Abbas (actor)

Abbas
Born Mirza Abbas Ali
(1975-05-21) 21 May 1975[1]
Kolkata
Occupation Actor, model
Years active 1996–present
Height 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Spouse(s) Erum Ali
Children Emira, Aymaan

Abbas (born 21 May 1975 as Mirza Abbas Ali) is an Indian film actor and model who has appeared in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi and Kannada language films. After making his debut with Kadhir's Kadhal Desam (1996), Abbas enjoyed success as the second lead actor in films through the early 2000s.

Career

Abbas grew up watching Hindi and Bengali films, with his maternal grandfather being a film actor and his paternal family being related to actor Feroz Khan.[2] He partook in modelling assignments since his college days and subsequently wanted to become an actor in Indian films. Initially after hearing that director Kadhir was looking for a new actor for his latest venture, Abbas had recommended his friends who knew Tamil to audition, and took part in a speculative audition at the insistence of his friends. Kadhir was impressed with Abbas's performance and invite him to a screen test for Kadhal Desam (1996), before eventually signing him on to play a leading role.[3] Unfamiliar with the Tamil language, Abbas used to memorise his lines on the set of the film and Kadhir began the shoot with easier portions, in order to ease Abbas into his role.[3] Featuring alongside Vineeth and Tabu, Kadhal Desam became a critical and commercial success and Abbas was dubbed by the media as a "heart-throb" and garnered several more acting offers.[4] His busy schedule meant that he missed out on successful films including Kadhalukku Mariyadhai (1997) and Jeans (1998), and the Tamil films he appeared in such as Poochudava (1998) and Aasai Thambi (1998) were predominantly box office failures. Meanwhile, the success of Kaadhal Desam's dubbed Telugu version, allowed him to make a breakthrough in Telugu films and his next ventures Priya O Priya (1997) and Rajahamsa (1998) were profitable. He also appeared in the youth-centric Kannada film, Shanti Shanti Shanti (1999), featuring alongside debutant Madhavan for the first time.[4]

Following a spell of commercially disappointing Tamil films as the lead actor, Abbas worked on several prestigious films in the early 2000s as a second hero, besides working in Malayalam and Telugu films.[3] He appeared as Rajinikanth's son-in-law in Padayappa (1999), before portraying the role of a doctor in Kamal Haasan's historical film, Hey Ram (2000). Abbas then appeared in Rajiv Menon's multi-starrer Kandukondain Kandukondain (2000), in which he was paired with Aishwarya Rai, and the film went on to win positive reviews from critics.[5] In 2001, he made further supporting appearances in the commercially successful films, Minnale by Gautham Menon and Aanandham by N. Linguswamy, as well in Pammal K. Sambandam (2002) with Kamal Haasan again, and critics labelled the period as a "career high".[3] He appeared in a music video for Rajshri Pictures and was subsequently given the opportunity from producers to appear in Hindi films, then made his debut with Ansh (2002).[3] The failure of the film prompted two further films, including Aur Phir with Bipasha Basu to be shelved, and he continued to appear in Tamil films in supporting roles through the mid 2000s.[6]

With multi-starrers diminishing in Tamil cinema, Abbas appeared in some low-budget ventures such as Unarchigal (2006) and 47A Besant Nagar Varai (2007), before opting to pursue anti-hero roles.[7] He starred as a womaniser in the horror film Shock (2004) and Thiruttu Payale (2006), and then also played a comic villain in Sadhu Miranda (2008) and Guru En Aalu (2009). In 2010, he made a return to Kannada films with the family drama Appu and Pappu, portraying the father of young boy.[2] In recent years, Abbas has appeared in television serials, while he also portrayed scientist Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis in Ramanujan (2014).[8]

Personal life

He is married to Erum Ali, a fashion designer; the couple has a son and a daughter, Erum worked as costume designer in many films notably Aayirathil Oruvan and Guru En Aalu where his co-star Madhavan's wife, Saritha, too worked as designer.[9]

Filmography

Year Film Role Language Notes
1996 Kadhal Desam Arun Tamil
1997 V.I.P Santhosh Tamil
Priya O Priya Vamsi Telugu
Poochudava Kannan Tamil
1998 Ini Ellam Sugame Aravind Tamil
Shanti Shanti Shanti Raju Kannada
Jolly Gauri Shankar Tamil
Rajahamsa Telugu
Aasai Thambi Tamil
Pooveli Arun Tamil
1999 Kannezhuthi Pottum Thottu Moosakutty Malayalam
Raja Telugu
Padayappa Chandraprakash Tamil
Suyamvaram Indiran Tamil
Malabar Police Raja Tamil
Anaganga Oka Ammai Sathya Telugu
Krishna Babu Vijay Babu Telugu
Alludugaaru Vachcharu Madhu Telugu
2000 Hey Ram Munnu Tamil
Hindi
Dreams Shiva Malayalam
Kandukondain Kandukondain Srikanth Tamil
Madhuri Telugu
2001 Minnale Rajiv Samuel Tamil
Vinnukum Mannukum Himself Tamil Guest appearance
Aanandham Kannan Tamil
2002 Pammal K. Sambandam Anand Tamil
Nee Premakai Prabhu Telugu
Ansh Rajnath Guru Hindi
Kadhal Virus Rajiv Tamil
2003 Kadhaludan Durai Tamil
Banda Paramasivam Madhavan Tamil
Parasuram Shiva Tamil
Zinda Dil Hindi
Three Roses Tamil
Sindhamal Sitharamal Saravanan Tamil
2004 Manasthan Selvarasu Tamil
Shweta Naagu Telugu
Shock Ajay Tamil
Adi Thadi Arjun Tamil
Kadha Malayalam
Azhagiya Theeye Himself Tamil Guest appearance
Greetings Swaminathan Malayalam
Adhu Raj Tamil
2005 Kalyana Kurimanam Vishnu Malayalam
Political Rowdy Telugu
Unarchigal Tamil
Dil Ke Peeche Peeche Arjun Hindi
Vanakkam Thalaiva Mano Tamil
2006 47A Besant Nagar Varai Tamil
Thiruttu Payale Ramesh Tamil
Woh Lamhe Hindi
2007 Mauryan Shivashangaran Malayalam
Chandrahas Telugu
Anasuya Anand Telugu
2008 Sadhu Miranda Ram Mohan Tamil
Idi Sangathi Murthy Telugu
2009 Bank Telugu
Guru En Aalu Krishna Tamil
2010 Appu Pappu Ramesh Kannada
2011 Ko Himself Tamil Guest Appearance
Maaro Raj Mohan Telugu
Ayudha Porattam Tamil
2014 Savaari 2 Kannada
Ala Jarigindi Oka Roju Telugu
Ramanujan Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis English/Tamil

Television

Year Title Role Language Television Notes
2012 Dharmayutham Rammohan Tamil Vijay TV
2013 Vaidhegi Tamil Jaya TV

References

External links

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