Fahadh Faasil

Abdul Hameed Mohammed Fahadh Fazil (8 August 1982) is an Indian actor and producer who predominantly works in Malayalam and Tamil films.

He has acted in more than 50 films and has received several awards, including a National Film Award, four Kerala State Film Awards, and three Filmfare Awards South.

Fahadh is the son of filmmaker Fazil.

Fahadh began his film career at the age of 20 by starring in the leading role in his father Fazil's 2002 romantic film Kaiyethum Doorath, which was a critical and commercial failure.

Fahadh made his film debut with his father's Kaiyethum Doorath (2002) under the stage name of Shaanu.

The film was a failure at the box office.

Regarding his performance, a critic wrote that "Shaanu oozes charm and suits the character of Sachin but he has to work hard on his dancing".

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".

After a gap of 7 years, Fahadh made his comeback with the anthology film Kerala Cafe (2009), in the short film Mrityunjayam.

After his debut, he moved to the United States for five years, where he pursued his studies, before returning in 2009 to act in the film Kerala Cafe (2009), conceived by director Ranjith.

At Ranjith's behest, director Uday Ananthan cast Fahad in his Mrityunjayam, one of the 10 shorts in the film.

He played the role of a journalist in the Mrityunjayam, a ghost film set on a spooky old 'Mana'.

He was chosen to co-star 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.

He attained public attention for his role as Arjun in the thriller film Chaappa Kurishu (2011).

Fahadh won his first Kerala State Film Award, the Best Supporting Actor Award for his performance in Chaappa Kurishu along with his performance in Akam.

He appeared in Sameer Thahir's directorial debut Chaappa Kurishu (2011), a thriller in which he played the head of a construction business.

"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.

In Fahadh's next film, Akam (2011), a contemporary adaptation of Malayattoor Ramakrishnan's psycho-thriller novel Yakshi, he played 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 reinvented myself," said Fahadh.

The film premiered at the Dubai International Film Festival.

He achieved critical acclaim and recognition for his roles as Cyril in 22 Female Kottayam (2012) and Dr. Arun Kumar in Diamond Necklace (2012).

He won his first Filmfare Award for Best Actor for his role in 22 Female Kottayam.

He won the Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Actor in 2012 for his performance in Chappa Kurishu and Akam.

In 2012, he played a negative character in 22 Female Kottayam, a rape and revenge film, which was critically acclaimed.

Fahadh achieved further critical and commercial success for his films in 2013, including his performances in the romantic-drama film Annayum Rasoolum, the black-comedy satire film Amen, the road movie North 24 Kaatham, the drama film Artist, and the romantic-comedy Oru Indian Pranayakadha.

He won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor for his performances as Michael in Artist and Harikrishnan in North 24 Kaatham.

He also won his second Filmfare Award for Best Actor for his role in North 24 Kaatham.

He followed it up by starring as Shivadas in the coming-of-age drama film Bangalore Days (2014), which ranks among the highest-grossing Malayalam films.

He produced and starred as Aloshy in the 2014 period film Iyobinte Pusthakam under his production company, Fahadh Faasil and Friends Pvt Ltd. Fahadh also has a Digital Entertainment Company/Movie Production House named Bhavana Studios partnered with Dileesh Pothan and Syam Pushkaran.

Fahadh had roles as Mahesh Bhavana in Maheshinte Prathikaaram (2016), Indian diplomat Manoj Abraham in Take Off (2017), and Prasad in Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum (2017), with Maheshinte Prathikaaram and Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum winning the Best Feature Film in Malayalam Award at the 64th and 65th National Film Awards.

He won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum (2017) and his third Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Malayalam.

In 2018, he acted as Prakashan in the film Njan Prakashan which ranks among highest-grossing Malayalam films and as Aby in the film Varathan.

In 2021, Fahadh portrayed the titular anti-hero in the crime drama Joji which received acclaim and later received nationwide acclaim from critics for his performance in the political thriller Malik.

Fahadh is the son of film director Fazil.

He has two sisters, Ahameda and Fatima, and a brother, Farhaan, also an actor.

He completed his schooling from SDV Central School Alappuzha, Lawrence School Ooty and Choice School Tripunithura.

He went on to pursue his Bachelor's from SD College, Alleppey and Masters in philosophy from University of Miami in the United States.