Asif Ali (born 4 February 1986)[1] is an Indian actor and producer, who works in the Malayalam film industry.[2] He started his film career with Shyamaprasad's 2009 film, Ritu.[3]

Asif Ali
Asif in 2018
Born (1986-02-04) 4 February 1986 (age 38)
Alma materMarian College, Kuttikkanam
Occupations
Years active2009–present
SpouseZama Mazreen Ali
RelativesAskar Ali (brother)

During the subsequent years Asif went on to act in critically and commercially successful films including the romantic thriller, Apoorvaragam, the road thriller film Traffic, the romantic comedy film Salt N' Pepper and the period drama movie Ozhimuri, which got an official selection in the Indian Panorama section of the 43rd International Film Festival of India.[4] His 2013 film Honey Bee was one of the major hits in that year and his 2015 film Nirnayakam won the National Film Award for Best Film on Other Social Issues.[5][6] His success streak continued by starring in the 2016 romantic movie Anuraga Karikkin Vellam, the 2017 movie Sunday Holiday, the campus thriller Btech (2018) and Vijay Superum Pournamiyum (2019), which produced a hat-trick of hits for him with Jis Joy.

He made his debut as a producer in the 2015 film Kohinoor under his production company Adam's World of Imagination, which went on to be a success. Later he produced the 2016 film Kavi Uddeshichath and distributed various films including Vimaanam and Iblis.[7]

Early and personal life

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Asif Ali was born in Karikode, Thodupuzha, Idukki, India on 4 February 1986. He obtained graduation degree from the Marian College, Kuttikkanam in Business Administration. While studying Asif modelled for ads and worked as a video jockey.

Asif married Zama Mazrin in 2013.[8] They have two children.[9]

Acting career

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He was selected by Shyamaprasad to play one of the lead roles in his film Ritu and received positive reviews from critics and audiences.[10] He was then approached by Sathyan Anthikkad to play an important role in his film Kadha Thudarunnu. His third film was Apoorvaragam, directed by Sibi Malayil.

Since then, he had acted in the films Best of Luck and Traffic. His next film was Ithu Nammude Katha written and directed by Rajesh Kannankara.[11] In 2011 Ali signed to appear in Aashiq Abu's second movie Salt N' Pepper in which he played the role of Manu Raghav, a carefree youngster character who often puts himself into awkward situations trying to be over friendly.[12]

He played cameo roles in Doctor Love, Indian Rupee, Mallu Singh and Ustad Hotel. In 2013 he appeared In Jean Paul Lal's directorial debut, Honey Bee where he played the role of Sebastian[13] which he followed with debutant Jis Joy's Bicycle Thieves. Ali sang four lines of the song "Aayiram Kannumaai", which was originally featured in Fazil's Nokkethadhoorathu Kannum Nattu.His next releases were Pakida, Mosayile Kuthira Meenukal and Hi I'm Tony. He played the role of Shabab in Sapthamashree Thaskaraha and had a cameo role in Vellimoonga.[14]

In 2015 he appeared In Nirnayakam, Kohinoor and Rajamma @ Yahoo.[15] His movie Anuraga Karikkin Vellam went on to become one of the Superhit of 2016.[16] He reunited with Jean Paul Lal for Honey Bee 2. Sequel of 2013 Box office success Honey Bee.[17] Then he appeared in Mahesh Naryanan's Take Off. The film was shot in various parts of Dubai and released to widespread critical acclaim.[18] In 2018, his major releases were B Tech, Iblis and Mandharam. B Tech became a financial success, running for 100 days in Kerala.[19]

He started the year 2019 with Vijay Superum Pournamiyum, which became a successful venture at box office. He played a critical role in the movie Uyare, which had Parvathy and Tovino Thomas playing other characters. He played another critical role in the film Virus, based on a true story that occurred in Calicut.[20] He later acted in Nissam Basheer's directorial debut Kettyolaanu Ente Malakha, which was a box office success and gained critical acclaim. Director Lal Jose appraised it to be his career's best. In 2021, his appearances included Ellam Sheriyakum and Kunjeldho.[21]

