Rahul Bose was born to Rupen and Kumud Bose on 27 July 1967. He describes himself as "...half Bengali; one-fourth Punjabi and one-fourth Maharashtrian." Bose's first acting role was at age six when he played the lead in a school play, Tom, the Piper's Son.

Bose started his acting career on the Mumbai stage in Rahul D'Cunha's Topsy Turvey and Are There Tigers In The Congo?. D'Cunha's aunt was the casting director for director Dev Benegal's film English, August and suggested that Bose should play the lead role. After filming a screen test, Benegal decided to cast him as civil servant Agastya Sen. Based on the novel of the same name by Upamanyu Chatterjee, English, August was one of the first Hinglish films and gained Bose international recognition when it became the first Indian film to be purchased by 20th Century Fox and won several awards at international film festivals.  After English, August Bose found work in television; he was offered a role in India's first English-language television serial, A Mouthful of Sky and also co-hosted BBC World's Style! with Laila Rouass. In 1998 he appeared in Kaizad Gustad's Bombay Boys with Naseeruddin Shah and starred in Dev Benegal's second film, Split Wide Open. To prepare for his role as a roving water vendor, Bose lived in Mumbai's slums and observed a drug dealer for two weeks. He later cited this time--along with the 2002 Gujarat riots--as the beginning of the awakening of his social conscience. Although Split Wide Open was controversial in India because of its depictions of sexual abuse, Bose received the Silver Screen Award for Best Asian Actor at the 2000 Singapore International Film Festival for his performance. He also performed abroad in the Leicester Haymarket in England where he starred in the English version of Tim Murari's play, The Square Circle.  In 1997, Bose was cast to play the role of Saleem Sinai in the BBC adaptation of Salman Rushdie's novel Midnight's Children. The project was eventually canceled after the Indian and Sri Lankan governments refused to allow filming. After seeing Bose in English, August, director Govind Nihalani cast him in the villain role opposite Ajay Devgan in the mainstream film Thakshak. The film was not a financial success, although Bose received positive reviews.  In 2001, Bose made his directorial debut with Everybody Says I'm Fine!. Starring Rehaan Engineer and Koel Purie and featuring Bose in a supporting role, Everybody received mixed reviews from critics, but won Bose the runner-up John Schlesinger Award for best directorial debut at the 2003 Palm Springs International Film Festival. In 2002, Bose starred opposite Konkona Sen Sharma in Aparna Sen's art film Mr. and Mrs. Iyer. The film, a critique of communal violence, was a critical success and won several awards at international film festivals as well as three National Film Awards.

What else has he done in his career?
After English, August Bose found work in television; he was offered a role in India's first English-language television serial,