A prominent face in Bollywood, Rajesh Sharma is an Indian actor who is mostly seen as the villain or in comic roles. The actor who made his debut on the silver screen in 1996 with the super hit movie, Maachis is also a renowned personality in the Bengali film industry. During the 2000s the actor appeared only in Bengali movies before eventually making a comeback to Bollywood in 2005 with the critically acclaimed film Parineeta directed by Pradeep Sarkar. The actor has worked with several renowned filmmakers and actors from both Bengali and Hindi film industry like Salman Khan, Vidya Balan, Naseeruddin Shah, Rani Mukerji, Dibakar Bandopadhyay, Aparna Sen, and Haranath Chakraborty. Born in a typical middle-class Punjabi family in Ludhiana, Punjab, Rajesh Sharma is the son of Late Gurucharan Sharma and Amarjit Sharma. After completing his schooling from Bhawanipur Adarsh Hindi High School in Kolkata, the actor went to pursue his graduation from the NSD (National School of Drama) in New Delhi. The actor who has established himself as one of the prominent actors in the Bengali film industry learned Bengali from his neighbors as well as by watching several Bengali dramas at Muktangon.
At the age of 17, Rajesh Sharma joined a drama academy where he got a chance to feature in several plays like Gudia Ki Ghar and Rangakarmi. After gaining substantial acting experience on stage, the actor moved to acting in TV serials and films. The actor made his acting debut on the silver screen with the critically acclaimed film, Maachis directed by Gulzar and co-starring, Chandrachur Singh, Jimmy Shergill, Raj Zutshi, Tabu and Om Puri. The film based on the aftermath of the assassination of the Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi and the subsequent Anti-Sikh riots in 1984 was a huge commercial hit and won the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. Following his debut movie, the actor took a sabbatical for four years and made his comeback in 2000 with a Bengali film titled Paromitar Ek Din, written and directed by Aparna Sen. The film starring, Rituparna Sengupta, Aparna Sen, and Soumitra Chatterjee won several national and international awards including the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali, Ecumenical Jury Award the 35th International Film Festival of Karlovy Vary, one of the oldest in the world and Central and Eastern Europe's leading film event.