Karthik Jayaram is an Indian actor, model, and engineer who works primarily in the Kannada film and television industry. Born on 1 May 1979 in Koppa, Karnataka, he was raised in Bengaluru. His father Dr. Jayaram is a veterinary doctor and his mother Banumathi is a homemaker. He completed his schooling at Sri Kumaran Children's Home, Mallasandra, Bengaluru, and holds degrees in Civil Engineering and Structural Engineering from Bangalore Institute of Technology and National Degree College Jayanagar. He made his television debut in 2013 with the Kannada serial Ashwini Nakshatra on Colors Kannada, where he played the popular character Jay Krishna (JK), a superstar actor. He also portrayed Raavana in the Hindi historical drama Siya Ke Ram on Star Plus. In 2017, Karthik participated in Bigg Boss Kannada Season 5 and finished as the second runner-up of the season. He has appeared in Kannada films including Varadanayaka and Care of Footpath 2.
Role of Jay Krishna (JK) in the Colors Kannada TV serial Ashwini Nakshatra; playing Raavana in the Star Plus show Siya Ke Ram.