Arif Zakaria (born 11 November 1966) is an Indian actor. He has had roles in many films, beginning with his debut film ''Darmiyaan'' (1997), ''1947 Earth'' (1998), ''Dance like a man'' (2004), and biographical projects '' Mardana'' and the controversial ''

Nanak Shah Fakir ''Nanak Shah Fakir'' is a 2015 Indian Punjabi-language biographical film based on the life of Guru Nanak, and produced by Gurbani Media Pvt. Ltd. It was theatrically released on 17 April 2015. It won the awards for Best Feature Film on Nationa ...

''.

Early life

Arif Zakaria's uncle

Rafiq Zakaria Rafiq Zakaria (5 April 1920 – 9 July 2005) was an Indian politician and Islamic religious cleric. He was closely associated with the Indian independence movement and Indian National Congress party. He was known for his advocacy of tradition ...

was a veteran politician from the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

. His brother Asif Zakaria is also an INC politician and cousin

Fareed Zakaria Fareed Rafiq Zakaria (; born 20 January 1964) is an Indian-American journalist, political commentator, and author. He is the host of CNN's '' Fareed Zakaria GPS'' and writes a weekly paid column for ''The Washington Post.'' He has been a columni ...

is an American journalist. Zakaria completed his graduation from

Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics Sydenham College of Economics is a college located in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It is affiliated to the Dr. Homi Bhabha State University. The college offers undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in management. It was awarded a re-accreditat ...

Personal life

Zakaria married Namrata Sharma, a Fashion Writer, in 2002. The couple divorced in 2010.

Career

Zakaria began acting in theatre while in college and later moved on to work in television and films. He acted in numerous television serials like ''Chunauti'', ''Karambhoomi'', ''Mrityudand'', ''Dhund'', ''Aarzoo'', ''Campus'', '' Kaali - Ek Agnipariksha'', etc. Arif acted in diverse roles in films like ''Darmiyaan'', ''Hero'', ''

Asambhav ''Asambhav'' (translation: Impossible) is a 2004 Indian Hindi action thriller film directed by Rajiv Rai and produced by Gulshan Rai under Trimurti Films banner. It was released on 23 July 2004, starring Arjun Rampal, Naseeruddin Shah and Priy ...

'' and ''Dance Like a Man'' (English). Zakaria travelled the globe since 2005 with the Australian musical show ''Merchants of Bollywood'', performing major roles in the production across Europe, China, France, Poland, Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia (the last season in Sydney in 2010). The actor portrayed Rustom Sethna in Deepa Mehta's '' Earth/1947'' and Major Dhillon in

Shyam Benegal Shyam Benegal (born 14 December 1934) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and documentary filmmaker. Often regarded as the pioneer of parallel cinema, he is widely considered as one of the greatest filmmakers post 1970s. He has received ...

's '' Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero''. He also appeared in '' Home Delivery: Aapko... Ghar Tak'', ''

Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi ''Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi'' (A Thousand Wishes Like This) is an Indian political drama film made by director Sudhir Mishra in 2003 but released in 2005. Set against the backdrop of the Indian Emergency, the movie tells the story of three young ...

'', ''

Deewaar ''Deewaar'' () is a 1975 Indian Hindi-language action crime film directed by Yash Chopra and written by Salim–Javed ( Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar). It stars Shashi Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, Neetu Singh, Nirupa Roy and Parveen Babi. The ...

'' and the

Shah Rukh Khan Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. Referred to in the media as the " Baadshah of Bollywood", "King of Bollywood" ...

film '' My Name is Khan''. In 2011, Arif played the ghost that haunts the female protagonist in

Vikram Bhatt Vikram Bhatt (born 27 January 1969) is an Indian director, producer, screenwriter and actor. He is best known for directing the ''Raaz'' film series, an Indian horror series produced by Mahesh Bhatt and Mukesh Bhatt and for directing '' Ghula ...

's ''

Haunted Haunted or The Haunted may refer to: Books * ''Haunted'' (Armstrong novel), by Kelley Armstrong, 2005 * ''Haunted'' (Cabot novel), by Meg Cabot, 2004 * ''Haunted'' (Palahniuk novel), by Chuck Palahniuk, 2005 * ''Haunted'' (Angel novel), a 200 ...

'' and was appreciated for the ghastly portrayal of a piano teacher falling in love with his young student who gets murdered while making advances towards her and rapes her as a ghost, which forces her to commit suicide in the movie. He played the role of a police officer in ''

Jism 2 ''Jism 2'' () is a 2012 Indian erotic thriller film produced and directed by Pooja Bhatt and written by Mahesh Bhatt. It is the sequel to the 2003 sleeper hit Bipasha Basu starrer ''Jism (2003 film), Jism'' and marks the debut of Indo-Canadians, ...

