Talented actor Ashutosh Rana a.k.a Ashutosh Rana Ramnarayan was born in Gadarwala, Madhya Pradesh. He was interested in acting since his childhood. He used to take part in his village's folk festival's Ramleela. The polite actor used to play the role of 'Raavan' in Ramleela. His family used to scold him for taking an interest in acting. They used to tell him to concentrate on the studies instead of participating in dramas and Ramleelas.
For learning the basics of acting, Ashutosh joined the National School of Drama in New Delhi. After finishing with the National School of Drama and getting a degree in acting, he shifted to Mumbai in 1993. But it took him two years of struggle to land up a role in Mahesh Bhatt's television series 'Swabhimaan'. His good performance in this serial brought him a chance of acting in more TV serials like 'Farz', 'Sazish', 'Kabhi Kabhi', 'Waris' and he hosted one show 'Baazi Kiski'. He also hosted one reality show named 'Sarkaar ki Duniyaa'. His recent TV series is 'Kaali-Ek Agnipariksha' , where he essays a negative character. Ashutosh played smaller roles in following films like Mahesh Bhatt's 'Tamanna' in 1997, 'Sanshodhan' in 1996 and 'Krishna Arjun' in 1997.
Ashutosh Rana finally got recognized through the film 'Dushman' in 1998, in which he played a role of cold blooded psychopath murderer. The film could not do well at the box office but Ashutosh's performance got lots of accolades and applause. He got an award for his negative role in this film. Later his performance in the film 'Zakhm' in 1999 was appreciated as well. His next release was 'Sangharsh'. In this film too he essayed a strong cold blooded negative character. People and critics appreciated his performance and he got an award for the best actor in the negative role for the second time.
After such success, people started recognizing the acting talent of this skilled actor and he went on acting in the films like 'Badal', 'Kasoor' and 'Raaz'. He again gave a mesmerizing performance in the films 'Haasil' and 'LOC - Kargil'. Meanwhile Ashutosh worked in the south Indian films too. He got a success in various south Indian films and people started recognizing him in the down south too.
Ashutosh later acted in a film with the unique subject based on Transgenders named as 'Shabnam Mousi'. The film could not do well at the box office but Ashutosh's performance was appreciated. He later did small roles in the films like 'Kalyug' , 'Awarapan' and 'Dhokha'. His small but powerful performance brought him lots of critical acclaim.
Ashutosh is married to the talented Marathi and Hindi actress Renuka Shahane (Surabhi fame) and they have two kids.
Ashutosh's recent releases include 'Monica', 'Kismet Love Paisa Dilli', 'Hamilton Palace', 'B&W The Black and White Fact' and 'Ata Pata Lapata'.