Mirza Abbas Ali (born 21 May 1975) is a former Indian actor, model, and present-day motivational speaker who has predominantly appeared in Tamil and Telugu films.[2] Following his career as a fashion model, he made his film debut with Kathir's Kadhal Desam (1996) which gave him instant recognition. He continued to appear in lead roles, which went unsuccessful, before continuing his career as part of ensemble casts and in antagonistic roles in major Tamil films such as Padayappa (1999), Kandukondain Kandukondain (2000), Minnale (2001), Aanandham (2001), Pammal K. Sambandam (2001), Guru En Aalu (2009), and Ramanujan (2014). He quit acting in films after 2015, when he moved to New Zealand and became a motivational speaker.
Abbas | |
|---|---|
| Born | Mirza Abbas Ali 21 May 1975[1] Howrah, West Bengal, India. |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, model, motivational speaker |
| Years active | 1996-2015 |
| Spouse | Erum Ali (m. 1997) |
| Children | 2 |
Career edit
Abbas grew up watching Hindi films. His maternal grandfather being an actor Farrukh Mirza acted in Neel Darpan (Bengali) and his paternal family being related to actor Feroz Khan.[3] He partook in modelling assignments since his college days won "Face of 94" in Bangalore. 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 friend. Kadhir was impressed with Abbas' performance and invited him to a screen test for Kadhal Desam (1996), before eventually signing him on to play a leading role.[4] Unfamiliar with the Tamil language, Abbas memorised his lines on the set of the film and Kadhir began the shoot with easier portions, in order to ease Abbas into his role.[4] 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.[5] His busy schedule meant that he missed out on various successful films including Kadhalukku Mariyadhai (1997) and Jeans (1998), and the Tamil films he appeared in such as Jolly (1998) Ini Ellam Sugame (1998), 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.[5]
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.[4] 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.[6] In 2001, he made further supporting appearances in the commercially successful films, Minnale by Gautham Vasudev Menon and Aanandham by N. Linguswamy, with Mammootty as well in Pammal K. Sambandam (2002) with Kamal Haasan again, and critics labelled the period as a "career high".[4] 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).[4] 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.[7]
With multi-starrers diminishing in Tamil cinema, Abbas appeared in some low-budget ventures such as Unarchigal (2006) and 47A Besant Nagar Varai (2006), before opting to pursue anti-hero roles.[8] 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.[3] In recent years, Abbas has appeared in television serials, while he also portrayed scientist Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis in Ramanujan (2014).[9] Due to his fading interest in acting, he shifted to Auckland, New Zealand, where he worked in menial jobs to support his family before becoming a motivational speaker.[10][11]
Personal life edit
Abbas was born on 21 May 1975. He married Erum Hussain Khan, in 1997. After marriage, Erum launched her own label known as Erum ALi & EA Bridal Lounge. The couple have a daughter and a son.[12] Erum designed costumes for movies, notably Aayirathil Oruvan and Guru En Aalu, where Abbas' co-star Madhavan's wife, Saritha, also worked as a designer.[13]
Filmography edit
| Year | Title | 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 | Vijay | Tamil | ||
| Pooveli | Arun | Tamil | ||
| 1999 | Kannezhuthi Pottum Thottu | Moosakutty | Malayalam | |
| Raja | Sanjay | Telugu | Special appearance | |
| Padayappa | Chandraprakash | Tamil | ||
| Suyamvaram | Indiran | Tamil | ||
| Malabar Police | Raja | Tamil | ||
| Anaganaga Oka Ammai | Sathya | Telugu | ||
| Krishna Babu | Vijay Babu | Telugu | ||
| Alludugaaru Vachcharu | Madhu | Telugu | ||
| 2000 | Hey Ram | Munavar | 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 | Vijay | Hindi | ||
