imagine doing sun salutations before you even knew what a pop quiz was. The man basically shaped Ankur’s world with a little poetry and a whole lot of grounding in nature, no temples or rituals required. Just pure, old-school soul-searching.
Konidela Ram Charan