Shihan Hussaini is an Indian karate expert, who has also worked as an
actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
in Tamil language films. His brother
Ishaq Hussaini
Ishaq Hussaini is an Indian actor who has worked in Tamil language films.
Career
The brother of karate expert Shihan Hussaini, Ishaq Hussaini also has a third degree black belt in karate. In an interview to The Hindu, Ishaaq revealed that he ha ...
has also appeared in Tamil films.
He has also been widely covered in Indian media for his acts of devotion towards politician
Jayalalitha and for his world record attempts.
Career
Acting career
Shihan Hussaini rose to fame by his achievements as a karate instructor and set up a school to help young martial arts fighters.
Hussaini made his acting debut through
K. Balachander
Kailasam Balachander (9 July 1930 – 23 December 2014) was an Indian film maker and playwright who worked mainly in the Tamil cinema. He was well known for his distinct film-making style, and the Indian film industry knew him as a master of un ...
's romantic drama ''
Punnagai Mannan
''Punnagai Mannan'' () is a 1986 Indian Tamil-language musical romantic drama film written and directed by K. Balachander. The film stars Kamal Haasan and Revathi, with Srividya, Rekha, Delhi Ganesh, Sudarshan and Sundar Krishna Urs in suppor ...
'', where he played a dancer who treats
Revathi
Asha Kelunni Nair (born 8 July 1966), better known by her stage name Revathi, is an Indian actress and director, known for her works predominantly in Tamil & Malayalam cinema - in addition to Telugu, Hindi & Kannada films.
She has won several ...
's character harshly as a result of her
Sri Lankan heritage. The success of the film prompted filmmakers to sign him on to play the antagonist in
Rajinikanth's ''
Velaikaran'' (1987) and in
R. K. Selvamani's shelved ''Moongil Kottai'', which featured him alongside
Vijayakanth
Narayanan Vijayaraj Alagarswami (born 25 August 1952), better known by his stage name Vijayakanth, is an Indian politician and former actor who has worked predominantly in Tamil cinema. He was the Leader of the Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Leg ...
. During the period in the late 1980s and early 1990s, he also worked on the Hollywood production ''
Bloodstone'' (1988), the
Karthik-starrer ''
Unnai Solli Kutramillai
''Unnai Solli Kutramillai'' () i a 1990 Indian Tamil-language film, directed by Ameerjan, starring Karthik and Sithara. The film, produced by Kavithalayaa Productions, was released on 17 March 1990.
Plot
Balu is a graduate youth who came f ...
'' (1990) and the
Sarathkumar-starrer ''
Vedan'' (1993). Other films he worked on included ''Naadodigal'' featuring
Khushbu
Khushbu Sundar (born Nakhat Khan; 29 September 1970) is an Indian actress, politician, film producer and television presenter. She is known for her works predominantly in Tamil, besides Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam and Kannada films. She is a rec ...
and
Ravichandran Ravichandran is an Indian name. Notable people with the name include:
* Ravichandran (Tamil actor) (1942–2011)
* Ravichandran (Tamil film director) (born 1971)
* N. Ravichandran (professor) (1955), professor at IIM Ahmedabad
* N. Ravichandran, ...
's ''Santharpangal'', though neither film released.
Furthermore, he appeared in a film titled ''My India'' where he played the lead role alongside actresses
Swathi and
Vani Viswanath
Vani Viswanath (born 13 May 1971) is an Indian actress who predominantly appeared in Malayalam and Telugu films. In 2000, Vani won the Kerala State Film Award for Second Best Actress for her performance in '' Susanna'', directed by T. V. Chandr ...
. His most recent on-screen appearance was in ''
Badri'', where he played
Vijay's fitness coach and helped contribute to the making of the "Travelling Soldier" song.
In March 2014, he revealed that he was working on the pre-production of a film titled ''Mudivu'', while denying rumours that he was approached to act in
Gautham Vasudev Menon
Gautham Vasudev Menon (born 25 February 1973) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer and actor who predominantly works in Tamil cinema, Tamil film industry. He has also directed Telugu cinema, Telugu and Hindi cinema, Hindi films th ...
's ''
Yennai Arindhaal
''Yennai Arindhaal'' () is a 2015 Indian Tamil-language action thriller film co-written and directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon, and produced by A. M. Rathnam. The film stars Ajith Kumar,
Trisha Krishnan, Anushka Shetty and Arun Vijay and re ...
'' (2015).
Other
In 1998, he helped coordinate security for actor
Kamal Haasan during the making of ''
Marudhanayagam
''Marudhanayagam'' is an unfinished Indian historical drama film directed and produced by Kamal Haasan under his Raaj Kamal Films International banner. The script was co-written by Haasan, along with novelist Sujatha, and the pair started wo ...
'', and during the premiere shows of
Shankar Shankar may refer to:
People
* Shankar (name), including a list of people with the name
* Sankar (writer) (Mani Shankar Mukherjee), Bengali writer
* L. Shankar, Indian violinist
*S. Shankar, Indian film director commonly credited as Shankar
* San ...
's ''
Jeans'' (1998).
As a devoted follower of politician
Jayalalitha, Shihan Hussaini painted 56 portraits of her using his blood to mark her 56th birthday in 2005.
In February 2013, Hussaini unveiled a bust of Jayalalitha's face using frozen blood. Hussaini claimed he had collected 11 litres of blood, and that his own was added to blood donated by his archery disciples, including women. Unruffled by critics who accused him of sycophancy, he maintained that his admiration for the politician was normal.
In February 2015, Hussaini crucified himself wearing a T-shirt with ‘Amma’ on it, praying that Jayalalitha won her upcoming elections. He remained hanging for more than six minutes after his associates pounded six-inch nails into his hands and feet. After the four nails were slowly pulled out, Hussaini was put in a waiting ambulance and taken to the ICU of a nearby hospital.
His actions were widely described by commentators as "foolish".
In 2016, Shihan Hussaini was working as an archery coach and as the founder and general secretary of the Archery Association of Tamil Nadu, the only state archery body recognised and affiliated with the Tamil Nadu Olympic Association and the Archery Association of India.
Hussaini is currently working as a chef and hosts a TV show in
Mega TV, called Athiradi Samayal.
Filmography
Television
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hussaini, Shihan
1964 births
Living people
Indian chefs
Male actors in Tamil cinema
Indian male film actors
Male actors from Tamil Nadu
Indian male martial artists