Avtar Gill is an Indian film, theatre and television actor. He was born in a village called Alakh in Ludhiana, Punjab. His family moved to Chembur, Mumbai early in his childhood, where he was brought up and introduced to the world of the entertainment industry. He developed an interest in acting at a young age, and claims he always wanted to become a ‘villain’.

Gill started off with and intermittently kept up a career in theatre, but has spoken out about the lack of sustainability in the field, which he claims has “a lot of talent but no money … a lot remains to be done in this regard.”

He went on to achieve his dream of becoming an on-screen villain in the seventies, appearing in numerous films as well as television shows, often in negative roles and often in the role of cops (both good and bad). Some of his prominent television projects include DD National’s Nukkad (1986 – 1987), Zee TV’s Tara (1993 – 1995) and Bindass’s Yeh Hai Aashiqui (2013).

Gill’s career in the film industry has been a prolific one, and he has worked on over a hundred projects in his career thus far. He earned himself recognition and acclaim for his performances in films like Shahehshah (1988), Aashiqui (1990), Rangeela (1995), Zakhm (1998), Baghban (2003) and Joker (2012).

Gill has expressed his fondness of and desire to work in Punjabi cinema, and has recently worked on a few projects from his home state, including Tera Desh: Waiting for You. He was most recently seen in the comedy, Double DI Trouble (2014), and is next scheduled to appear in the Sanjay Dutt starrer, Sher.