Darasing Khurana

Last updated
Darasing Khurana
Darasing Khurana0.jpg
Born
Alma mater Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), Mumbai
H.R. College of Commerce and Economics, Mumbai
Symbiosis College of Commerce and Economics, Pune
Queen's School, Parbhani
Occupation(s)Actor and philanthropist
Height6 ft (183 cm)
Beauty pageant titleholder
TitleMister International India 2017
Commonwealth Year of Youth Champion 2024
Years active2013–present
Hair colorBlack
Eye colorBrown
Major
competition(s)
Mister International India 2017
(Winner)

Darasing Khurana is an Indian actor and philanthropist who rose to fame after winning the Mr. India International 2017 title and representing India in Mr. International 2018. [1] [2] Khurana has been involved in various initiatives, including his role as Commonwealth's Year of Youth Champion. He is the first Asian and the second person globally to hold the title alongside Prince Edward of the UK. Under his role, he serves as a spokesperson, advocate, and contributes to policy discussions concerning the future of youth across 56 Commonwealth countries. He also serves as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF India and is the brand Ambassador of Datri, a blood stem cell donor registry in India. [3] [4] Khurana has been honored with the title of Global Peace Ambassador and has participated in events including meetings with dignitaries such as King Charles and Queen Camilla in London. [5] [6] Khurana has been honored with the title of Global Peace Ambassador and served as the keynote speaker at the Global Mental Health Summit 2024 at the Oxford University. [7] Additionally, Khurana has attended various events, including meetings with dignitaries such as King Charles, Queen Camilla, Singapore's Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, and Samoa's Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mataʻafa. [8]

Contents

Early life and background

Darasing Khurana was born on January 12, 1992, in the town of Parbhani, Maharashtra. [9] His family is Punjabi. [10] He attended Queen's School, Parbhani and Symbiosis College of Commerce and Economics, Pune and H.R. College of Commerce and Economics, [11] Mumbai, before receiving a master's degree in Business Management from the Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS). [12]

Career

He started performing theatre at a tender age of 4. At the age of 14, he participated in Mr. Parbhani competition, a local pageant in his hometown, and won the competition. He later came to Mumbai, and graduated from H.R. College of Commerce and Economics there. [10]

While he was studying, he became a part time model and walked the runway at numerous Indian and International fashion shows, including the Lakme Fashion Week, Bangalore Style Week, India International Style Week, India Luxury Style Week, as well as other fashion events.

In 2017, he won the Rubaru Mr. India International 2017 and represented India at Mister International. [9]

Khurana has walked for several fashion shows as a show stopper and as a closing model, including Royal Fables. [13] he also walked as a show stopper along with former Miss Universe Lara Dutta Bhupati at the page3 Awards. [14]

Khurana is the Brand Ambassador of DATRI, an India-based blood stem cell donors registry. [15] and Goodwill Ambassador of Kunwar Global School. [16]

He is the founder of Pause.Breath.Talk Foundation, an initiative to help those suffering from mental health problems. [2] [17]

Khurana is a part of UNICEF initiative and was invited to speak on the impact of climate change on children's lives in an event held in November 2020. [18]

In July 2023, Khurana teamed up with UNICEF India and Asia's largest student-run social organization, Abhyuday of IIT Bombay. [19]

Philanthropy

Khurana founded the Pause.Breath.Talk foundation after the untimely death of his friend and fellow actor, Sushant Singh Rajput. [20] The foundation aims to make therapy affordable and accessible to young people suffering from mental health problems. [21] Additionally, he serves as the brand ambassador of DATRI, which helps match donors with individuals in need of blood stem cells in India. Furthermore, he is involved with UNICEF and supports various other charitable causes. [22] He is also associated with the social cause 'Daughters are precious' in Rajasthan. [9]

Position held

Darasing Khurana has started his role as the Commonwealth Year of Youth Champion by concentrating on mental health projects. This came after he met with Queen Camilla and talked with Secretary-General Baroness Patricia Scotland in London. In February 2024, Khurana was appointed as the Commonwealth Youth Champion for 2024, becoming the first Asian and the second person overall to hold the title. [3]

Engagements and Key Events

In 2024, Darasing Khurana was invited to meet Queen Camilla of the United Kingdom, wife of King Charles III, in London. [23]

Khurana co-hosted the International Youth Live event alongside Lady Dentaa Amoateng, MBE, at Marlborough House in London. The event featured various launches, interviews, and content highlighting Year of Youth activities. It was broadcast live across 56 Commonwealth nations. During the event, Khurana conducted interviews with notable figures, including Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, several United Nations officials, representatives from Cambridge University, and other dignitaries.

