Amar Upadhyay (born 1 August 1976) is an Indian actor in Hindi television and film. He is best known for his collaborations with Ekta Kapoor in the television shows Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi (2000–2002), Kalash (2000–2002), Kasautii Zindagii Kay (2005), Kkusum (2005) and Molkki (2020–2022). In 2011, he participated in Bigg Boss and emerged as a finalist.
His other television shows include Dekh Bhai Dekh (1993–1994), Viraasat (2006–2007), Chand Ke Paar Chalo (2008–2009), Saath Nibhaana Saathiya (2015–2017), Ek Deewaana Tha (2017–2018), Ishqbaaaz (2019), Kyunkii Tum Hi Ho (2022–2023), and Doree (2023–2025). Apart from television shows, he has appeared in many films like Dhoondte Reh Jaaoge! (1998), Dhund: The Fog (2003), LOC Kargil (2003), 13B (2009), It's My Life (2020), Kaagaz (2021) and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 (2022).
Early life Amar Upadhyay was born on 1 August 1976 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat into a Gujarati family. He grew up in the Malad suburb of Mumbai, and studied chemical engineering in college. After graduation, he attended the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune.
Career In 1993, photographs of Upadhyay appeared in Stardust magazine, which led to Jaya Bachchan offering him the TV series Dekh Bhai Dekh. This was followed by numerous TV series like Arzoo, Suhana Safar, Tulsi and Aruna Irani's Mehndi Tere Naam Ki.
Eventually, he became famous in 2000 with the mega TV daily soap, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi (2000). When his character Mihir 'died' in 2001 there were protests and the television channel's head office was flooded with phone-calls and letters, and his character was brought back to life.
After his success in television, he ventured into film with Dahshat 2003, followed by a big launch, Dhund – The Fog (2003), along with Aditi Govitrikar, directed by Sham Ramsay, and later he appeared in J.P. Dutta's war movie, LOC Kargil (2003). He also had a role in R Madhavan starrer 13B (2009). He also appeared in some Bhojpuri films like Dharam Veer (2008), Hum Bahubali (2008), Tu Babuaa Hamaar (2008), E Rishta Anmol Baa (2009).
Subsequently, he returned to television after a two-year hiatus, playing a key role in the serial Chand Ke Paar Chalo (2009) on NDTV Imagine. Then he appeared in many television serials mostly playing recurring or negative roles namely in Doli Saja Ke (2009), Sapna Babul Ka...Bidaai (2009), Police Files (2012), Ek Thhi Naayka (2013) and Savdhaan India (2013). In October 2011 he joined the fifth season of the reality TV series Bigg Boss and finished in fifth place.
In 2015, he entered Star Plus's long-running series Saath Nibhaana Saathiya as the parallel lead role of Dharam Suryavanshi opposite Tanya Sharma. He played the character till the ending of the show in 2017. For his portrayal of Dharam Suryavanshi, he won the Gold Award for best supporting actor. He also starred in Sony Entertainment Television show Ek Deewaana Tha (2017–18) as Rajan Bedi, the antagonist.
In November 2020, Amar reunited with his Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi producers Ekta Kapoor and Shobha Kapoor for a television show titled Molkki. He plays the main lead Virendra Pratapsingh in Molkki which is telecast on Colors TV. In 2021, he appeared in the Satish Kaushik directorial Kaagaz, which stars Pankaj Tripathi in the lead. He played the role of Vidhayak Jaganpal Singh, the main antagonist. The film was released on Zee5 and produced by Salman Khan.
Amar also made a small appearance in the Abhishek Bachchan starrer Bob Biswas (2021), which was directed by Sujoy Ghosh's daughter Diya Ghosh in her directorial debut. It was released on Zee5. He was also seen in Anees Bazmee directorial Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, starring Kartik Aaryan, Kiara Advani and Tabu in lead.
He was also set to appear as a lead in Nima Denzongpa, but his entry was later scrapped when the show went off-air.
In 2022, he portrayed Rama in Dangal channel television show Jai Hanuman - Sankat Mochan Naam Tiharo. Later that year, he announced his television show Kyunkii Tum Hi Ho, as an actor and a producer. The show aired on Shemaroo Umang. From November 2023 to February 2025, he has been playing the role of Ganga Thakur / Ganga Prasad / Agni Thakur in Colors TV's Doree season 1 and 2.
