Arshad Warsi | |
|---|---|
 Warsi in 2013 | |
| Born | Arshad Hussain[1] (1968-04-19)19 April 1968 (age 57) Bombay (now Mumbai),Maharashtra, India |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Works | Full list |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Anwar (half-brother) Asha Sachdev (half-sister) |
Arshad Warsi (born 19 April 1968) is an Indian actor who appears inHindi films.[2][3] He is the recipient ofseveral awards including aFilmfare Award from five nominations and is noted for acting in variedfilm genres.
Before making his acting debut, Warsi served as an assistant director toMahesh Bhatt inKaash (1987) and also choreographed a song inRoop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja (1993). Warsi made his acting debut in 1996 withTere Mere Sapne, which was a box office success. His portrayal of Circuit in the comedy filmMunna Bhai M.B.B.S. (2003), and its sequelLage Raho Munna Bhai (2006) for which he won theFilmfare Award for Best Performance in a Comic Role marked a turning point in his career. He featured in several commercially successfulcomedy films, includingHogi Pyaar Ki Jeet (1999),Hulchul (2004),Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya? (2005),Salaam Namaste (2005),Golmaal: Fun Unlimited (2006),Dhamaal (2007),Krazzy 4 (2008),Golmaal Returns (2008),Ishqiya (2010),Golmaal 3 (2010),F.A.L.T.U (2011),Double Dhamaal (2011),Jolly LLB (2013),Golmaal Again (2017) andTotal Dhamaal (2019), and received critical recognition for his work in films includingSehar (2005),Kabul Express (2006),Dedh Ishqiya (2014) andGuddu Rangeela (2015). He is widely regarded by many as one of the most underrated actors in theHindi film industry.[4][5]
In addition to acting in films, Warsi has hosted the dance showRazzmatazz in 2001,Sabse Favourite Kaun in 2004 and the first season of the reality television showBigg Boss for which he was awarded theIndian Television Academy Award for Best Anchor – Game/Quiz Show. He starred oppositeKarisma Kapoor in the TV serialKarishma – The Miracles of Destiny (2003) and featured as a judge forZara Nachke Dikha in 2010. Warsi is married toMaria Goretti since 1999 with whom he has two children.
Warsi was born inMumbai. His father, Ahmed Ali Khan (Ashiq Hussain), was anUrdu poet who had also worked as a musician in Hindi films and adopted the nameWarsi after he became a follower of theSufi saintWaris Ali Shah.[6] Arshad is the half-brother of singerAnwar Hussain and actressAsha Sachdev from his father's first marriage to actress Ranjana Sachdev.[7]
His father being aPunjabi fromLahore, Warsi used to speak bothPunjabi andUrdu while growing up.[8] He did his schooling at a boarding school,Barnes School, inDeolali,Nashik district,Maharashtra.[9] He was orphaned at the age of 14 and struggled for a living in Bombay during his early days.[10] He left school after 10th standard.[11]
Financial circumstances forced Warsi to start work as a door-to-door cosmetics salesman at age 17. Later he worked in a photo-lab. Meanwhile, he developed a keen interest in dancing and received an offer to join Akbar Sami's Dance group inMumbai, which started his dancing and choreographing inThikana (1987) andKaash (1987).[12][13]
Then in 1991, he won the Indian dance competition, followed by the fourth prize in the Modern Jazz category in the 1992 World Dance championship, London, at the age of 21.[14] Soon, he started his own dance studio, "Awesome" with that money and also formed a dance troupe. It was here that his future wife,Maria Goretti, aSt. Andrew's College student, joined him before she became a VJ. He was also associated with English theatre group inMumbai, choreographing shows for Bharat Dabholkar and got an opportunity to choreograph the title track for the filmRoop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja (1993).[14] During this time he was offered a role byJaya Bachchan forTere Mere Sapne.[11]
He got his first offer to act inAmitabh Bachchan's production company,Amitabh Bachchan Corporation's first productionTere Mere Sapne in 1996. Before that he had made a small appearance as a dancer in a song inAag Se Khelenge.[15] He followed this by roles in films such asBetaabi (1997),Mere Do Anmol Ratan andHero Hindustani (both 1998). His performance in P Vasu'sHogi Pyaar Ki Jeet (1999) was praised by Rediff.com's Suparn Verma.[16] Warsi's next release wasMadhur Bhandarkar's directorial debutTrishakti (1999). Completed in 3 years, the film performed poorly at the box office.[17] His only film appearances of 2001 were inGhaath, followed byMujhe Meri Biwi Se Bachaao (2001) andJaani Dushman: Ek Anokhi Kahani (2002). Most of these failed to do well at the box office. In Shashanka Ghosh'sWaisa Bhi Hota Hai Part II, he played a common man who saves the life of a goon who is fatally shot. Ronjita Kulkarni wrote that he gave a "winning performance".[18]
