Abbas (actor)

Mirza Abbas Ali (born 21 May 1975), known professionally as Abbas, is an Indian motivational speaker and actor who has predominantly appeared in Tamil and Telugu cinema. He is also known for his work in Malayalam, Kannada, and Hindi films. Abbas is the recipient of several awards and honours. Apart from acting, he has ventured into film production and has been involved in philanthropic activities. While his on-screen presence has decreased in recent years, Abbas continues to be remembered for his contributions to the Tamil film industry.

Following a career as a fashion model, he made his film debut with Kathir's Kadhal Desam (1996), which became a great success and gave him instant recognition. Abbas went on to work in successful movies such as VIP (1997), Pooveli (1998), Padayappa (1999), Suyamvaram (1999), Malabar Police (1999), Kandukondain Kandukondain (2000), Minnale (2001), Aanandham (2001), Pammal K. Sambandam (2002), Adi Thadi (2004), Guru En Aalu (2009), and Ramanujan (2014). He also appeared in hit Telugu films including Priya O Priya (1997), Rajahamsa (1997), Raja (1999), and Anasuya (2007). Abbas gained significant recognition in Kannada and Malayalam films as well, notably in Kannezhuthi Pottum Thottu (1999) and Appu and Pappu (2010).

He continued to appear in lead roles, which were unsuccessful, before transitioning to roles in ensemble casts and as antagonists. Abbas quit acting in films after 2015 when he moved to New Zealand and became a motivational speaker. In 2023, he returned to Chennai after a long hiatus. He expressed interest in making a comeback, while looking for good offers and continuing to appear in interviews and TV shows such as Bigg Boss.

Early life
Abbas was born as Mirza Abbas Ali on 21 May 1975 in Howrah, a twin city of Kolkata. Abbas revealed that he went through a phase of being a troubled teenager.

He has also stated that his first goal was to become an Air Force pilot. However, he wasn't successful in clearing the entrance examination for the National Defence Academy (NDA), which is the premier training institute for the Indian Armed Forces. After his dream of becoming an Air Force pilot didn't materialize, Abbas had an alternate plan to pursue MBA.

Abbas grew up watching Hindi films. His maternal grandfather, Farrukh Mirza, acted in Neel Darpan (Bengali) and his paternal family was related to actor Feroz Khan. He partook in modelling assignments since his modeling in the college days won "Face of 94" in Bangalore. His model colleagues included Dino Morea, Suman Ranganathan, Rajeev Gopalkrishna, Rahul Dev and Sameer Malhotra.

Early career and success : 1996–2000
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 a 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. Unfamiliar with the Tamil language, Abbas memorized his lines on the set of the film and Kadhir began the shoot with easier portions, in order to ease Abbas into his role. Featuring alongside Vineeth and Tabu, Kadhal Desam became a critical and commercial success and Abbas was dubbed by the media as a "heart-throb", garnering several more acting offers. The soundtrack of the movie, including the song "Mustafa Mustafa", featuring him and Vineeth, was a hit.

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. The movies that he missed became huge success later. Meanwhile, the success of Kaadhal Desam ' s dubbed Telugu version — Prema Desam, 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 film, Shanti Shanti Shanti (1999), featuring alongside debutant Madhavan in his first Kannada film.

In 1999, Abbas acted in eight movies — four Telugu, three Tamil and one Malayalam. He began 1999 by debuting in Malayalam cinema with Kannezhuthi Pottum Thottu, alongside Manju Warrier. The film became a super-hit at the box office. His next appearance was in Raja (1999), alongside Venkatesh and Soundarya and the film became a blockbuster. Abbas played the role of Rajinikanth's son-in-law in Padayappa, which became the highest-grossing Tamil film of 1999. He played a lead role in Suyamvaram (1999), which was planned by Giridharilal Nagpal, who produced and wrote the film's story and brought together 14 major directors, 19 cinematographers and over 30 leading actors in the Tamil film industry. It became notable for casting the most stars in a film and also for being the quickest ever feature-length film made, with filming being completed in 23 hours and 58 minutes. The film also became a commercial succes at the box office.

Heart-throb and Career High: 2000–2006
Abbas appeared in a small role in Hey Ram (2000), which starred Kamal Hassan along with Bollywood stars Shahrukh Khan and Rani Mukerji in the leading role. Dreams (2000), a Malayalam film, was released after Hey Ram (2000), where Abbas appeared with Dileep and Meena. The movie became a flop at the box office. In 2000, Abbas worked with Rajiv Menon's romantic-drama Kandukondain Kandukondain, including an ensemble cast of Mammootty, Ajith Kumar, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Tabu. The film became commercially successful and marked the second collaboration of Abbas and Tabu after Kadhal Desam. Abbas then acted in the Telugu film Madhuri (2000) which became a box-office failure. In 2001, Abbas starred in Minnale, with Reema Sen and R. Madhavan, where he was portrayed as a college rival to Madhavan's character and his role was very much acclaimed. The film went on to become one of the blockbusters of the year. This was the second film of Abbas and Madhavan after the 1998 Kannada film Shanti Shanti Shanti. Abbas made a cameo appearance, portraying himself in Vinnukum Mannukum (2001). He then appeared in N. Lingusamy's directorial debut, the family drama Aanandham (2001), with Mammootty, Murali and Sneha. It was the second collaboration of Abbas and Mammootty after Kandukondain Kandukondain (2000). It became one of the biggest hits of Abbas's career. Abbas' performance in the film was praised by critics. In an interview, he picked Aanandham as his career-best film.