'', starring

Sunny Leone Karenjit Kaur Vohra (born May 13, 1981), known by her stage name Sunny Leone (), is a Canadian-American model and actress in the American and Indian film industries. She is a former pornographic actress. She was born in Canada to an Indian S ...

, appeared in ''

Lootera ''Lootera'' (; ) is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language period romantic drama film directed by Vikramaditya Motwane and partially based on author O. Henry's 1907 short story '' The Last Leaf''. It is the second film directed by Motwane after the critic ...

'' and in ''

Krrish 3 ''Krrish 3'' is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language superhero film written, produced and directed by Rakesh Roshan, who wrote the screenplay with Honey Irani and Robin Bhatt. It is the third film in the ''Krrish'' series, following '' Koi... Mil G ...

'' as Dr. Varun Shetty. Other releases of the actor are ''

Dee Saturday Night ''Dee Saturday Night'' () is a 2014 Indian Hindi-language film directed by Jay Prakash. The film released on 21 February 2014. It stars Prashant Narayanan, Arif Zakaria, Aman Verma, Amit Dimri, Vivek Rajput, Mahi Khanduri, Gaurav Dixit, M ...

'', ''Darr At The Mall'', ''Blue Mountain'' (all 2014) and ''Nanak Shah Fakir'' and ''Ishq Forever'' (both 2015). He is also acting in the play ''Gardish Mein Taare'', directed by Saif Hyder Hasan, which is based on the life of

Guru Dutt Vasanth Kumar Shivashankar Padukone (9 July 1925 – 10 October 1964), better known as Guru Dutt, was an Indian film director, producer, actor, choreographer, and writer.Rajadhyaksha, Ashish, and Paul Willemen. 9941998''Encyclopedia of Indian ...

. In 2015, Zakaria produced a children's film "Pinti Ka Sabun" for the

Children's Film Society of India Children's Film Society India (CFSI) was a nodal organization of Government of India that produced children's films and various TV programs in various Indian languages. Established in 1955, CFSI functioned under the Ministry of Information and ...

; (CFSI) this film is directed by Pramod Pathak. In 2017, Arif was seen in

's web series Spotlight -

Web series A web series (also known as a web show) is a series of scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet, which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s. A single i ...

as famous actor/director/producer Dev Bannerjee. Featured in the short film ''Aamad'' - written and directed by Neeraj Udhwani for the Terribly Tiny Tales web portal. Arif Zakaria also worked in ''Raazi'', directed by

Meghna Gulzar Meghna Gulzar is an Indian writer, film director, director and film producer, producer. She is best known for directing of Bollywood film Raazi in 2018. After debuting as a screenwriter with her father's 1999 directorial ''Hu Tu Tu'', Meghn ...

, along with

Alia Bhatt Alia Bhatt (; born 15 March 1993) is a British actress of Indian descent who predominantly works in Hindi films. She has received several accolades including four Filmfare Awards. One of India's highest-paid actresses, she has appeared in ''F ...

and

Vicky Kaushal Vicky Kaushal (; born 16 May 1988) is an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi films. Kaushal is the recipient of numerous accolades including a National Film Award and two Filmfare Awards, and has appeared in '' Forbes India'' Celebrit ...

and the film ''Ahaan'', directed by first-time director Nikhil Pherwani; a tender story of a young man with

down syndrome Down syndrome or Down's syndrome, also known as trisomy 21, is a genetic disorder caused by the presence of all or part of a third copy of chromosome 21. It is usually associated with physical growth delays, mild to moderate intellectual dis ...

. He is slated to shoot for an English film ''

Swords and Sceptres ''The Warrior Queen of Jhansi'' is a 2019 British period drama film on the 1857 Indian Rebellion against the British East India Company. The film was co-written, produced and directed by Swati Bhise, with Charles Salmon as co-producer. The fil ...

'', a re-telling of the story of the

Rani of Jhansi Lakshmibai, the Rani of Jhansi (; 19 November 1828 — 18 June 1858),Though the day of the month is regarded as certain historians disagree about the year: among those suggested are 1827 and 1835. was an Indian queen, the Maharani consort of ...

. Plays the role of Gaus Khan. Shooting commenced from October 2017 in Jaipur. At present the actor is playing the role of Gen. Bakhtiyar in a romance-thriller series Qubool Hai 2.0 that will be streamed on all ZEE5 platform.

Filmography

Television

Film

Web series

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zakaria, Arif Male actors from Mumbai Living people Konkani Muslims 1967 births Male actors in Hindi cinema 20th-century Indian male actors