Sharan (born 6 February 1972) is an Indian actor and an occasional playback singer and film producer who works in Kannada cinema. He made his acting debut in the mid-1990s and appeared mostly in comedy roles and small supporting roles. However, he earned much recognition during the late 2000s and made his lead role for his 100th film Rambo and since then featuring as the lead actor in comedy films.

Personal life

Sharan was born into a family of theater artists. His grandparents and parents were reckoned artistes at the Gubbi theater. His younger sister Shruthi, is an actress. He has another younger sister. Though he was pushed to acting genre by his parents, his initial interest was in music and was part of an orchestra as a singer. He cut his own private devotional albums and also sang the title tracks for television series.Sharan's first tryst in acting began with a television series aired in Doordarshan channel. Subsequently he began to get offers to act in various television serials resulting in director Siddlingaiah spotting his talent and offer him a small comedy role for his film ''Prema Prema Prema''.Sharan was born into a family of theater artists. His grandparents and parents were reckoned artistes at the Gubbi theater. His younger sister Shruthi, is an actress. He has another younger sister. Though he was pushed to acting genre by his parents, his initial interest was in music and was part of an orchestra as a singer. He cut his own private devotional albums and also sang the title tracks for television series.Sharan's first tryst in acting began with a television series aired in Doordarshan channel. Subsequently he began to get offers to act in various television serials resulting in director Siddlingaiah spotting his talent and offer him a small comedy role for his film ''Prema Prema Prema''.

Career

Sharan made his acting debut with a small role in Siddalingaiah's ''Prema Prema Prema'' (1996). Since then he featured in over 100 films as a comedian and supporting actor. He was mostly noticed for his comic flavor in films such as ''Friends'' (2002), ''Monalisa'' (2004), ''Jothe Jotheyali'' (2006), ''Pallakki'' (2007), ''Maleyali Jotheyali'' (2009) among several others.Sharan appeared in noticeable lead roles in Rambo (2012) and ''Victory'' (2013); both films received critical and commercial successes, with his performance winning acclaim alongside.In his first film of 2014, ''Maanikya'', Sharan appeared in a supporting role. In the comedy ''Jai Lalitha'', he was cast as Jayaraj and appeared in female character as well. G. S. Kumar of ''The Times of India'' wrote, "It's all Sharan who shines in lady character with excellent mannerism, dialogue delivery and body language." The film however performed average at the box-office. In his final release of the year, ''Adyaksha'', a romance-comedy, and a remake of the Tamil film ''Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam'' (2013), he was cast as Chandrashekhara Gowda, and along with his sidekick Narayana (played by Chikkanna), played the role of a villager who creates havoc in the village as the president of an association "Chi Thu Sangha" ("Chinthe Illada Thund Haikla Sangha"), who then falls in love with a landlord's daughter. The film emerged as a major commercial and critical success, with critics acclaiming Sharan's performance. It turned out to be one of Kannada cinema's biggest commercial successes of 2014. His performance earned him a Filmfare Award for Best Actor nomination.In 2015, Sharan starred in ''Raja Rajendra'' as Bottle Mani, who takes a contract to kill an elder member of the royal family. The film received mixed reviews from critics, though his performance was praised. His performance earned him a Filmfare Award for Best Actor nomination.In 2015, Sharan starred in ''Raja Rajendra'' as Bottle Mani, who takes a contract to kill an elder member of the royal family. The film received mixed reviews from critics, though his performance was praised. He was cast in a double role in the comedy ''Bullet Basya'' as Basavaraj "Basya", a Royal Enfield Bullet-riding villager, who has a proclivity for women, and Muthu, his exact opposite. He also sang the song "Kaal Kg Kallekaai" for the film. The film received mostly negative reviews from critics. On Sharan's performance, ''Bangalore Mirror'' wrote, "Sharan has almost gone overboard in search of comedy, but does justice to the two roles."

2012–present

Sharan appeared in noticeable lead roles in Rambo (2012) and ''Victory'' (2013); both films received critical and commercial successes, with his performance winning acclaim alongside.In his first film of 2014, ''Maanikya'', Sharan appeared in a supporting role. In the comedy ''Jai Lalitha'', he was cast as Jayaraj and appeared in female character as well. G. S. Kumar of ''The Times of India'' wrote, "It's all Sharan who shines in lady character with excellent mannerism, dialogue delivery and body language." The film however performed average at the box-office. In his final release of the year, ''Adyaksha'', a romance-comedy, and a remake of the Tamil film ''Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam'' (2013), he was cast as Chandrashekhara Gowda, and along with his sidekick Narayana (played by Chikkanna), played the role of a villager who creates havoc in the village as the president of an association "Chi Thu Sangha" ("Chinthe Illada Thund Haikla Sangha"), who then falls in love with a landlord's daughter. The film emerged as a major commercial and critical success, with critics acclaiming Sharan's performance. It turned out to be one of Kannada cinema's biggest commercial successes of 2014. His performance earned him a Filmfare Award for Best Actor nomination.In 2015, Sharan starred in ''Raja Rajendra'' as Bottle Mani, who takes a contract to kill an elder member of the royal family. The film received mixed reviews from critics, though his performance was praised. His performance earned him a Filmfare Award for Best Actor nomination.In 2015, Sharan starred in ''Raja Rajendra'' as Bottle Mani, who takes a contract to kill an elder member of the royal family. The film received mixed reviews from critics, though his performance was praised. He was cast in a double role in the comedy ''Bullet Basya'' as Basavaraj "Basya", a Royal Enfield Bullet-riding villager, who has a proclivity for women, and Muthu, his exact opposite. He also sang the song "Kaal Kg Kallekaai" for the film. The film received mostly negative reviews from critics. On Sharan's performance, ''Bangalore Mirror'' wrote, "Sharan has almost gone overboard in search of comedy, but does justice to the two roles."