In 2002, Abbas collaborated once again with Kamal Hassan in comedy film Pammal K. Sambandam, where he shared the screen with Simran and Sneha again. In the movie, he played the role of Kamal Hassan's brother. It received positive reviews and became a commercial success. He then collaborated with Vineeth again in romantic drama Nee Premakai (2002), directed by Muppalaneni Shiva, with Laya playing the female lead role in the film. It is an adaptation to Priyadarshan's 1988 Malayalam film Mukunthetta Sumitra Vilikkunnu. In 2002 he made his debut in Bollywood with Ansh: The Deadly Part. He worked in an ensemble cast alongside Ashutosh Rana, Om Puri, Milind Gunaji, Rajat Bedi, Sharbani Mukherjee, Shama Sikander and Ashish Vidyarthi. The film was not a big success, but its soundtrack composed by Nadeem–Shravan became a hit. After this, two further films, including Aur Phir with Bipasha Basu, were shelved, and he continued to appear in Tamil films in supporting roles through the mid-2000s.

Abbas again collaborated with Kathir for Kadhal Virus (2002), with Richard Rishi and Sridevi Vijaykumar. Unlike his previous two films with the director – Kadhal Desam (1996) and Kadhalar Dhinam (1999) – Kathir's Kadhal Virus was panned by critics and fared poorly at the box office. Abbas then appeared alongside R. Sarathkumar and Sakshi Shivanand in Manasthan (2004), directed by Marumalarchi Bharathi. The film opened to mixed reviews. He again collaborated with Soundarya in Tamil–Kannda horror film Swetha Naagu (2004), which became an average grosser. Abbas played role of a villian in Tamil horror film Shock (2004). He shared an ensemble cast with Prashanth, Meena, Thiagarajan, Suhasini, Kalairani, and Sarath Babu. The film received a positive response from critics and was a box office success. In 2004, he co-starred with Sathyaraj in the action comedy Adi Thadi, which became a super-hit. It was second collaboration of Abbas and Sathyaraj after Malabar Police (1999). He respired his role in its Telugu remake Political Rowdy (2005), which was not great success like original film. His last release of 2005 was an action-drama movie — Vanakkam Thalaiva.

Supporting roles: 2006–2010
Abbas made a cameo appearance in Unarchigal (2006), which opened to mixed reviews. This was the second-last movie of Kunal Singh before his death in 2008. His next venture was as a lead in 47A Besant Nagar Varai (2006) with Sangeetha and Ravali. The film opened to mixed responses. Abbas played a negative role in black comedy thriller Thiruttu Payale (2006), with Jeevan and Sonia Agarwal. The film was a commercial success grossing ₹ 400 million at the box office and became the third highest grossing Tamil film of 2006 only behind Varalaru and Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu.

He played a supporting role in Telugu social-drama film Chandrahas (2007), which was not a high success, but won Sarojini Devi Award for a Film on National Integration. In 2007, he co-starred with Bhumika Chawla in Telugu thriller film — Anasuya. The film released to positive reviews and was recorded as a hit at the box office, running for 50 days. His 50th film as an actor was Sadhu Miranda (2008). A Tamil comedy thriller film, Abbas co-starred with Prasanna and Kavya Madhavan, where he played a negative role.

After Sadhu Miranda, Abbas collaborated with Tabu again in Idi Sangathi (2008), whose casting was praised. This film marks the third collaboration in which Abbas and Tabu are paired together after the Tamil films Kadhal Desam (1996) and Kandukondain Kandukondain (2000). He starred with Jackie Shroff, Raghuvaran, Rahul Dev and Veda in Telugu hesit-film Bank (2009), which received negative reviews. Abbas once-again collaborated with Madhavan in comedy Guru En Aalu (2009), which also features Mamta Mohandas, Vivek and Brinda Parekh.

In 2010, Abbas starred in Appu and Pappu. It was his comeback in Kannda cinema after six years, since his last release Swetha Nagu (2004). This is the first Kannada film to feature an orangutan in a major role. He played the role of a divorce father of child artist Snehith and wife of Rekha Vedavyas. The film was shot in Cambodia. A critic from The Times of India scored the film at 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "Rekha excels with her graceful performance. Master Snehith promises to be a "little star" of the future. Komal is simply superb. Rangayana Raghu keeps you in good humour. Raju Thalikote, Abbas and Jennifer Kotwal have done justice to their roles. It is finally the orangutan that steals the show with a good performance. "Mungaru Male" Krishna is at his best in cinematography. Hamsalekha has given some excellent musical numbers". Appu and Pappu was a surprise box office success and ran for a hundred days. It was one of the highly-successful Kannada films of the year 2010, behind Super, Porki and Just Maath Maathalli.

