Bigg Boss 8 made Gautam Gulati a winner in January 2015. Eleven years later the actor went back into a reality house, this time on Prime Video, and finished third on Rise and Fall 2.
He is 38, was born in Delhi, and spent three years on Diya Aur Baati Hum as Vikram Rathi before reality television made him a household name. The two reality runs now sit a decade apart. Between them are a run of feature films, one web series and two seasons as a Roadies gang leader.
Gautam Gulati: Quick Facts
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name | Gautam Gulati |
| Age | 38 (born 27 November 1987) |
| Born in | Delhi, India |
| Education | Hansraj College, University of Delhi |
| First screen role | Teenage Duryodhan, Kahaani Hamaaray Mahaabhaarat Ki (2008) |
| Best known on TV for | Vikram Rathi in Diya Aur Baati Hum |
| Reality record | Bigg Boss 8 winner (2015); Rise and Fall 2 third place (2026) |
| Marriage | No marriage on the public record |
Early Life and Family in Delhi
Gulati was born into a Punjabi family in Delhi. His mother, Anurag Gulati, raised him and his elder brother, Mohit Gulati, who is also known as Kapil. He did his schooling in the city and graduated from Hansraj College at the University of Delhi.
Acting was not the first trade he trained for. He studied martial arts and took contemporary dance classes at the Shiamak Davar academy, then worked the Delhi theater circuit around Mandi House. Commercial modeling followed. At 22 he appeared in a television advertisement alongside Amitabh Bachchan.
Work behind the camera came next, and it mattered later. He joined film crews in junior positions, including on Salman Khan’s Veer, to learn how a set runs before he had a speaking part on one.
The Television Years That Led to Bigg Boss
His acting debut came in 2008, as a teenage Duryodhan in Ekta Kapoor’s Kahaani Hamaaray Mahaabhaarat Ki. Supporting parts followed on Kasamh Se and Tujh Sang Preet Lagayi Sajna. From 2010 he played Shaurya Khanna in the supernatural drama Pyaar Kii Ye Ek Kahaani.
The role that changed his standing was Vikram Rathi in Star Plus’s Diya Aur Baati Hum. He played it from 2011 until he left the show in 2014. The comedy in that part is what audiences remembered, and it moved him from supporting actor to a recognizable face in prime time.
Feature work ran in parallel. In 2013 he played Devadutta in the international production Sri Siddhartha Gautama. A year later he starred as Jogi in Rakesh Mehta’s short film Darpok, which screened at the 67th Cannes Film Festival. That screening put him on the Croisette years before his first Bollywood release.
What the Bigg Boss 8 Win Did for His Career
Bigg Boss 8 ran from September 2014 into January 2015, and Gulati won it. He was isolated by the house early on, and the friction with fellow contestants became the season’s running story rather than a side plot.
What followed was unusual for the show. Viewers organized around him under the name “Gautam City”. The trend grew large enough that the producers built a task around the fictional kingdom, and a fan anthem he composed, “We love, we love Gauti”, traveled with it. He took the title in January 2015.
The win did not convert into lead roles. What it produced was a decade of supporting work inside films that were already star vehicles. He played Ravi Shastri in the 2016 cricket biopic Azhar, took a part in Behen Hogi Teri, and led the 2019 Eros Now series Operation Cobra as RAW agent Karan Singh. In 2021 he played the antagonist Girgit opposite Salman Khan in Radhe. From 2023 he returned to reality television as a gang leader on MTV Roadies, first on Karm Ya Kaand and then on Double Cross.
That pattern, a famous win followed by steady supporting credits, is the part fans argue about most. A thread on r/biggboss asking whether any Bigg Boss winner’s career had truly taken off drew an answer that puts him in a list instead of at the front of it:
“Gautam didn’t find much success. Prince remained stuck with mtv. Where is Manveer? Shilpa Shinde remains irrelevant. Dipika Kakkar does vlogging.”
– r/biggboss, 2026 (33 upvotes)
What Is Gautam Gulati Doing Now?
He is back on competitive reality television. Gautam Gulati was one of 18 contestants on Rise and Fall Season 2, the Prime Video format hosted by Virender Sehwag that ran 42 days from 26 September 2026. He ended it third, behind Shehzad Poonawalla and Priyanka Chahar Choudhary.
The finale result is settled. Shehzad Poonawalla won and took the Rs 35 lakh prize, which India Today reported on 6 November 2026 that he pledged to flood relief. The full finishing order, and how each of the 18 contestants left, sits in our Rise and Fall 2 contestants list.
His route through that season was sideways more than upward. The Hans India reported on 28 September that eight contestants took the Penthouse as Rulers, while Gulati was among the seven who began in the Basement. He climbed from there without ever holding the season’s numbers. He finished behind two players who had started as Rulers.
Reaction to the run split. One clip shared in November 2026 was titled around his brother criticizing the show’s makers, and the thread carrying it drew more than a hundred upvotes. No confirmation from the family appeared alongside it:
“Inframe: Gautam Gulati’s brother slams Rise and Fall 2 makers…”
– r/InstaCelebsGossip, November 2026 (106 upvotes)
Neither Gulati nor his brother has addressed the clip in the reporting we read. It stays a claim attached to a video, not a statement of record.
Is Gautam Gulati Married?
No. Nothing in the reporting around his career establishes a marriage or a divorce, and he has not announced either. Gautam Gulati’s marital status stays single on the public record, which is the only basis for an answer.
The search phrase “Gautam’s ex-wife” has no matching event behind it. No wedding, separation or family court matter involving him appears in the coverage of his television or film work. The people named in that coverage are his mother and his brother, not a spouse.
What does exist is speculation. Posts about his appearance and his private life circulate on gossip forums, and none of it comes from him or from a named reporting source. Marriage and relationship claims that trace back only to those posts are treated here as unconfirmed, not as background.
Films and Shows in One Table
| Year | Title | Role | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Kahaani Hamaaray Mahaabhaarat Ki | Teenage Duryodhan | Television |
| 2011-2014 | Diya Aur Baati Hum | Vikram Rathi | Television |
| 2014 | Darpok | Jogi | Short film |
| 2016 | Azhar | Ravi Shastri | Film |
| 2019 | Operation Cobra | Karan Singh | Web series |
| 2021 | Radhe | Girgit | Film |
| 2026 | Rise and Fall Season 2 | Contestant, third place | Reality series |
The table counts credits with a named role, in release order. Guest spots on dance and chat shows are left out, and so are the two Roadies seasons where he was a gang leader rather than a contestant.
FAQ
How old is Gautam Gulati?
Gautam Gulati is 38 as of November 2026. He was born on 27 November 1987 in Delhi, which makes him 39 later that month.
Did Gautam Gulati win Bigg Boss?
Yes. He won Bigg Boss 8 in January 2015, after entering the season in September 2014. He has not won a second reality title; he finished third on Rise and Fall 2 in 2026.
Who is Gautam Gulati’s brother?
His elder brother is Mohit Gulati, also known as Kapil. The two were raised in Delhi by their mother, Anurag Gulati, and Mohit has stayed out of the screen work himself.