He was also a keynote speaker at the Global Mental Health Summit at Oxford University, where he was appointed as the Global Mind Health Ambassador. [24]

In 2024, Khurana attended the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) as a special guest of the Commonwealth Secretary-General. During the event, he moderated a panel discussion on mental health, which included Samoa's Prime Minister, Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland, and United Nations Under-Secretary-General Rabab Fatima. [25]

Filmography

Films

YearTitleRole(s)NotesRef
2022Bai Ji KuttangeDara [3]
2023 Bandra [26]
2024Kaagaz 2Manminder [27]

Television

YearTitleRoleNotesRef.
2018Hear Me. Love Me.Dara [28]

Music videos

YearTitleSinger(s)Ref.
2020Prarthana - Hope for Humanity

Awards and recognition

See also

References

  1. Soni, Rahul (1 September 2017). "मिस्टर इंडिया इंटरनेशनल का खिताब जीतने वाले दारा सिंह खुराना ने कभी फेस किया था रिजेक्शन". Dainik Jagran (in Hindi). Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  2. 1 2 "Former Mr India International Darasing Khurana turns RJ". Zee News. 2020-07-01. Retrieved 2020-08-02.
  3. 1 2 3 "India's Darasing Khurana 2nd in the world to be appointed as 'Commonwealth Year of Youth Champion'". The Times of India. 2024-02-15. ISSN   0971-8257.
  4. "Former Mr India International Darasing Khurana stars in video for environmental conservation - Watch". Zee News. 2020-05-02. Retrieved 2020-08-02.
  5. "Darasing Khurana on his upcoming meeting with Prince Charles". Hindustan Times. 2024-03-10.
  6. "Commonwealth's Global Youth Ambassador Darasing Khurana meets Queen Camilla". The Sunday Guardian. April 14, 2024.
  7. "Actor Darasing Khurana receives Mahatma Gandhi Leadership Award in UK". ThePrint. 2024-10-23. Retrieved 2025-03-14.
  8. "Actor Darasing Khurana receives Mahatma Gandhi Leadership Award in UK". ThePrint. 2024-10-23. Retrieved 2025-03-14.
  9. 1 2 3 Simon (28 August 2017). "Meet Darasing Khurana, the new Rubaru Mr India International 2017". Indian and World Pageant. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  10. 1 2 Daman Bhasin (4 October 2017), "Darasing Khurana: Everything will fall in place only after Mr International 2018", The Statesman. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
  11. "Darasing Khurana: Everything will fall in place only after Mr International 2018". The Statesman. 2017-10-04. Retrieved 2020-08-02.
  12. Deshpande, Praveen (26 August 2017). "परभणीचा दारासिंह खुराणा मिस्टर इंडिया इंटरनॅशनलमध्ये, 6 वर्षांच्या मेहनतीला मिळाले यश". Dainik Bhaskar (in Marathi). Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  13. Correspondent, Planet Bollywood Special (2019-10-04). "Darasing Khurana closes the couture show for Mehraab, hosted by the Royal family of Baroda". Planet Bollywood. Retrieved 2020-08-02.{{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  14. "Lara Dutta walks the ramp with Mr. India International Darasing Khurana". The Statesman. 2018-10-02. Retrieved 2020-08-02.
  15. "Celebrating a transformative experience". The Hindu . 26 October 2017. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  16. "Darasing Khurana Honoured For Social Work". in.style.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2020-08-02.
  17. "मूड इंडिगो 2017: हाफ मैराथन में 3000 रनर्स ने लिया हिस्सा, स्टेमसेल कैंप की तारीफ". Dainik Bhaskar (in Hindi). 2017-11-29. Retrieved 2020-08-02.
  18. Ramsay, Amit (2020-11-20). "As part of UNICEF initiative, Darasing Khurana talks about the impact of climate change on children's lives". Zee News . Retrieved 2021-03-23.
  19. "Darasing Khurana teams up with UNICEF India for promoting mental health awareness". www.dnaindia.com.
  20. "Sushant Singh Rajput's friend Darasing Khurana fulfils actor's dream, talks about offering affordable mental health services". India Today. 2023-06-15.
  21. "Actor Darasing Khurana kicks off Commonwealth role with mental health focus". Hindustan Times. 2024-03-22.
  22. 1 2 Girdhar, Riya (June 20, 2022). "Maharashtra Governor Koshyari honours Darasing with Humanitarian of the year award". Newsx.
  23. "Commonwealth's Global Youth Ambassador Darasing Khurana meets Queen Camilla". The Sunday Guardian Live. 2024-04-13. Retrieved 2025-03-14.
  24. "Darasing Khurana: People have been conditioned to not speak up about their mental health issues; if they do, they are called 'mad'".
  25. "Actor Darasing Khurana bats for mental health awareness". The Times of India. 2024-11-24. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved 2025-03-14.
  26. "Popular actor-model Dara Singh Khurana to play the villain in Dileep's 'Bandra'". timesofindia. May 26, 2023.
  27. "Mr India International Darasing Khurana To Make His Bollywood Debut With 'Kaagaz 2'". Outlook India. 21 October 2022.
  28. "We have much wider scope of regional cinema now: Darasing Khurana". Hindustan Times. 2022-02-07.
  29. "WOW Icon' Most Promising Face Icon of the year!". Dailyhunt . 10 December 2017. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  30. "Wanted The World To Know What Indian Culture Is All About: Darasing Khurana". Yahoo .
  31. "Darasing Khurana wins Style Icon of the year award". Lokmat . 3 February 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  32. "Darasing Khurana Honoured For Social Work". Yahoo! News . 22 July 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  33. "Mr India International Darasing Khurana Gets Honoured For His Major Contribution Towards Social Causes". in.style.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2020-08-02.
  34. 1 2 "Darasing Khurana's Stellar Journey with Guidance from Astrologer Achary Rajn Kumar". Zee News . 22 June 2024.
  35. shivampatel1 (2024-10-24). "Actor Darasing Khurana Wins Mahatma Gandhi Leadership Award in UK". adda247. Retrieved 2024-11-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)