Fahadh Faasil

Fahadh Faasil is an Indian film actor and producer known for his work in Malayalam cinema.^[2]

Fahadh made his debut at the age of 19 in his father Fazil's film Kaiyethum Doorath (2002) which was a commercial failure. After a gap of six years, Fahadh made his comeback with the anthology film Kerala Cafe (2009). His most notable films include Chaappa Kurishu (2011), 22 Female Kottayam (2012), Diamond Necklace (2012), Annayum Rasoolum (2013), Amen (2013), North 24 Kaatham (2013), Oru Indian Pranayakatha (2013), Bangalore Days (2014), Iyobinte Pusthakam (2014), and Maheshinte Prathikaaram (2016).

Fahadh Faasil has been honored at the Kerala State Film Awards twice, in 2011 as Second Best Actor for his roles in Chaappa Kurishu and Akam and in 2013, he was adjudged Best Actor for his performances in Artist and North 24 Kaatham.^[3]

Early years

Fahadh is the son of film director Fazil and his wife Rozina. He has two sisters, Ahameda and Fatima, and a brother, Farhaan Faasil. He completed his schooling from SDV Central School Alleppey, Lawrence School Ooty and Choice School in Thripunithara. He went on to pursue his degree from Sanatana Dharma College, Alleppey and a M.A. in philosophy from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, United States.^[4][5]

Career

Fahadh's first film, Kaiyethum Doorath (2002) was directed by his father, director Fazil and failed at the box office.^[6][7] Fahadh later defended his father, stating "don't blame my father for my failure because it was my mistake and I came into acting without any preparation of my own".^[8] After his debut, he moved to the United States for five years, where he pursued his studies,^[9] before returning in 2009 to act in the film Kerala Cafe (2009), conceived by director Ranjith.^[10] At Ranjith's behest, director Uday Ananthan cast Fahad in his Mrityunjayam, one of the 10 shorts in the film.^[11] He played the role of a journalist in the Mrityunjayam, a ghost film set on a spooky old 'Mana'. He was chosen to costar in B. Unnikrishnan's Pramani. He then appeared as a business head in the thriller Cocktail (2010). His next film Tournament was also a thriller .

His performance in Sameer Thahir's directorial debut Chappa Kurishu, a thriller in which he appeared as the head of a construction business was much appreciated. "Arjun – my character in Chappa Kurishu is not a role that an actor gets often. I am very lucky and very fortunate," Fahad said. He shot a long kissing scene with his co-star Remya Nambeesan in the film — supposedly the first ever in Malayalam cinema — which upon release was termed controversial.^[12]

Fahadh's next film, Akam, a contemporary adaptation of Malayatoor Ramakrishnan's psycho-thriller novel Yakshi, had him playing Srinivas, a young architect, who starts suspecting that his beautiful wife is a yakshi. "Playing Srinivas was like re-inventing myself. We had a workshop before shooting began and I had ample opportunity to explore the nuances of the character. In the process of re-inventing Srinivas, I re-invented myself," said Fahadh.^[11] The film premiered at the Dubai International Film Festival. 22 Female Kottayam, a revenge film had him playing a negative character. In his next film, Lal Jose's Diamond Necklace, he played the role of an oncologist working in Dubai and the film centred on the doctor's relationship with three different women.^[13]

In June 2012, a case was registered against Fahadh by the Kochi Town Central Police for violation of the rule against public display of images of smoking. A poster of Diamond Necklace that showed him smoking a cigarette had been on display before the Kavitha Theatre in Kochi since the film was released.^[14]

In his next film, Lijin Jose's Friday, he acted as an auto rickshaw driver.^[15] The same year, he appeared in The Day of Judgement, one of the three featurettes from the portmanteau film D Company.^[16] His other films were cinematographer Rajeev Ravi's directorial debut Annayum Rasoolum, Lijo Jose Pellissery's Amen, V. K. Prakash's Natholi Oru Cheriya Meenalla and Salam Bappu's directorial debut Red Wine. Amen was named as one of the best films of the year by Khaleej Times^[17] while Annayum Rasoolum managed to be a hit.^[18] In 2014, he acted in the big budget movie, Iyobinte Pusthakam which has produced by himself.He also played a major role in the blockbuster movie Bangalore days . 2015, was a dull year for him, as he was unable pull of a successful project. In 2016, his first release, Monsoon Mangoes failed at the box office, even though his performance was highly praised and the movie gathered good crictic responses. His next release was on 5 February 2016 Maheshinte Prathikaaram which went on to become a blockbuster. It was highly applauded by both audience and critics. His next project is a movie with hitmaker director Anwar Rasheed. It will soon start shooting and is planned to be a 2016 September release.

Personal life

After the release of Annayum Rasoolum (2013), the lead actor Fahadh Faasil openly declared to the media that he was in love with the actress Andrea Jeremiah. Andrea rejected reports that the pair were seeing each other. On 20 January 2014, he got engaged to Malayalam and Tamil film actress Nazriya Nazim^[19] whom he married on 21 August 2014.^[20][21] The pair had gotten to know each other more on the sets of Anjali Menon's Bangalore Days (2014), in which they were playing husband and wife. Fahadh revealed that their parents had been pivotal in arranging the marriage.^[22][23]

Filmography

Awards

Kerala State Film Awards

• 2011: Second Best Actor - Akam^[27]
• 2013: Best Actor - Artist, North 24 Kaatham^[28]

Filmfare Awards South

• 2012: Best Actor - 22 Female Kottayam^[29]
• 2013: Best Actor - North 24 Kaatham^[30]
• 2014: Nominated, Best Supporting Actor - Bangalore Days^[31]

Asianet Film Awards

• 2012: Youth Icon of the Year^[32]
• 2014: Performer of the Year

South Indian International Movie Awards

• 2013: Critics Award for Best Actor - Diamond Necklace^[33]
• 2014: Nominated, Best Actor - North 24 Kaatham^[34]

References

External links

• Fahadh Faasil at the Internet Movie Database
• Fahadh Faasil's official Facebook page