Rio Raj Explained

Rio Raj
Birth Date:	17 February 1989
Birth Place:	Erode, Tamil Nadu, India
Years Active:	2011–present

Rio Raj is an Indian actor and video jockey, who has appeared in Tamil language films and television. Often working on shows by network Star Vijay, and Sun Music.^[1] He was listed by the Chennai Times as the ninth most "Desirable Man on Television 2020“.^[2] before moving to work in Tamil cinema.^[3]

Career

Rio Raj started his career as an actor in Star Vijay's 2013 television drama Kana Kaanum Kalangal Kalloori Saalai, a spin-off of its Kana Kaanum Kaalangal series. He later moved to work with Sun Music as a video jockey, hosting day-time shows such as Kaloorikalam, Suda Suda Chennai, and Free Ah Vidu among others. He later returned to Star Vijay by portraying the lead role in the third season of the drama, Saravanan Meenatchi between 2016 and 2018.^[4]

Following a supporting role in Sathriyan (2017), Raj appeared in his first lead role in a feature film through the comedy drama, Nenjamundu Nermaiyundu Odu Raja (2019), produced by actor Sivakarthikeyan.^[5] The film opened to mixed reviews, with a critic noting he makes a "decent debut".^{[6] [7] [8]} His next film Plan Panni Pannanum, another comedy drama, was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.^[9] In October 2020, he participated in Bigg Boss (Tamil season 4).^[10] He was listed by the Chennai Times as the ninth most "Desirable Man on Television 2020“.^[11]

Filmography

Film

Film performances

Year	Title	Role	class=unsortable
2017	Sathriyan	Guna's friend
2019	Nenjamundu Nermaiyundu Odu Raja	Shiva
2021	Plan Panni Pannanum	Sembi	^[12]
2023	Broken Script	Thambi Durai
	Joe	Joe	^[13]

Television stint

Year	Title	Role	Network	Notes	class=unsortable
2011–2012	Kana Kaanum Kaalangal – Kaloori Saalai	Pazhani	Star Vijay
2016–2018	Saravanan Meenatchi (Season 3)	Saravanan		Lead Role
2016–2018	Jodi Number One	Contestant		3rd Runner-Up
2017–2019	Ready Steady Po Season 1 & 2	Host
2017–2018	Wife Kaila Life
2018	Jodi Number One Fun Unlimited
	Bigg Boss Season 2 Kondattam			Special Show
2019	Bigg Boss Tamil Season 3	Guest
2019–2020	Dancing Super Stars	Host
2020	90s Kids vs 2k Kids			Special Show
2020–2021	Bigg Boss Tamil Season 4	Contestant		2nd Runner-Up	^[14]
2021	Varutha Padatha Valibar Sangam	Host	Star Vijay	Special Show for 6th Annual Vijay Television Awards
	Ready Steady Po Reloaded			Special Show

Notes and References

1. News: Rio Raj confirms being part of Bigg Boss Tamil?. The Times of India. 3 October 2020 .
2. Web site: Chennai Times 20 Most Desirable Men on Television 2020. TimesofIndia.com. May 26, 2021.
3. Akshara Viswanathan . Rio . Raj . "Decide what NOT to do" – says Actor RIO RAJ | AGNI 2018 . guindytimes.com . 29 October 2018.
4. Web site: After 7 years Saravanan Meenatchi coming to an end . . 18 August 2018.
5. News: I am forever grateful to Sivakarthikeyan anna: Rio Raj. The Times of India.
6. Web site: 'Nenjamundu Nermaiyundu Odu Raja' review: A lesson in shooting blanks. Pradeep. Kumar. 14 June 2019. The Hindu.
7. Web site: Nenjamundu Nermaiyundu Odu Raja review: An average comedy entertainer. https://web.archive.org/web/20190615002947/http://www.sify.com/movies/nenjamundu-nermaiyundu-odu-raja-review-an-average-comedy-entertainer-review-tamil-tgonXPbgicjci.html. dead. 15 June 2019. Sify.
8. Web site: Nenjamundu Nermaiyundu Odu Raja (aka) Nenjamundu Nermaiyundu Odu Rajaa review. 14 June 2019. Behindwoods.
9. Web site: Rio Raj's film with Badri titled Plan Panni Pannanum. Cinema Express. 12 January 2020 .
10. News: Rio Raj confirms being part of Bigg Boss Tamil?. The Times of India. 3 October 2020 .
11. Web site: Chennai Times 20 Most Desirable Men on Television 2020. TimesofIndia.com. May 26, 2021.
12. Web site: Plan Panni Pannanum trailer is here . . en . 11 March 2020.
13. Web site: 13 January 2023 . Rio Raj's film titled 'Joe'. Timesofindia.com.
14. News: Bigg Boss Tamil 4 second runner-up Rio Raj thanks fans for love and support. The Times of India. 22 January 2021 .