Viraj Ghelani is an Indian actor, comedian, content creator, YouTuber and social media influencer, known for appearing in videos on YouTube channels such as Dice Media, Gobble and FilterCopy. In 2022, he played the role of Baldev in the Hindi film Govinda Naam Mera starring Vicky Kaushal.
Wiki/Biography
Viraj Ghelani was born in 1993 (31 years old; as of 2024) in South Borivali, Mumbai, Maharashtra. After completing his 10th class, he studied at Abhinav Institute of High Tech Engineering, Mumbai. He subsequently enrolled in a college in Bombay, but he disliked the environment at the college and dropped out after less than a year. Thereafter, he obtained a diploma in Electronics and Communication Engineering from Thakur College of Science and Commerce, Mumbai. While he was studying at Thakur College of Science and Commerce, he performed a comedy show as former Bigg Boss contestant Dolly Bindra. His performance was loved by the audience, and he became interested in acting from then on. Subsequently, he hosted various events at the university and participated in various performances.
Viraj Gailani hosted the event
Thereafter, he continued his studies at NMIMS, Mumbai. However, he soon realized that engineering was not for him and he dropped out of college. He subsequently auditioned several times to enter the entertainment industry, but was rejected each time. He then started making videos on his Snapchat account, which quickly went viral. Later, the online portal BuzzFeed published an article “Top 20 Indians on Snapchat You Should Follow” in which Viraj’s name was also listed. Gradually, he began to gain popularity. He has since sent his portfolio to digital platforms such as TVF and FilterCopy.
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′8″
Hair color: black
Eye color: black
family
Viraj Ghelani comes from a Gujarati family.
Parents and siblings
His parents are both school teachers. His younger brother Jayraj Ghelani is a professional football player.
Viraj Gailani and his mother
Viraj Gailani and his brother
Relationships/Affairs
As of 2022, he has been dating Palak Khimavat for over two years.
Viraj Gailani and his girlfriend
Profession
Corporate positions
Early in his career, he held a number of human resources and sales roles within the company. Later, Viraj found a job as a Snapchat video manager at digital entertainment company FilterCopy, with a monthly salary of Rs 16,000-17,000. Later, Viraj started working as a content writer at FilterCopy. He has also worked as a content creator for FilterCopy’s sister companies Dice Media and Gobble, as well as Indian media company Pocket Aces Pictures Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai.
web series
In 2017, he made his debut as an actor in the episode “Humse Na Ho Paayega” of the Hindi television web series “2By3”, in which he played the role of Veer. The video has been uploaded to the YouTube channel Dice Media.
2By3 Web Series
He has appeared in several Dice Media web series such as “Adulting” (2018), “Fairy Lights” (2019), “What the Folks” (2019) and “Firsts” (2020).
“What People Are Doing” (2019)
short film
In 2019, he starred in the Hindi short film “The Test”.
Movie
Viraj made his Bollywood debut in the 2022 film Govinda Naam Mera, in which he played the role of Baldev Chaddha aka Ballu.
Viraj Ghelani as Govinda Naam Mera
Youtube
Viraj started making videos on YouTube titled “Fifty Shades Of Ghe” where Ghe means Ghelani. On November 16, 2020, he started his YouTube channel “That’s So Viraj” where he uploads sketch videos, podcasts, informational content, and comic videos. Some of his YouTube videos include “Things Gujju Moms Say” (2020), “Fancy Restaurants Are The Worst” (2021), “Me And My Gym Buddy” (2022), and “Koffee With KJO – Writers Room” ( 2022).
Coffee with KJO – Writers Room (2022)
He has also uploaded some comic videos with his maternal grandmother Bhanuben Thakkar on the channel.
Viraj Ghelani and his maternal grandmother
Other work
In 2016, he served as Assistant Art Director on the Hindi digital series Little Things. In 2019, he appeared in Avanti Nagral’s Hindi music video “thank u (pls)”.
Stills of Viraj Ghelani from the music video, thank you
In 2019, he appeared on the digital show “Hot Talent.” Viraj also launched a merchandise clothing website called Creative Ideas Store.
Viraj Ghelani’s creative store
In 2020, he appeared in the Hindi music video “The Lockdown Rap” along with several other Indian content creators. He has worked with several brands including FBB, MX Player, Tinder and Hotstar.
Favorites
- Content Creator: Key and Peele
- WWE Wrestler: Randy Orton
Facts/Trivia
- Viraj’s academic performance was not good when he was a student. Once, he was even expelled from school because of this.
- In 2015, he started making videos on the online video creation app Dubsmash. He has uploaded Dubsmash videos on his Instagram account.
- In 2019, he gave his mother a Hyundai car.
Viraj Gailani and his car
- Viraj Ghelani is an avid animal lover.
Viraj Gailani and a dog
- In 2020, he was invited as a guest speaker at TEDx Talks BITS in Goa.
Viraj Ghelani in TEDx talk
- He has received several awards, including Entertainer of the Year (2022) from Exhibit Magazine.
Viraj Ghelani wins
- In 2022, Viraj is ranked No. 1. Ranked 26th among Forbes India’s 100 Digital Stars.
- He said in a podcast in September 2024 that he has asked his fans to comment on the trailer video of Govinda Naam Mera (2022) “Here For Viraj” on the Dharma Productions YouTube channel. This was in response to the production company ignoring him and not inviting him to the film’s trailer launch. He also mentioned that the producer later contacted him and asked to stop commenting.
- He revealed in the same podcast that working on the 2023 Hindi film Jawan was his “worst experience” as not only did he feel marginalized on the set, but several of his scenes were removed from the final version of the film was deleted.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education