Samir Kochhar is an Indian actor, model and television presenter, who is best known for being the host of "Extraaa Innings T20", the pre and post match televised show of the Indian Premier League. He has also acted in multiple Indian films and one British short film. He portrayed the character Rajat Kapur in Ekta Kapoor"s popular romantic television drama "Bade Achhe Lagte Hain", which aired on Sony TV.
Early Life and Education of Samir Kochhar
Samir Kochhar was born on May 23, 1980 in New Delhi, India. He completed his schooling at J. D. Tytler School in New Delhi.
Career of Samir Kochhar
Samir Kochhar started his career with modelling and anchoring, first hosting Doordarshan`s AIDS awareness-cum-travel show "Haath Se Haath Mila", alongside Sugandha Garg. He subsequently made his acting debut in the year 2003, in Sumeer Sabharwal"s bilingual Bollywood film "Valentine Days". Kochhar made his television debut with "Dangerous", a talk show on sex that was broadcast on Zoom TV.
In 2005, Samir appeared in Mohit Suri"s Hindi suspense thriller "Zeher", produced by Mahesh Bhatt. He featured in the role of Sean Verghese in the Emraan Hashmi-starrer that was a moderate box office success. He followed it up with unsuccessful films "Bold" and "Ek Se Mera Kya Hoga". He subsequently featured in the crime romance film "Jannat", released in 2008, wherein he portrayed the character of police inspector ACP Ajay Raina. The film was a huge box office success. The same year, Samir appeared in a guest appearance in the Telugu romantic comedy film "Chintakayala Ravi....Software Engineer". He next featured in the titular role in the British short film "The Mole", directed by Salil Jason Fernandez. In 2010, he acted in films "Chase", featuring as Inspector Siddharth Sharma alongside Udita Goswami, "Gandhi Se Pehle Gandhi" with Gracy Singh, "Hide & Seek" where he was seen as Abhimanyu Jaiswal and "Prem Kaa Game" where he played Nikhil alongside Arbaaz Khan. In 2011, he appeared in films "Mumbai Cutting", made by 11 directors narrating eleven different stories about Mumbai and "Cycle Kick", a sports drama where two students face off against each other for the ownership of a bicycle.
Samir Kochhar was next seen in the Karisma Kapoor-starrer "Dangerous Ishhq", released in 2012 wherein he played Rashid (Durgam Shah`s second life). The film received mostly mixed to negative reviews. The actor featured in "Island City", directed by Ruchika Oberoi that received rave reviews when screened at the Venice International Film Festival and the JIO MAMI Film Festival 2015 in Mumbai. The movie, depicting three comic-dramatic stories set in Mumbai, released in 2015 and saw Samir in the role of Purshottam. In 2016, Kochhar was seen in "Mango Dreams", a feature film set in India depicting the story of a Hindu doctor with dementia and a Muslim auto rickshaw driver, who form an unlikely friendship as they cross India in search of the doctor`s childhood home. Directed by American director John Unchurch, the film had Samir playing the role of Abhi. He was last seen in the 2016 comedy film "Housefull 3", donning the character Rishi. He will now be seen in the upcoming Bollywood film "Hume Tumse Pyaar Kitna", alongside Karanvir Bohra and Priya Banerjee in the lead. Directed by Lalit Mohan, the film is the remake of Shah Rukh Khan"s 1993 film "Darr".
Samir Kochhar has been working in Indian television since 2008. He hosted men"s fitness and lifestyle show titled "Men"s HQ", which premiered in 2008 on NDTV GOOD TIMES. Since 2008, Samir has also been hosting "Extraaa Innings T20", a show on SET Max concurrent with the Indian Premier League since its very first season. In 2012, he presented "Survivor India - The Ultimate Battle" that aired on STAR Plus. Samir is also part of the Celebrity Cricket League (CCL) team Mumbai Heroes. The same year, he featured in Ekta Kapoor"s long running popular Hindi television soap opera "Bade Achhe Lagte Hain" broadcast of Sony TV, as parallel male lead Rajat Kapur from 2012 to 2014.
Filmography of Samir Kochhar
Samir Kochhar has worked in the following films thus far in his career, highlighted hereunder alongside his roles and respective years of release.
| Year | Film | Role |
| 2003 | Valentine Days | |
| 2005 | Zeher | Sean Verghese |
| 2005 | Bold | |
| 2006 | Ek Se Mera Kya Hoga | Bashir |
| 2008 | Jannat | ACP Ajay Raina |
| 2008 | Chintakayala Ravi (Telugu film) | Guest appearance |
| 2008 | The Mole (British Short Film) | The Mole |
| 2010 | Hide & Seek | Abhimanyu Jaiswal |
| 2010 | Chase | Inspector Siddharth Sharma |
| 2010 | Gandhi Se Pehle Gandhi | |
| 2010 | Prem Kaa Game | Nikhil |
| 2011 | Mumbai Cutting | |
| 2011 | Cycle Kick | |
| 2012 | Dangerous Ishhq | Rashid (Durgam Shah`s second life) |
| 2015 | Island City | Purshottam |
| 2016 | Mango Dreams | Abhi |
| 2016 | Housefull 3 | Rishi |