Ashraf Hamza is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works in

Malayalam cinema Malayalam cinema is an Indian film industry of Malayalam-language motion pictures. It is based in Kochi, Kerala, India. The films produced in Malayalam cinema are known for their cinematography and story-driven plots. In 1982, ''Elippathayam' ...

. Hailing from

Ponnani Ponnani () is a municipality in Ponnani Taluk, Malappuram District, in the state of Kerala, India. It serves as the administrative center of the Taluk and Block Panchayat of the same name. It is situated at the estuary of Bharatappuzha (Riv ...

Malappuram Malappuram (also Malapuram) () is a city in the Indian state of Kerala, spread over an area of including the surrounding suburban areas. The first municipality in the district formed in 1970, Malappuram serves as the administrative headquarter ...

, he debuted with 2019 Malayalam movie ''

Thamaasha ''Thamaasha'' () is a 2019 Indian Malayalam-language film written and directed by Ashraf Hamza and produced by Sameer Thahir, Shyju Khalid, Lijo Jose Pellissery and Chemban Vinod Jose.The film stars Vinay Forrt, Chinnu Chandhini, Divya Prabha an ...

''. His second directorial feature was ''

Bheemante Vazhi ''Bheemante Vazhi'' () is a 2021 Indian Malayalam-language comedy drama film directed by Ashraf Hamza and written by Chemban Vinod Jose. It stars Kunchacko Boban and Megha Thomas, with Jose, Jinu Joseph, Naseer Sankranthi, Divya M Nair and Chinn ...

'' (2021). He was the co-writer of 2022 movie ''

Thallumaala ''Thallumaala'' () is a 2022 Indian Malayalam-language action film directed by Khalid Rahman and produced by Ashiq Usman. It is written by Muhsin Parari and Ashraf Hamza. The film stars Tovino Thomas, Kalyani Priyadarshan and Shine Tom Chacko. ...

.''

Early life

He was born in

, Kerala. His father owned a movie theatre named '''Alankar in Ponnani. Hamza said his enthusiasm in movies were developed from there, as he spent much of his holidays within the theatre. Some of his childhood experiences with the movie theatre were included in the movie ''

.''

Career

He started his career by directing a short film based on U. P. Jayaraj's short story '''Bihar. Later he directed some documentaries, short films and ad films. It was his friendship with director

Muhsin Parari Muhsin Parari is an Indian film director, writer and lyricist, who works in Malayalam films. Career He started his career by directing the music album ''Native Bapa'' (2012), in which actor Mamukkoya played the lead. He worked as assistant di ...

that led to the possibility of doing a feature-length project. He was approached by Muhsin to write a movie after Muhsin's directorial debut ''

KL 10 Patthu ''KL 10 Patthu'' is a 2015 Malayalam romantic comedy film written and directed by debutant Muhsin Parari. Unni Mukundan and Chandini Sreedharan portrays the lead characters in the film, along with Saiju Kurup, Aju Varghese, Neeraj Madhav, Mamukk ...

'' was failed to perform in box office, but the project was shelved (this was later turned out to be the 2022 movie ''

''). He was asked by

Lijo Jose Pellissery Lijo Jose Pellissery (born 18 September 1978) is an Indian filmmaker and actor who works in Malayalam cinema. Known for his unconventional approach in directing, his films are characterized by nonlinear storylines and very long takes. His best ...

and

Chemban Vinod Jose Chemban Vinod Jose is an Indian actor, film producer, and screenwriter, who predominantly works in Malayalam films. He is a physiotherapist by profession.Ondu Motteya Kathe ''Ondu Motteya Kathe'' () is a 2017 Kannada language romantic comedy film written and directed by debutant Raj B. Shetty who also appears in the lead role, along with Usha Bhandary, Shailashree, Prakash Tuminadu, Amrutha Naik, Shreya Anchan, Vj ...

''. Ashraf Hamza approached

Sameer Thahir Sameer C. Thahir ISC (born 7 November 1976) is an Indian cinematographer, screenwriter, and film director and producer who works mainly in the Malayalam cinema while also having worked in a few Tamil films. He is a graduate of Maharajas ...

and Shyju Khalid with this project and they agreed to produce the movie along with Lijo Jose Pellissery and Chemban Vinod Jose. The project was conceived under the title ''

'' and Sameer Thahir handled the cinematography with

Vinay Forrt Vinay Kumar, professionally credited as Vinay Forrt is an Indian film and stage actor. He hails from Fort Kochi, Kerala and is a theatre activist with more than a decade's worth of experience in the theatrical field as well as a postgraduate in ...

and Chinnu Chandni in lead roles. The movie was released on 19 June 2019 to critical acclaim. His second directorial feature was ''

'', which was released on December 2021.

Chemban Vinod Jose Chemban Vinod Jose is an Indian actor, film producer, and screenwriter, who predominantly works in Malayalam films. He is a physiotherapist by profession.Kunchacko Boban Kunchacko Boban (born 2 November 1976) is an Indian actor and film producer. Sometimes referred to as Chackochan, he works in the Malayalam film industry and has acted in more than 90 films in more than two decades. He is a member of the List ...

as the lead. The movie was a moderate box office success and won critical acclaim. ''

'', his writing collaboration with

was released on August 2022 and turned out to be one of the highest grossing Malayalam films. His third movie as a director is ''

Sulaikha Manzil ''Sulaikha Manzil'' is a 2023 Indian Malayalam-language romantic comedy film directed by Ashraf Hamza under the banner Chembosky Motion Pictures. It stars Lukman Avaran, Anarkali Marikar and Chemban Vinod Jose in lead roles. The film was relea ...

'' with

Lukman Avaran Lukman Avaran (born 22 May 1990) is an Indian actor who primarily works in Malayalam cinema. ''Dayom Panthrandum'' (2013) was the first theatre-released movie in his career. Lukman acted the lead role in the 2021 movie ''Operation Java'' directed ...

and Anarkali Marikar in lead roles. The movie was released on April 2023.

Filmography

Trivia

* Ashraf Hamza introduced

as a lyricist. Muhsin was asked to complete the lines of ''Paadi Njan'', an incomplete Mappilappaattu written by Pulikkottil Hyder into a full-length song for the movie ''

''. Later on Muhsin Parari wrote all the songs in all of Ashraf Hamza's movies. * All of Ashraf Hamza's movies were shot in and around his hometown

. Except for ''

'', the plots were also set in Ponnani. *

Chemban Vinod Jose Chemban Vinod Jose is an Indian actor, film producer, and screenwriter, who predominantly works in Malayalam films. He is a physiotherapist by profession.Malayalam film directors Malayali people Film directors from Malappuram district People from Malappuram district Living people Year of birth missing (living people)