From July 2025 to May 2026, he reprised his role of Mihir Virani in the StarPlus's spiritual sequel of Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, entitled Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2. After a short break of 4 months, he officially re-entered the show.
Personal life Upadhyay married Hetal Upadhyay, an engineer, in 1999. They have a son named Aryaman and a daughter named Chenab together.
He is a black belt holder in Taekwondo.
Filmography
Films
Year Title Role Notes 1998 Dhoondte Reh Jaaoge! Ajay / Devdas 2000 Dahshat Vicky 2001 Censor2003 Dhund: The Fog Sameer Jodi Kya Banayi Wah Wah Ramji Vishal LOC Kargil Captain Vijayanth Thapar2008 Dharam Veer VeerBhojpuri film Hum Bahubali Tu Babuaa Hamaar 2009 E Rishta Anmol Baa 13B MohanTamil Film2012 Overtime Naagin Bani Suhagan 2016Music Meri Jaan Judge2017 Aav Taru Kari NakhuDushyant Gujarati film 2020It's My Life Shekhar Sharma2021Kaagaz Vidhayak Jaganpal Singh Jayanti Vikas Kukreja Marathi film Bob Biswas Saubhik Das 2022Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 Uday Thakur2025Mom Tane Nai SamjayKunalGujarati film
Television
Year Serial Role Notes 1993–1994 Dekh Bhai Dekh Sahil Diwan 1994 Rajani Sahil 1995 Suhana Safar 1998 Saturday Suspense Sohail Episodic role 1999 Aahat – The Roommate: Part 1 & Part 2 Vishal 2000 Rishtey – Number Please Rajan 2000–2002 Mehndi Tere Naam Ki Akshat Lead role Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi Mihir Virani Kalash Ram 2003–2004 Des Mein Niklla Hoga Chand Dev Malik 2003; 2005 Rohit Sharma 2004–2005 Saathiya – Pyar Ka Naya Ehsaas Kshitij Singhania 2005 Kasautii Zindagii Kay Advocate Mahesh Bajaj Kkusum Dr. Abhinav Gautam 2006 CID – Murder In The Safety Vault Inspector Rishi Episodic role 2006–2007 Viraasat Kunal Kharbanda 2007 CID – Return Of The Clown Harry Episodic role 2008–2009 Chand Ke Paar Chalo Arjun Oberoi 2009 Dhoop Mein Thandi Chaav...Maa Shekhar Babul Ki Bitiya Chali Doli Saja Ke Samar Sapna Babul Ka...Bidaai Advocate Dhananjay Singhania Cameo2011 Bigg Boss 5 Contestant 4th Runner Up 2012 Police Files Host Sabse Bade Ladaiya Alha 2013 Ek Thhi Naayka Mukesh Mehta Episodic role Savdhaan India Host Welcome – Baazi Mehmaan Nawazi KiContestant 2015–2017 Saath Nibhaana Saathiya Dharam Suryavanshi 2017–2018 Ek Deewaana Tha Rajan Bedi 2019 Ishqbaaaz Sahil Chaturvedi 2020–2022 Molkki Veerendra Pratapsingh Lead role 2021 Namak Issk Ka Veerendra Pratapsingh Guest Sirf TumGuest 2022 Jai Hanuman – Sankatmochan Naam Tiharo Ram 2022–2023 Kyunkii Tum Hi Ho Karan Pratapsingh2023 Scoop Sumeet 2023–2025 Doree Ganga "Agni" Thakur Season 1–2 2025–2026 Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2 Mihir Virani / Amar Sanghvi
Producer Year Serial Ref. 2012 Crime Files 2022–2023 Kyunkii Tum Hi Ho
Awards and nominations YearAward ShowAwardWorkResultRef(s) 2001Indian Television Academy AwardsBest Actor PopularKyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2002 Indian Telly Awards Best Television Personality Kalakar Awards Best Actor Popular 2018 Gold Awards Best Actor in a Supporting Role Saath Nibhaana Saathiya 2021International Iconic Awards Most Bankable Star of the YearMolkki Most Popular Face of Indian Television () 2024 Indian Television Academy Awards Best Actor – Drama (Jury) Doree
References
External links