For Indian American actor Ankur Rathee, his acting journey has come full circle. He left the United States to pursue a career in Indian cinema. Now, Rathee is back in America — not as the aspiring actor who once left home, but as the lead of a Netflix film.
The Indian American actor, who grew up in California before moving to India to pursue acting, stars as Ronak in Netflix’s “Best of the Best,” a coming-of-age film centered on collegiate Bollywood fusion dance and the South Asian American experience. For Rathee, the role brings his career full circle, placing an actor shaped by both American and Indian cultures at the center of a story about young South Asian Americans finding their identity.
Rathee’s journey to the Netflix screen has taken him across two entertainment industries. Raised in the United States, he began developing his craft through American theater before making the decision to move to Mumbai and pursue opportunities in Indian films and streaming. It was a major career move that meant stepping away from the familiarity of the American entertainment industry and starting again in India.
The journey did not immediately lead to leading roles. Rathee spent years building his résumé through films, television and streaming projects, gradually becoming a recognizable face for audiences in India.
His breakthrough came through popular OTT projects, including “Four More Shots Please!” and “Made in Heaven.” He later appeared in films such as “The Tashkent Files,” “Thappad,” “Taish” and “Shehzada,” working alongside some of the leading names in Hindi cinema. His work also expanded to Netflix projects, including “Single Papa.”
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Now, “Best of the Best” gives Rathee a different kind of opportunity. He takes on the male lead, playing Ronak, the charismatic and fiercely competitive captain of UCLA’s South Asian dance team.
Ronak is confident, ambitious and deeply invested in his team’s success. But beneath that larger-than-life personality is a more vulnerable side, giving Rathee the opportunity to portray a character who is navigating ambition, identity, friendship and the pressures of belonging.
The film’s setting also makes the role particularly relevant to Rathee’s own journey. “Best of the Best” revolves around collegiate Bollywood fusion dance, a space where South Asian culture and American college life come together. Its story puts South Asian American experiences at the heart of an American setting.
For Rathee, that cultural intersection is familiar territory.
Born on March 24, 1991, in Hisar, Haryana, India, Rathee spent his early childhood in India before moving to the United States with his family. He grew up in California, where he developed an interest in performing and filmmaking.
His education reflected both interests. Rathee studied cinematography and film production at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and also pursued acting training at Princeton University.
After completing his education, he moved to New York City, where he continued his acting training and began working in theater. His early career included Off-Broadway productions, giving him experience on the American stage before he eventually decided to take his career in a different direction.
India became that next destination.
Rathee moved to Mumbai to pursue acting in Indian cinema and the country’s rapidly growing streaming industry. Rather than limiting himself to one type of role, he gradually built a diverse body of work across Hindi films and web series.
He began his screen career with the short film “100: The Tribute” and continued to take on roles that expanded his presence in Indian entertainment. Projects such as “Four More Shots Please!” and “Made in Heaven” helped him reach streaming audiences, while films including “Thappad,” “Taish,” “The Tashkent Files” and “Shehzada” added to his film credits.
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His years in India gave Rathee the opportunity to work within an industry that was culturally connected to his roots while also allowing him to develop a distinctly international career.
But his latest role takes him back to where much of his story began.
In “Best of the Best,” Rathee is not simply returning to an American production. He is playing a South Asian American character in a story that explores a world increasingly familiar to young Indian Americans and other South Asian Americans navigating culture, community and identity in the United States.
The distinction is important for an actor whose own life has crossed the same cultural lines.
Rathee grew up in America, built his early acting foundation there, moved to India to pursue opportunities that were difficult to find at home and spent years establishing himself in Hindi entertainment. Now, he is returning to an American audience with a lead role that brings many parts of his experience together.
His journey also reflects the changing landscape for South Asian representation on American screens. As streaming platforms continue to create stories aimed at increasingly diverse audiences, actors with experience across cultures are finding opportunities to tell stories that do not fit neatly into one industry or one identity.
For Rathee, the path has been particularly long. He left America looking for an opportunity in India and waited years to step into a major leading role. That opportunity has now come with “Best of the Best,” bringing him back to the United States as the face of a Netflix film.
The actor who once left America to build a career in India has now returned to American screens with a story that is, in many ways, close to his own cultural journey.
This time, he is not waiting for a lead.
He is the lead.