Decline and struggle: 2010–present
Abbas made a guest appearance in K. V. Anand directorial Tamil film Ko (2011). The film was released on 22 April 2011 to mostly positive reviews, and became a commercial success. He then respired his role from Sadhu Miranda (2008) in its Telugu remake Maaro (2011). Abbas co-starred with Nithiin and Meera Chopra. The film was shot in 2005 and in 2006, the film was shelved. It was eventually released in 2011 to cash in on director Siddique's recent success with Bodyguard.

In 2013, it was announced that Abbas would play a role in Malayalam film titled Love Story, where Maqbool Salmaan would to be the main hero. However, the project could not proceed further. He then appeared in an important role in Kannada film Savaari 2 (2014). In recent years, Abbas has appeared in television serials, while he also portrayed scientist Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis in Ramanujan (2014). Due to his fading interest in acting, he moved to Auckland, New Zealand, where he worked in jobs to support his family before becoming a motivational speaker.

In 2017, it was announced that Abbas was going to step in film-production venture. However, the project's updates were never known. In 2023, Abbas returned to Chennai and expressed his interest in making a comeback. He stated that he is looking for a nice script to work.

Motivational speaker
Abbas has appeared as a motivational speaker on the media. He have spread awareness about suicidal thoughts through online workshops and seminars.

Business
Abbas was inspired by Arvind Swamy and decided to become a businessman. Before Ajith, Abbas always was a sucker for startups and funding the next big thing. In Dubai, in the major property loss — Rajinikanth and Shahrukh Khan were the biggest losers but Abbas was a much smaller name who lost a chunk. He borrowed from many producers to pay off creditors (at high interest rates). Abbas then worked off these debts by acting in small roles. In fact since 2006, he never got a paid role in Tamil cinema.

Abbas had a lot of debt and after a long panchayat, when they finally settled. He even had to give his flats and Koyambedu land to get away from all that debt. Madhavan helped him quite a bit. In New Zealand, he lived in Auckland and worked as a mechanic and taxi driver because he migrated on a Work Permit instead of Employment Pass. He also began to help Indian movies find locations in New Zealand and arrange shootings and accommodations. Abbas is running a family-based business in Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad.

Philanthropy
In social media, Abbas found as a supporter of the Palestinian cause. Abbas strongly condemned the Israeli invasion of Gaza and calling it as a genocide. He is one of the artists who have pleaded for ceasefire in Gaza and to allow humanitarian aid to deliver. On occasion of Eid al-Fitr, Abbas posted on Facebook, conveying the message: "When celebrating Eid, keep in the orphans of Gaza in mind as Eid will not be the same for them. Pray there be peace and our sins forgiven, Eid Mubarak". "Wake up humans this is genocide. If you have a souls and conscience wake up, put yourself in their shoes and think is this right, not as a Muslim but as a human being. May your souls rest in peace we all will be judged."

- Abbas

Legacy
Abbas is known for his charming screen presence and his ability to portray a range of characters, from romantic leads to supporting roles. He shared screen space with several leading actors and actresses in the Tamil film industry and is well-liked by audiences for his performances. His hairstyle in Kadhal Desam (1996) became popular across South India, refer to as "Abbas cut", which is still popular across South India and Sri Lanka. The success of Kadhal Desam established him as one of the leading romantic heroes of Tamil cinema.

The film had music by A. R Rahman and the album turned out to be a super hit with songs like Enai Kaanavillaye, Hello Doctor, Kalluri Saalai and Thendrale and O Vennila. Lyrics for the songs were by the late Vaali. However, the song Musthafa Musthafa sung by A. R Rahman became such a runaway hit that even after more than two decades, it's still one of the most sought-after songs on friendship. Abbas became a star overnight after his debut in the film and he earned a massive fan following, especially among women.

The music for the film was a super hit and the college anthem '‘Mustafa Mustafa’' continues to be one of the most popular songs of AR Rahman even today. Abbas aced his role as Kannan in Aanandham (2001) and his character was much-loved by all. His performance in the film was praised by critics. He won a lot of appreciation for his performance in the film Kandukondain Kandukondain (2000). He also gained enough acclaim for his role in Pammal K. Sambandam (2002).

Personal life
Abbas 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. 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.

In 2022, Abbas had a minor injury on his knee and got surgery.

Awards

 * 1994: In 1994 Abbas won "Face of 94" in Bangalore
 * 2017: CSR Awards 2017 at New Zealand
 * 2018: CSR Awards 2018 at New Zealand