Tahir Raj Bhasin

Early life

Born in Delhi, Bhasin is the son of a Punjabi father and a Kashmiri-Marathi mother and is the eldest of two siblings. His father was in the Air Force while his mother worked for Confederation of Indian Industry, and Aptech Computers. His younger brother is a pilot in Cathay Pacific. His father and grandfather both served as fighter pilots in the Indian Air Force. During school days, he participated in a lot of extra-curricular activities. He played basketball during school and did a lot of dance and theatre during college.

At the age of 13, Bhasin started acting and initiated his fundamental acting training, while he was 15, at the Barry John Acting School. He studied political science at Hindu College, University of Delhi and did a workshop with Aamir Raza Hussain, who is a big theater personality in Delhi. It was when he participated in the IIT Bombay's Mood Indigo festival, he decided to become an actor. He holds a master's degree in media from the University of Melbourne, Australia with special papers in screen media and the history and philosophy of film. At the age of 18, he worked at a national news production company where he hosted a campus-talk-show for a news channel. Bhasin moved to Mumbai at the age of 23 to pursue acting and concentrate on modelling. He joined the Institute of Advanced Acting and Behavioural Studies for a year, where he learnt about body language and behavioral analytic. In 2013, he took part in the summer intensive acting and voice training program conducted by Naseeruddin Shah.

Career

Bhasin committed to acting professionally in 2012, where he featured in four short films for the Film and Television Institute of India, and appeared in Indian television advertisements for companies like Samsung and Canon camera. During the year, he was seen in a cameo appearance in the comedy thriller film Kismat Love Paisa Dilli directed by Sanjay Khanduri. After starring in a three-minute role in Abhishek Kapoor's Kai Po Che! (2013), playing the role of senior Ali—the cricketer in the film—Bhasin appeared in the romantic comedy One by Two (2014), directed by Devika Bhagat.

In 2014, Bhasin made his Bollywood film debut—in a lead role—in Pradeep Sarkar's crime thriller Mardaani alongside Rani Mukerji, in which he played the role of Karan Rastogi, a Delhi-based human trafficking kingpin. His character in the film, inspired from the American TV series, Breaking Bad was critically acclaimed and critics appraised the representation of a "new, young, chilling face of crime" in Indian cinema. Mohar Basu of Koimoi called Bhasin a "revelation", and Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama mentioned that Bhasin made sure he leaves an "ineradicable impression" even if "pitted against a powerhouse performer" like Mukerji. With the role, Bhasin topped "The Times hotlist'14" in the Best actor in a negative role category, and was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the annual Filmfare Awards ceremony.

In 2016, Tahir starred in the action spy thriller Force 2 as the antagonist opposite John Abraham and Sonakshi Sinha. His acclaimed portrayal won him a Star screen nomination for best supporting actor.

For his work in Mardaani and Force 2 Tahir ranked in the Forbes magazine 30 under 30 list for 2017.

In 2017 Tahir was ranked in The Times of India list of top 50 most desirable men.

He is currently shooting for the Nandita Das directorial film Manto, where he plays the 1940s Bollywood star 'Shyam'.

Personal life and off-screen work

In an interview, Bhasin admitted that he had relationships during school and college days but after being committed to acting, he does not have time for relationships. Bhasin walked for the ninth edition of the fashion show "Ramp For Champs" and lent his support to charity organisation—Smile Foundation. The profits made from the event was used to educate girls.