Raakh Co-Stars Akash Makhija and Ramandeep Yadav Receive IMDb STARmeter Awards, Marking a First in Their Acting Careers
IMDb, the world’s most popular and authoritative source for information on movies, TV shows, and celebrities, presented IMDb “Breakout Star” STARmeter Awards to Raakh stars Akash Makhija and Ramandeep Yadav. The award recognizes strong performers on the Popular Indian Celebrities list published on the IMDb app. The list charts the page views of the more than 250 million monthly visitors to IMDb worldwide, and has proven to be a keenly accurate predictor of stars who are on the verge of a breakthrough career moment.
In the crime drama Raakh (rated 7.6/10 by IMDb users), inspired by the 1978 Ranga-Billa kidnapping case from New Delhi, Makhija and Yadav deliver standout performances as the antagonists. Their performances captivated audiences worldwide, with Makhija ranking No. 1 and Yadav No. 4 on the Popular Indian Celebrities list in the week after the show’s release. It has also entered the Most Popular TV Shows list on IMDb at No. 19, currently the only Indian show on the list.
Makhija shared, “The IMDb Breakout Star is the very first award in the 13-year journey of my acting career. I am deeply grateful to IMDb and all the fans for making this beautiful milestone a reality. My DMs are filled with hate messages. Thank you for hating my character and giving me this award. The love that Raakh has received since its release has been overwhelming, and seeing that translate into recognition on a platform like IMDb is truly rewarding. Being ranked the most popular Indian celebrity of the week on IMDb within 10 days of the show releasing is something I never imagined, and I am grateful to everyone who watched the series and supported my performance.”
He explained how he got the role of Babu in the show. “After being shortlisted, I auditioned alongside 14 actors for Babu. Ramandeep had already been selected to play the role of Rajjo but he wasn’t informed about it yet. After the audition, I was told that it wouldn’t work out and I was rejected. Along with talent, luck is also needed in this field. Then, somehow, I got a call for another round and finally got the part.”
Yadav shared, “Receiving the IMDb “Breakout Star” STARmeter Award feels surreal. It is the first award of my acting career. Every actor dreams of having their work noticed and appreciated, and to receive a recognition that is driven by the audience makes it even more meaningful. The response to Raakh has been incredible, and I am deeply grateful to everyone who invested their time and emotions into the story and my character Rajjo.”
He added, “I didn’t research for the role per se, but did research on serial killers. One thing that stood out was always their eyes. It was brutal and menacing, and I wanted to pass that on to the audience. The makers of the series never wanted to glorify our characters, but portray the feelings of the parents who lost their children. I cried when I read the script because I had to play this part.”
This marks only the second time a STARmeter Award has been presented to co-stars of a popular Indian title, following Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda for Saiyaara in 2025. Other IMDb “Breakout Star” STARmeter Award recipients include Ambrish Verma, Monika Panwar, Zahan Kapoor, Kani Kusruti, Sharvari, Nitanshi Go
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