Fauziyya Hassan

Fauziyya Hassan (8 January 1942 – 31 August 2022) was a Maldivian film actress.

Fauziyya Hassan was born on 8 January 1942 in Malé.

At the age of seven, Hassan started growing interest towards the cinema and desired to be featured in a film though she was more fond of sewing.

She self-learnt to sew clothes at the age of fourteen and expanded further with the skill.

After attending Colombo Polytechnic in Sri Lanka, she became a clerk in the Maldivian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1957, and later worked as a censoring officer at the National Film Censor Board of Maldives.

She made her film debut in Sidha in 1985.

Hassan made her film debut with Sidha (1985) and caught the attention of film-makers.

In 1994 she was arrested by the Indian police on espionage charges relating to the Indian Space Research Organisation.

She and a friend were accused of passing sensitive defence information to Pakistan.

The espionage case against Hassan was not proven and eventually other charges were dropped, though she spent three years in prison under the National Security Act.

In 1998, she played the role of a heart patient and mother of Fayaz, an ignorant husband who is deeply in love with a patient suffering from congenital heart disease in Abdul Faththaah's television drama series Dhoapatta (2000).

Starring alongside Mohamed Shavin, Jamsheedha Ahmed, Sheela Najeeb and Niuma Mohamed, the series centers on unrequited love and complications of a relationship within and beyond marriage.

The film was an unofficial remake of Karan Johar's romantic drama film Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) starring Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol and Rani Mukerji in the lead role.

This was followed by the Ali Musthafa-directed Umurah (1999) opposite Jamsheedha Ahmed and Reeko Moosa Manik.

The following year she played the role of an old woman who is being mistreated by her own daughter in Abdul Faththaah's directorial debut, Himeyn Dhuniye which received positive reviews from critics.

After her release Hassan appeared in a number of television dramas and films, including a run of horror films in the early 2000s.

In 2000, Hassan played the mother of a college boy who helps to reunite her son with his best friend after ages, in Hussain Adil's romance Hiyy Halaaku.

The plot combines two love triangles set years apart.

The first half covers friends on a college campus, while the second tells the story of a widower's young daughter who tries to reunite her dad with his old friend.

Also, she starred opposite Reeko Moosa Manik, Hassan Afeef, Niuma Mohamed and Mariyam Nazima in Easa Shareef-directed Emme Fahu Dhuvas (2000) which follows a devious woman who sunders her best-friend's upcoming marriage by creating false accusation and staging misleading impressions.

The same year, she starred opposite Reeko Moosa Manik and Jamsheedha Ahmed in the Easa Shareef-directed romantic horror film 2000 Vana Ufan Dhuvas (2000), in which she portrays the role of a helpless servant.

Hassan collaborated with Amjad Ibrahim for his romantic horror film Dhonkamana (2003) which depicts the romantic relationship between a young man (played by Yoosuf Shafeeu) and an old woman (played by Hassan).

Featuring Yoosuf Shafeeu, Sheela Najeeb, Niuma Mohamed, Sheereen Abdul Wahid, Amira Ismail and Aminath Rasheedha, the film received mainly negative reviews from critics though its inclusion of the theme portraying the relationship between a couple with a large age gap was praised.

She next appeared in a brief role as the mother of a mystified man who has been detested by his crush in Abdul Faththaah's critically praised romantic film Vehey Vaarey Therein (2003).

Featuring Yoosuf Shafeeu, Jamsheedha Ahmed, Khadheeja Ibrahim Didi, Mohamed Shavin, Amira Ismail and Aminath Rasheedha in crucial roles, the film narrates the story of unrequited love, and proved to be one of the highest-grossing Maldivian films of the year.

In 2004, Hassan played a brief role of a caring widowed mother in Abdul Faththaah's horror film Eynaa (2004), in which appear Sheela Najeeb, Mohamed Manik, Ahmed Shah, Khadheeja Ibrahim Didi, Ibrahim Jihad and Nashidha Mohamed as six colleagues who go on a picnic to a haunted uninhabited island and their battle for survival.

The film garnered critical appreciation specially for its technical department and was a commercial success.

She next starred as the mother of an obsessive fangirl in Amjad Ibrahim's next directorial venture Sandhuravirey 2 (2004); a sequel to his 2002 horror film Sandhuravirey which presented Yoosuf Shafeeu and Mariyam Nisha in lead roles.

Starring additional cast including Niuma Mohamed, Zeenath Abbas, Mohamed Shavin and Sheereen Abdul Wahid, the film follows a storyline of a daughter jinn avenging the death of its mother and sister on Dhiyash's family.

Similar to its prequel, the film received negative response from critics.

The film, heavily relied on the effect of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake on the Maldives, received favorable reviews from critics though it failed to perform financially.

Hassan played the mother of Reena, who has been traumatized by the events that lead to a big loss in her family.

The next year, Hassan starred alongside Niuma Mohamed, Ali Seezan and Sheereen Abdul Wahid in Ahmed Nimal's horror film Handhu Keytha (2005) which unfolds the story of a man who was enchanted by a spirit while witnessing a lunar eclipse.

In the film, she played the mother of a loyal wife who has been tormented by the spirit.

The same year, Hassan reunited with Abdul Faththaah for his romantic disaster film, Hureemey Inthizaarugaa (2005) cast along with Ravee Farooq, Mariyam Zuhura, Waleedha Waleed, Ibrahim Jihad and Neena Saleem.

In April 2006, Ahmed Nimal's revenge thriller film, Hiyani was released which featured her as the mother of Shaina, a devoted wife who seeks comfort in the company of her husband's kidnapper.

She afterwards appeared in a number of romantic dramas including Vaaloabi Engeynama, for which she was nominated for best supporting actress at the 2008 Gaumee Film Awards.

Hassan took a break from acting between 2012 and 2019, before appearing in romantic drama Hahdhu, her performance in which was nominated in the best supporting actress category at the 2019 Gaumee Film Awards.

Her final films were 2018 horror Reyvumun and 2021 drama Faree.

She died in Sri Lanka in 2022 while undergoing medical treatment.