Dayahang Rai facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Dayahang Rai
दयाहाङ् राई
Dayahang Rai at International Theater Festival 2019
Born	(1980-04-13) 13 April 1980 (age 45) Khawa, Bhojpur District, Nepal
Nationality	Nepalese
Occupation	Actor, director, play writer
Years active	2002–present
Organisation	Mandala Theatre, Nepal
Known for	Kabaddi 4: The Final Match Jaari
Spouse(s)	Benuka Rai ​ (m. 2006)​
Children	2

Dayahang Rai (Nepali: दयाहाङ् राई; born 13 April 1980) is a famous Nepalese actor, director, and playwright. He is one of the most popular actors in Nepal. He has acted in over 50 movies and is a leading actor today. Dayahang has won many awards for his acting. He started in theater and then moved to Nepali movies.

Dayahang became well-known from TV shows like Yuva, Dalan, and Hamro Team. His first movie was Anagarik (2006). The movie Dasdhunga (2010) was quite successful. But Loot (2012) was a huge hit and changed his career.

Since then, he has starred in many successful movies. These include Chhadke (2013), Badhshala (2013), Karkash (2013), and Jholey (2014). He also starred in Kabaddi (2013) and its sequels, Kabaddi Kabaddi (2015) and Kabaddi Kabaddi Kabaddi (2019). Other popular films are Talakjung vs Tulke (2014), Woda Number 6 (2015), How Funny (2016), and Bir Bikram (2016). He also appeared in Loot 2 (2017), Kaanchi (2018), and Jatrai Jatra (2019). The movie White Sun (2016), which he starred in, was the first ever Nepali movie sent to the Academy Awards.

Dayahang Rai has won many awards. This includes three National Awards. He won Best Supporting Actor in 2009 for Dasdhunga. He won Best Actor in 2015 for Sambodhan. And he won Best Actor again in 2016 for Kabaddi Kabaddi.

Dayahang Rai's Early Life

Dayahang Rai was born on April 13, 1980. His birthplace was Khawa, in the Bhojpur district of Eastern Nepal. His parents are Tilak Ram Rai and Chandra Devi Rai. He is the middle child in his family. He has two younger sisters and an older brother. His family belongs to the Bantawa Rai people. This is a group of the Kirat ethnicity in Nepal.

Dayahang went to Pashupati Lower Secondary School in Khawa for his early studies. He finished high school at Annapurna Secondary School in Dilpa in 1998. He then studied Geography at Bhojpur Multiple College. In 2001, he moved to Kathmandu. There, he studied Journalism at The Ratna Rajya Campus.

When Dayahang was a child, his mother told him fairy tales. These stories made him very interested in imagination. He loved acting from a young age. He started doing plays at school. Dayahang was not very interested in his school studies. So, he decided to follow his dream of acting in theater.

Acting Career Highlights

Dayahang Rai has had a successful career in both theater and films.

Theater Work

Dayahang acted in the play Talakjung vs Tulke. After this, he joined Actors’ Studio in 2007. This was a place for theater artists in Nepal. Today, he works with Mandala Theatre, Nepal. He helped start this theater with Rajan Khatiwada and Dhiren Raja (Limbu).

Film Roles

Dayahang's first time acting on screen was in Yuwa. Then he was in Dalan, a TV series directed by Nabin Subba in 2003. This series was shown on Nepal Television in 2009.

He started his big movie career as the main actor in Anagarik (2006). This film was directed by Ram Babu Gurung. It won two awards at the Nepal International Indigenous Film Festival. After that, Dayahang starred in the romantic movie Mero Euta Saathi Chha (2009). This film was directed by Sudarshan Thapa.

Dayahang became very well-known for his role in the movie Dasdhunga (2009). He acted alongside Saugat Malla and Anup Baral in this film. He won his first National Award for Dasdhunga as the Best Supporting Actor. He played a doctor in Acharya (2010) and also in Mero Love Story (2010).

In 2012, Dayahang was in the very popular Nepali movie Loot. He also helped write the dialogues for this film. His character, Gofle, received great reviews from critics and audiences. This movie was a big turning point in his career. He won the Popular Award for Loot. Dayahang became even more popular for his role in Highway (2012).

The 2013 movie Chhadke brought Dayahang together with other famous Nepali actors. These included Saugat Malla and Arpan Thapa. Badhshala (2013) was one of Dayahang's films about a conflict in Nepal. The film was not shown after some objections. In Karkash (2013), Dayahang played a drummer in a struggling music band. In the well-liked film Saanghuro (2013), Dayahang had a small but important role. Dayahang and Aryan Sigdel starred in the suspense movie Loafer in 2013. Mukhauta (2013) was a movie with many stars. It featured famous Nepali actors like Dayahang, Rajesh Hamal, Saugat Malla, and Sunil Thapa.

Dayahang's two movies Kabaddi (2013) and its sequel Kabaddi Kabaddi (2015) were huge successes. They were popular in Nepal and other countries. He won his third National Award for Best Actor for Kabaddi Kabaddi. In 2014, Dayahang worked with Priyanka Karki in the successful movie Jhole. Dayahang won his second National Award for the film Sambodhan (2014) as Best Actor. The well-received Talakjung vs Tulke (2014) showed how good Dayahang is as an actor. It was set during a time of conflict in Nepal. In 2015, Dayahang acted in Fanko. This film also starred Saugat Malla, Priyanka Adhikari, and Keki Adhikari.

In 2016, Dayahang acted in the well-known movie White Sun (Seto Surya). This film was about the conflict in Nepal. It was Nepal's entry for the 2018 Oscars in the Best Foreign Language Film category. Dayahang also acted in the Ram Babu Gurung film Purano Dunga (2016). This movie was a big commercial success. The sequel to Loot was released in 2017 as Loot 2. Dayahang returned as his character Gofle. Dayahang worked with Keki Adhikari in Ghampani in 2017. This movie was also successful and well-liked. The action movie Lappan Chhappan (2017) showed Dayahang as a police officer chasing a criminal. In Taandro (2017), Dayahang acted in his fourth film about Nepal's conflict. This film was also highly praised.

Dayahang Rai's Personal Life

Dayahang Rai is married to Benuka Rai, a Nepali singer. They got married in 2006. They have two sons named Samduhang Rai and Sinchunghang Rai.

Filmography

Awards and Nominations