Abdul Hameed Muhammed Fazil (born 4 February 1949), known

mononymously A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. In some cases, a mononym selected by an individual may have originally been from a polynym, a word which refers to one o ...

as Fazil, is an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter and actor 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' ...

, in addition to directing a handful of

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nati ...

films. He made his directional debut with the 1980 film ''

Manjil Virinja Pookkal ''Manjil Virinja Pookkal'' () is a 1980 Indian Malayalam-language romantic thriller film produced by Navodaya Appachan under Navodaya Studio and written and directed by Fazil (director), Fazil. It stars Shankar (actor), Shankar, Mohanlal and P ...

''. His popular films include ''

Ente Mamattikkuttiyammakku ''Ente Mamattukkuttiyammakku'' (; also known as ''Ente Mamattikkuttiyammakku'') is a 1983 Indian Malayalam-language family drama film produced by Navodaya Appachan under Navodaya Studio. It was written and directed by Fazil and stars Bharat G ...

'' (1983), ''

Nokkethadhoorathu Kannum Nattu ''Nokkethadhoorathu Kannum Nattu'' () is a 1984 Indian Malayalam-language drama film written and directed by Fazil, and starring Mohanlal, Nadhiya, Padmini. The film features original songs composed by Jerry Amaldev and background score by Jo ...

'' (1984), ''

Poovinu Puthiya Poonthennal ''Poovinnu Puthiya Poonthennal'' is a 1986 Indian Malayalam-language action thriller film written and directed by Fazil. The film stars Mammootty and Suresh Gopi. It features Sujitha, Nadiya Moidu, Babu Antony, Thilakan, Lalu Alex, Maniyanpilla ...

'' (1986), ''

Manivathoorile Aayiram Sivarathrikal ''Manivathoorile Aayiram Sivarathrikal'' (English: The 1000 Sivarathries of Manivathoor) is 1987 Malayalam film, starring Mammootty and directed by Fazil. It was the last film of the eminent music director M. B. Sreenivasan, who died less than ...

'' (1987), ''

Ente Sooryaputhrikku ''Ente Sooryaputhrikku'' is a 1991 Indian Malayalam-language film directed by Fazil and starring Amala, Srividya, and Suresh Gopi. It was simultaneously shot in Tamil as '' Karpoora Mullai'' with Raja replacing Suresh Gopi. Plot Maya ( Amala) ...

'' (1991), ''

Pappayude Swantham Appoos ''Pappayude Swantham Appoos'' () is a 1992 Indian Malayalam-language film, written and directed by Fazil.It stars Mammootty and Master Badusha while Shobana, Suresh Gopi and Seena Dadi also appeared in important supporting roles. The music of th ...

'' (1992), ''

Manichitrathazhu ''Manichitrathazhu'' () is a 1993 Indian Malayalam-language epic psychological horror film directed by Fazil, written by Madhu Muttam, and produced by Swargachitra Appachan. The film stars Mohanlal, Suresh Gopi and Shobana with Nedumudi Venu, ...

'' (1993), ''

Harikrishnans ''Harikrishnans'' is a 1998 Indian Malayalam-language romantic comedy film written and directed by Fazil. The film was produced and distributed by Suchitra Mohanlal under the production company Pranavam Arts, starring Mammootty and Mohanlal in ...

'' (1998). His 1993 film ''Manichitrathazhu'' won the

National Film Award The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorate ...

for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. He won the Best Director award at the 13th Kerala State Film Awards for his 1984 film ''Ente Mamattukkuttiyammakku''.

Early life

His father wanted him to be a doctor, but in school and college, extra curricular activities dominated his time. He wrote plays and staged them with his friends;

Nedumudi Venu Kesavan Venugopal (22 May 1948 – 11 October 2021), better known by his stage name Nedumudi Venu, was an Indian actor and screenwriter from Kerala, who predominantly worked in Malayalam cinema. He acted in more than 500 films, primarily in Ma ...

was his college mate while he was in S.D. College,

Alleppey Alappuzha or Alleppey () is the administrative headquarters of Alappuzha district in state of Kerala, India. The Backwaters of Alappuzha are one of the most popular tourist attractions in India which attracts millions of domestic and internat ...

, and this group was perhaps the first mimicry team that entertained crowds. "I used to mimic stars like Sathyan,

Prem Nazir Prem Nazir (born Abdul Khader; 7 April 1926 – 16 January 1989) was an Indian actor known as one of Malayalam cinema's definitive leading man, leading men of his generation. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential actors in the histo ...

Sivaji Ganesan Villupuram Chinnaiya Manrayar Ganesamoorthy, better known by his stage name Sivaji Ganesan, (1 October 1928 – 21 July 2001) was an Indian actor and producer. He was active in Tamil cinema during the latter half of the 20th century. Sivaji Ga ...

and

Govindankutty N. Govindan Kutty was a Malayalam film actor. He has appeared in around 100 films, acting mainly in villain roles. Background Kutty was born at Fort Kochi in 1924, Ernakulam as the son of Sankara Narayanan and Nanukutty Amma. He was a natural ...

." He completed his graduate and post-graduation degrees in economics from department of economics, S.D. College Alappuzha .

Film career

Since the early 1980s, Fazil has directed 31 movies. His freshman film was in the Malayalam filmdom with ''

'', produced by

Navodaya Appachan Maliampurackal Chacko Punnoose, known as Navodaya Appachan (6 February 1924 – 23 April 2012) was an Indian film producer, director and entrepreneur. He is best known for his work in Malayalam cinema, especially as the founder of Navodaya ...

