Addy Raj

Addy Raj
Born (1995-08-30) 30 August 1995 (age 29)
NationalityIndian
EducationGraphic and Website Designer, Bachelor of Arts
Occupation(s)Actor, model & singer
Years active2015–present
Agents
  • ABS-CBN (2015-2016; 2019)
    GMA Artist Center (2016–2019; 2020-2021)
    Powerhouse Arte Inc. (2019–2020)
    Firestarters Production Inc.(2021–2022)
  • Freelance (2022–present)
Known forI Love OPM, Jai Patel in Meant to Be
Height5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Websitewww.gmanetwork.com/artistcenter/talents/530/Addy-Raj

Adhiraj Gaur (born 30 August 1995), popularly known as Addy Raj (/rɑː/; Tagalog pronunciation: [ˈɾah, ˈɾadʒ]), is an Indian actor, singer, model and former track athlete living in the Philippines. He was introduced in showbiz by ABS-CBN's I Love OPM in 2016. He later transferred to rival network GMA and was offered a lead role in the TV series Meant to Be, a romantic-comedy drama. He portrays the role of Jai Patel, an Indian suitor to Billie Bendiola (portrayed by Barbie Forteza), in the show.[1][2]

Early life and career

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Addy was born in Ajmer, Rajasthan in India to Suchek Gaur and Anita Gaur. His father worked with the Government of India in the forest services for 40 years, retiring in 2019. His mother is a homemaker. He also has an older sister, Soumya Gaur, who runs a travel company based in Jaipur, Rajasthan known as Yaan Tours (yaantours.com) that specializes in organizing private tailor-made tours across India.[3]

Addy studied in a prestigious boarding school in India known as Mayo College, from 2006 – 2011. It was here that he took a keen interest in sports and went on to become the Athletics Captain of his batch. He later featured in the list of 20 fastest runners of India and the fastest man of New Delhi in a 100m event in the year 2014. Apart from this, Addy was also a lead guitarist at his school band and continues to play even now in his free time.[3]

Addy first arrived in the Philippines as an exchange student in Ateneo de Manila University, where he stayed for two months.[3] He instantly fell in love with the country and upon finishing graduation back in India, decided to return to the Philippines to begin a career in showbiz. He soon started as a commercial model and was eventually discovered by ABS-CBN and appeared in a reality singing competition, I Love OPM. He later transferred to the rival network GMA and bagged one of the leading roles in the TV series, Meant to Be, a romantic –comedy drama where he played the role of Jai Patel, an Indian suitor to Billie Bendiola (portrayed by Barbie Forteza) in the show.

Following the success of Meant to Be, Addy was nominated for the 31st PMPC Star Awards for Television as the ‘Best New Male TV Personality’. He also made it to the list of ‘Top 10 Hottest Male Celebrities’ by Cosmopolitan Magazine[4] and landed the cover page for Garage, MEGA Man[5] and Yes[6] magazine. He also went on to receive an endorsement for Bench,[7] a popular clothing brand in the Philippines and formed an ‘Addycted Fansclub’, wherein his fans call themselves Addycted.

After his lead role in Meant to Be, Addy was seen in many of GMA Network's television series including Sirkus, Kapag Nahati ang Puso, The One That Got Away, Super Ma'am, One of the Baes and Descendants of the Sun. He also appeared in a variety of shows like Eat Bulaga!, Wowowin, Maynila, Daig Kayo ng Lola Ko, Unang Hirit, Sunday PinaSaya, Dear Uge, Celebrity Bluff and Taste Buddies.

After being an exclusive artist of GMA Network for 2 years, Addy was spotted in many other projects like the movie The Panti Sisters (Black Sheep Productions),[8] M.M.K. (ABS CBN), Hush (iWantTFC) as a freelance artist. He was also seen as the celebrity of the month for Playboy Philippines.

Addy proudly calls himself an ally of the LGBTQ+ community and is one of the only straight male actor who is very vocal about his views on straight people standing up for their LGBTQ+ friends. He has worked in collaboration with the Village Pipol magazine, San Miguel Light and has also participated in the Metro Manila Pride march[9] for the same cause.[8][10][11]

He says he loves Filipinos and would like to stay in the Philippines for the rest of his life.[12]

Filmography

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Television

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Year Title Role(s) Network
2016 I Love OPM Performer ABS-CBN
2017 Meant to Be Jai Patel GMA Network
Full House Tonight Various roles
Dear Uge: NPBSB Francis
Daig Kayo ng Lola Ko Princes Kumar
3 Days of Summer Himself
2018 Super Ma'am Christian
Dear Uge: Bongga Bonita Jerome
Sirkus Sandino
Kapag Nahati ang Puso Prince Hamesh Gupta
Daig Kayo ng Lola Ko: Okay Ka, Genie Ko Genie Ralph
2019 Maynila: Lend Me your Love Talha
Maalaala Mo Kaya: Tubig Saudi Police ABS-CBN
One of the Baes Carlos Falcon GMA Network
2020 Descendants of the Sun Alif Fayad
2021 The Lost Recipe Addy GMA News TV
Hush James iWantTFC
Owe My Love Amir GMA Network
2023 Fit Check: Confessions of An Ukay Queen Addy Raj ABS-CBN
Amazon Prime

Film

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Year Title Role(s) Production Company
2019 The Panti Sisters Black Sheep Productions, IdealFirst, Quantum Films, ALV Films

Awards and nominations

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Year Association Category Nominated work Result
2017 31st PMPC Star Awards for Television Best New Male TV Personality[13] Meant to Be Nominated

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "GMA Artist Center welcomes Ivan Dorschner and Addy Raj – GMANetwork.com – Entertainment – Home of Kapuso shows and stars – Articles".
  2. ^ "Indian student charms with 'I Love OPM' song". ABS-CBN. 15 February 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  3. ^ a b c "Tunay na Buhay: Addy Raj, ikinuwento kung paano siya naging isang Kapuso". GMA Public Affairs. 18 January 2017.
  4. ^ Acar, Aedrianne. "Jak Roberto and Addy Raj join the list of 69 hottest hunks of lifestyle magazine". www.gmanetwork.com. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  5. ^ Caligan, Michelle. "Look: 'Meant To Be' boys on the digital cover of men's fashion magazine". www.gmanetwork.com. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  6. ^ "Look: 'Meant To Be' stars' summer adventure on the cover of entertainment magazine". www.gmanetwork.com. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  7. ^ Interaksyon (14 November 2017). "'Under the Stars': Bench's 30th anniversary show promises heavenly bodies shining on the runway". Interaksyon. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  8. ^ a b Pulumbarit, Oliver (28 June 2019). "Addy Raj on virginity, being an LGBT ally and breaking stereotypes". inquirer.net. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  9. ^ "In Focus: Meet These Fab Celebrities Who Strode Fearlessly At The Metro Manila Pride March 2019". lifestyle.abs-cbn.com. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  10. ^ Daria, Edo. "LGBTQ allies Luis Hontiveros and Addy Raj react to incident of transwoman denied use of female washroom". push.abs-cbn.com. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  11. ^ "ABS-CBN, GMA-7 stars join forces for Pride March 2019". PEP.ph. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  12. ^ "Addy Raj recalls breaking down language barrier, falling in love with PH". 18 January 2019.
  13. ^ "Nominees for 2017 Star Awards for TV revealed". news.abs-cbn.com. ABS-CBN News. 30 October 2017. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
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