| Three Roses | Tamil | Guest appearance | ||
| Sindhamal Sitharamal | Saravanan | Tamil | ||
| Hello | Kannada | |||
| 2004 | Manasthan | Selvarasu | Tamil | |
| Swetha Naagu | Praveen | Telugu Kannada |
||
| Shock | Ajay | Tamil | ||
| Adi Thadi | Arjun | Tamil | ||
| Kadha | Gautham | Malayalam | ||
| Azhagiya Theeye | Himself | Tamil | Guest appearance | |
| Greetings | Swaminathan | Malayalam | ||
| Adhu | Raj | Tamil | Guest appearance | |
| 2005 | Kalyana Kurimanam | Vishnu | Malayalam | |
| Political Rowdy | Karthik | Telugu | ||
| Dil Ke Peeche Peeche | Arjun | Hindi | ||
| Vanakkam Thalaiva | Mano | Tamil | ||
| 2006 | Unarchigal | Balaji | Tamil | |
| 47A Besant Nagar Varai | Ramakhrishnan | Tamil | ||
| Thiruttu Payale | Ramesh | Tamil | ||
| 2007 | Mouryan | Shivashangaran | Malayalam | |
| Chandrahas | Firoj | Telugu | ||
| Anasuya | Anand | Telugu | ||
| 2008 | Sadhu Miranda | Ram Mohan | Tamil | |
| Idi Sangathi | Sathyamurthy | Telugu | ||
| 2009 | Bank | Abbas | Telugu | |
| Guru En Aalu | Krishna | Tamil | ||
| 2010 | Appu and Pappu | Ramesh | Kannada | |
| Ramdev | Ram | Telugu | ||
| 2011 | Ko | Himself | Tamil | Guest Appearance |
| Maaro | Raj Mohan | Telugu | ||
| 2014 | Savaari 2 | Dinakar Shetty | Kannada | |
| Ala Jarigindi Oka Roju | Rahul | Telugu | ||
| Ramanujan | Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis | English Tamil |
||
| 2015 | Pachakkallam | Venkitesh | Malayalam |
Music videos edit
| Year | Album | Music Video | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Yeh Hai Prem | Yeh Hai Prem Trilogy | Actor[14] |
Television edit
| Year | Title | Role | Language | Television | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Dharmayutham | Rammohan | Tamil | Vijay TV | |
| 2013 - 2014 | Vaidehi | Tamil | Jaya TV |
References edit
- ^ "Nilacharal". www.nilacharal.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 11 November 2013.
- ^ "Goundamani". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 30 March 2023. Retrieved 30 March 2023.
- ^ a b "10 years later, Abbas returns to Kannada cinema". Rediff. Archived from the original on 18 September 2010. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
- ^ a b c d e "rediff.com, Movies: The world according to Abbas". in.rediff.com. Archived from the original on 18 July 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
- ^ a b "Rediff On The NeT, Movies: Gossip from the southern film industry". www.rediff.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
- ^ "Tamil film director Rajiv Menon sets a trend with Kandukondain Kandukondain". India Today. Archived from the original on 24 November 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
- ^ "Moving into the fast lane". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 1 January 2017.
- ^ "Scripting a successful career". The Hindu. 3 June 2006. Archived from the original on 21 September 2021. Retrieved 16 July 2018 – via www.thehindu.com.
- ^ "Abbas returns as Ramanujam in Kollywood". www.kollyinsider.com. 19 October 2013. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
- ^ "Tamil actor Abbas gave up acting as he was 'bored', had to work at a construction site in New Zealand: 'I couldn't even use toilets there'". The Indian Express. 4 August 2023. Archived from the original on 4 August 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
- ^ "Abbas, The Tamil-Telugu Star, Who Moved To New Zealand and Worked at Petrol Pump". News18. 7 February 2022. Archived from the original on 4 August 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
- ^ "dinakaran". 23 October 2004. Archived from the original on 23 October 2004.
- ^ "Metro Plus Chennai : It takes two pairs to tango". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 26 July 2008. Archived from the original on 4 December 2008. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
- ^ "Yeh Hai Prem Medley 1 - Music Video - Yeh Hai Prem - Milind Ingle, Preeti Jhangiani & Abbas". YouTube. Archived from the original on 20 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