, which was also

Mohanlal Mohanlal Viswanathan (born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor, film producer, playback singer, film distributor, and director who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically appeare ...

's first movie. Fazil has a knack for spotting talent. He introduced some of the biggest names in films in south India: *

Nadia Moidu Zareena Moidu, known by her stage name Nadhiya, is an Indian actress who predominantly appears in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu films. She made her debut in the Malayalam film '' Nokketha Doorathu Kannum Nattu'' (1984), alongside Mohanlal and Pad ...

Baby Shalini Shalini (born 20 November 1979), also known as Baby Shalini, is a former Indian child artist and actress who predominantly worked in Malayalam and Tamil language, Tamil films. During the 80s, Shalini was the most successful child artist in the ...

and *

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 ...

in Aniyathipravu *

Nagma Nagma Arvind Morarji (born Nandita Arvind Morarji on 25 December 1974) is an Indian politician and former actress. She was a popular lead actress in the 1990s. She made her cinematic debut in the film '' Baaghi'' opposite Salman Khan in 1990. ...

was introduced to the south in Fazil's

Killer A killer is someone or something that kills, such as a murderer or a serial killer. Killer may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Killer (''Home and Away''), a character from ''Home and Away'' * Killer Kane, ...

(Telugu) while * Khushboo started her southbound journey with his

Varusham Padhinaaru ''Varusham 16'' (read as "Varusham Padhinaaru"; ) is a 1989 Indian Tamil-language film, directed by Fazil. The film stars Karthik and Khushbu, with Sukumari, V. K. Ramasamy, Janagaraj, Charle and Vadivukkarasi in supporting roles. It is a r ...

. *

Fahadh Faasil Fahadh Fazil (8 August 1982) is an Indian actor and film producer who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema and has appeared in few Tamil and Telugu films. He has acted in more than 50 films and has received several awards, including a Natio ...

Kaiyethum Doorath ''Kaiyethum Doorath'' () is a 2002 Indian Malayalam-language romance film written, directed and produced by Fazil. The film was the acting debut of Fazil's son Fahadh (credited as Shaanu) who co-starred with Nikita Thukral. Mammootty appear ...

With numerous Malayalam films, as well as several Tamil films and one Telugu film, Fazil has won the most number of State awards for the best film with popular appeal and aesthetic value. With numerous

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

films, as well as several

films and one

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

film, Fazil has won the most State awards.

Personal life

Fazil has two sons,

and

Farhaan Faasil Ismail Fazil (born 26 May 1990), better known by his stage name Farhaan Fazil, is an Indian actor working in Malayalam cinema. He debuted in 2014 with ''Njan Steve Lopez'' directed by Rajeev Ravi. He is the younger son of filmmaker Fazil and ...

, and two daughters. Fahadh and Farhaan are both actors working primarily in the Malayalam film industry.

Filmography

Directed films

Produced films

As writer

As actor

Awards

;

National Film Awards The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directorat ...

* 1993 –

National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment The National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, India, and was constituted in the year 1975. This is one of the ''Golden ...

for ''

'' ;

Kerala State Film Awards The Kerala State Film Awards are the film awards for a motion picture made in Kerala. The awards started in 1969 by the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala and since 1998 the awards have been bestowed by Kerala State Cha ...

* 1993: Best Film with Popular Appeal and Aesthetic Value – ''

Manichithrathazhu ''Manichitrathazhu'' () is a 1993 Indian Malayalam-language epic psychological horror film directed by Fazil, written by Madhu Muttam, and produced by Swargachitra Appachan. The film stars Mohanlal, Suresh Gopi and Shobana with Nedumudi Venu ...

'' * 1986: Best Film with Popular Appeal and Aesthetic Value – ''

Ennennum Kannettante ''Ennennum Kannettante'' () is 1986 Indian Malayalam-language romance film, written and directed by Fazil, starring newcomers Sangeeth and Sonia . The film won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Film with Popular Appeal and Aesthetic Value for ...

'' * 1984: Best Film with Popular Appeal and Aesthetic Value – ''

Nokketha Dhoorathu Kannum Nattu ''Nokkethadhoorathu Kannum Nattu'' () is a 1984 Indian Malayalam-language drama film written and directed by Fazil, and starring Mohanlal, Nadhiya, Padmini. The film features original songs composed by Jerry Amaldev and background score by J ...

'' * 1983:

Best Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

– ''

'' * 1983:

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BA ...

– ''

'' * 1980: Best Film with Popular Appeal and Aesthetic Value – ''

'' ;

Filmfare Awards South Filmfare Awards South is the South Indian segment of the annual Filmfare Awards, presented by the Filmfare magazine of The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Indian film industry encompassing ...

* 1985: Best Director in Tamil for ''

Poove Poochooda Vaa ''Poove Poochooda Vaa'' () is a 1985 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by Fazil, starring Padmini, S. Ve. Shekher, Nadhiya and Jaishankar. It is a remake of his own Malayalam film ''Nokkethadhoorathu Kannum Nattu'' and also marked ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fazil 1949 births Living people Film directors from Alappuzha district Malayalam film directors Tamil film directors Kerala State Film Award winners Malayali people Filmfare Awards South winners 21st-century Indian people 20th-century Indian people Artists from Alappuzha Film producers from Kerala Businesspeople from Alappuzha Writers from Alappuzha 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights Malayalam screenwriters Screenwriters from Kerala Directors who won the Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment National Film Award People from Alappuzha district