Filmography

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As an actor

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Key
Denotes films that have not yet been released
Year Title Role Notes Ref
2009 Ritu Sunny Immatty Debut Film
2010 Kadha Thudarunnu Shanavas Ahammad [22]
Apoorvaragam Tomy
Best of Luck Manu
2011 Traffic Rajeev [23]
Ithu Nammude Katha Vinod / Appu [24]
Violin Aby
Salt N' Pepper Manu Raghav
Sevenes Sooraj
Doctor Love Narrator Cameo appearance
Indian Rupee Land Broker Cameo appearance
2012 Asuravithu Don Bosco [25]
Unnam Aloshy
Ordinary Bhadran
Mallu Singh Harinder Singh Cameo appearance
Bachelor Party Tony
Ustad Hotel Himself Cameo appearance
Ozhimuri Sharath
Husbands in Goa Arjun
Jawan of Vellimala Koshi Oommen
916 Prasanth
Idiots Messi
Scene Onnu Nammude Veedu Himself Cameo appearance
I Love Me Prem
2013 Cowboy Vinay
Kili Poyi Chacko
Red Wine Ramesh
Honey Bee Sebastian/Seban
D Company Chinnan Segment: "Oru Bolivian Diary 1995" [26]
Bicycle Thieves Kunchakko/Chacko
Nadodimannan Arun photo archive cameo appearance
2014 Pakida Aadhi
Mosayile Kuthira Meenukal Alex [27]
Hi I'm Tony Sameer [28]
Apothecary Prathapan [29]
Sapthamashree Thaskaraha Shabab [14]
Vellimoonga Josootty / Charlie Cameo appearance
Mylanchi Monchulla Veedu Anwar [30]
2015 You Too Brutus Abhi [31]
Nirnayakam Ajay Siddharth [32]
Double Barrel He Cameo appearance [33]
Kohinoor Louis [34]
Amar Akbar Antony Faizal Cameo appearance [35]
Rajamma @ Yahoo Vishnu Yohannan / Yahoo [36]
2016 Ithu Thaanda Police Ramakrishnan [37]
Anuraga Karikkin Vellam Abhilash [38]
Kavi Uddheshichathu..? Kavalam Jimmy
2017 Honey Bee 2 Sebastian [39]
Take Off Faizal Cameo appearance [40]
Adventures of Omanakkuttan Omanakuttan [41]
Avarude Raavukal Aashik Abu / Aashik Pattavayal 50th film [42]
Sunday Holiday Amal [43]
Thrissivaperoor Kliptham Girija Vallabhan [44]
Honey Bee 2.5 Himself Cameo appearance [45]
Kaattu Nuhukkannu [46]
2018 B Tech Anand Subrahmaniam [47]
Iblis Vaishakan
Mandharam Rajesh [48]
2019 Vijay Superum Pournamiyum Vijay [49]
Mera Naam Shaji Shaji George [50]
Uyare Govind Balakrishnan [51]
Virus Vishnu Bhaskaran [52]
Unda S.I. Rajan Cameo appearance
Kakshi: Amminippilla Adv. Pradeepan Manjodi [53]
Under World Stalin John [54]
Kettyolaanu Ente Malakha Sleevachan
2021 Mohan Kumar Fans Himself Cameo appearance
Aanum Pennum Kuttikrishnan Anthology Movie
Segment Rachiyamma
[55]
Ellam Sheriyakum Vineeth [56]
Kunjeldho Kunjeldho
2022 Kuttavum Shikshayum C.I. Sajan Philip [57]
Innale Vare Aadhi Shankar [58]
Mahaveeryar Veerabhadran
Kotthu Shanu
Rorschach Dileep Cameo appearance
Kooman Giri
Kaapa Anand Anirudh [59]
2023 Maheshum Marutiyum Mahesh [60]
2018 Nixon [61]
Kasargold Alby [62]
Otta S Hariharan [63]
A Ranjith Cinema Ranjith [64]
2024 Varshangalkku Shesham John Cameo appearance [65]
Marivillin Gopurangal Himself Cameo appearance [66]
Thalavan SI Karthik Vasudevan [67]
Level Cross Raghu [68]
Adios Amigo Prince [69]
Manorathangal Sunil Das Segment : Vilpana [70]
Kishkindha Kaandam Ajaychandran K.V [71]

As producer

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Year Film Role Director Notes
2015 Kohinoor Production Vinay Govind Debut Venture.
Distributed by Time Ads
2016 Kavi Uddheshichath Production
Distribution
Thomas
Liju Thomas
[72]
2017 Honey Bee 2 Distribution Jean Paul Lal
2017 Vimaanam Distribution Pradeep M. Nair
2017 Goodalochana Distribution Thomas Sebastian
2018 Iblis Distribution Rohith V. S.

As playback singer

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Years Film Song Ref
2013 Bicycle Thieves Aayiram Kannumaay
2019 Vijay Superum Pournamiyum Pournami Superalleda Co Singer With Vineeth Sreenivasan and Balu Varghese

Television

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Year Name Role Channel Notes
2023 Geetha Govindam Himself Asianet Cameo Appearance[73]

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Film Result Ref
2010 Asianet Film Awards Best Villain Apoorvaragam Won [74]
2011 Best Star Pair Salt N' Pepper [75]

[76]

2016 Best Star Pair along with Rajisha Vijayan Anuraga Karikkin Vellam
2019 Performer of the Year Various roles
2015 Film Critics Awards Special Jury for Best Actor Nirnayakam
2017 Vanitha Film Awards Best Pair Anuraga Karikkin Vellam
2018 Sunday Holiday
2020 Popular Actor Various films

Controversies

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On 17 July, 2024, a video emerged following an incident with musician Ramesh Narayan at the trailer launch of the then upcoming anthology film, Manorathangal. At the event, Asif Ali was called by the organisers to present a memento to Ramesh Narayan, which Ramesh Narayan snubbed. The video of it went viral, leading to widespread criticism for Ramesh Narayan and support waves for Asif Ali. The incident shows Ramesh got his hand to the award from Asif all the while seemingly ignoring the actor. Asif, visibly perplexed by the gesture, remained standing near the musician for a moment before returning to his seat. Ramesh then beckoned filmmaker Jayaraj to make Jayaraj present the memento to him, and demeanour of Ramesh shifted noticeably, smiling and hugging Jayaraj.[77][78][79]

On July 18, 2024, Ramesh Narayan issued a public apology regarding the incident, attributing it to unintentional circumstances.[80] Subsequently, on July 19, Asif Ali clarified his stance on the controversy during a press conference. Asif Ali suggested that Narayan's reaction stemmed from personal matters and denied he himself feeling insulted from Narayan's reaction. The actor's public statement also criticised the online harassment directed towards Ramesh Narayan.[81]

See also

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References

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  4. ^ "A Panorama of choice" Archived 20 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Khaleej Times. 20 October 2012. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
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