Gurinder Makna

Gurinder Makna, yeah, the guy playing Baljit Singh Rajpuria aka Bill in the Netflix series Cat—he’s getting a ton of love for his performance lately. Honestly, it’s about time. People in the Punjabi and Bollywood circuits have known his face for ages, not just as an actor but also working behind the scenes as a director, casting director, and even writer. Dude’s got range. Born in Sultanwind village, Amritsar, back in 1970, Gurinder grew up in a big family—five brothers and a sister, classic desi household vibes. Schooling at Sainik School Kapurthala, then on to college in Ludhiana and Patiala, he’s got the academics to back up his art. What’s wild is, aside from acting, he’s a government employee in Punjab’s Revenue Dept. Balancing that with a full-blown theatre passion project—his group’s called SSAI Creations out of Amritsar, by the way—since ’89. You might’ve seen him in Munna Bhai MBBS, Sardar Udham, The Legend of Bhagat Singh, or even Laung Laachi. He’s got writing and directing credits for documentaries and films too. In Cat, he’s pulling off this intense role as a terrorist and Canadian Don, going toe-to-toe with Randeep Hooda. He’s big on connecting with his character, says if the audience notices you’re acting, you’ve already failed. He’s not short on awards either. Best Actor, Best Director, you name it, he’s probably got it. And there’s more to come—he’s got big projects in the pipeline like Zorawar with Rajiv Rai. All in all, Gurinder seems like a solid dude and a powerhouse talent.