In 2003, he rose to fame when he starred asCircuit toMunna Bhai (Sanjay Dutt) inRajkumar Hirani's comedyMunna Bhai M.B.B.S. which turned out to be a huge box office success and gained him much critical acclaim and a nomination at theFilmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor.[19][20] He won theZee Cine Award for Best Actor in a Comic Role for the same. Warsi said in an interview that had the film not worked, his career would have finished.[21] His only release in 2004 was the comedyHulchul which earned him theGIFA Best Comedian Award and nominations for theScreen Award for Best Actor,Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Comic Role andIIFA Award for Best Performance in a Comic Role. Warsi played an airport manager oppositeMahima Chaudhry in Samar Khan'sKuchh Meetha Ho Jaye (2005).[22] His performance inSehar was positively received by critics and Sanhita Paradkar ofRediff.com wrote that: "finally [he is] in a much-deserved lead role".[23] In the same year he appeared as a supporting actor in the romantic comediesMaine Pyaar Kyun Kiya? andSalaam Namaste.[24][25] For the latter, he was nominated for theFilmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. He played a computer hacker in the Vivek Agnihotri-directed suspense thriller filmChocolate. Indrani Roy Mitra of Rediff.com said that Warsi gave a "commendable [performance]" inVaah! Life Ho Toh Aisi! (2005).[26]
Warsi collaborated withRohit Shetty forGolmaal: Fun Unlimited (2006), which was the first installment of theGolmaal series. His next release was the comic thrillerAnthony Kaun Hai?, directed by Raj Kaushal. The film drew from many Hollywood and Bollywood films and Warsi won praise from critics for his role of a conman. Raj Lalwani opined that the film "belongs to [him]" and that he was "one of the most underrated actors around".[27] He once again teamed up with Rajkumar Hirani and Sanjay Dutt forLage Raho Munna Bhai (2006), which won him his first Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Comic Role,IIFA Award for Best Supporting Actor, Zee Cine Award for Best Actor in a Comic Role andScreen Award for Best Supporting Actor.[28][29][30] His portrayal of a cameraman kidnapped by the Taliban in the counter-terrorism dramaKabul Express (2006), from Kabir Khan, won appreciation.[31] H S Bunty wrote that Warsi "steals the show".[32] Warsi appeared in the box office success comedyDhamaal (2007).[33] He played the role of a Pakistani footballer living in London in the sports dramaDhan Dhana Dhan Goal (2007). In director Jaideep Sen's comedyKrazzy 4, Warsi a person suffering fromintermittent explosive disorder. The film failed to generate favourable reviews.[34][35] Ameeta Gupta praised Warsi's performance in Deepak Shivdasani's comedyMr. Black Mr. White (2008).[36] He reteamed with Rohit Shetty for the comedyGolmaal Returns (2008).[37] His first release of 2009 wasKisse Pyaar Karoon, followed byEk Se Bure Do. He played lead role in Neeraj Vora-directed comedyShortkut, a remake of the Malayalam filmUdayananu Tharam (2005).[38]
In 2010, Warsi won theScreen Award for Best Supporting Actor and was nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor and the IIFA Award for Best Supporting Actor for the black-comedyIshqiya. He appeared alongside Naseeruddin Shah and Vidya Balan.[39] He produced and acted inHum Tum Aur Ghost.[40] The film received negative reviews and performed poorly financially.[41][42][43] He once again collaborated with Rohit Shetty for the comedyGolmaal 3. It was a commercial success.[44]Raja Sen opined that "Warsi [was] killing all the streetside-cred he's built up with bhai-sidekick roles by overdoing it."[45] His 2011 releases include the comediesF.A.L.T.U andDouble Dhamaal, which were both above-average grossers. The former was directed byRemo D'Souza and was inspired by the 2006 American comedy filmAccepted, directed bySteve Pink.[46] Preeti Arora called the latter a "huge disappointment".[47]
His only film role in 2012 was in a guest appearance inAjab Gazabb Love.CNN-IBN wrote that Warsi was "good and effective".[48] His first release of 2013 was the action-thrillerZila Ghaziabad in which he played the role of a gangster. Charu Thakur criticised the film but praised Warsi's performance.[49] He played a lawyer in the Subhash Kapoor-directedJolly LLB, his first solo hit.[50]Raja Sen wrote that he was "earnest to a fault".[51] He was awarded theBIG Star Entertainment Award for Most Entertaining Actor in a Comedy Film (Male) and the IIFA Award for Best Performance in a Comic Role andApsara Film Producers Guild Award for Best Performance in a Comic Role for his performance in the comedy drama.[52][53][54] The film won theNational Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi. Warsi played an important role in the Amrit Sagar Chopra-directed sex comedyRabba Main Kya Karoon (2013). He starred as the titular detective in Samir Tewari's comedyMr Joe B. Carvalho oppositeSoha Ali Khan.[55] Panned by critics, the film failed to perform well at the box office.[56] He starred in Abhishek Chaubey'sDedh Ishqiya (2014).[57] He suffered a head injury while shooting an action scene for Manish Jha's comedy filmThe Legend of Michael Mishra.[58]Ashish R Mohan's comedyWelcome to Karachi (2015) featured Warsi alongsideJackky Bhagnani andLauren Gottlieb. Rohit Vats and Shubha Shetty-Saha lauded Warsi's acting and comic timing.[59][60] Warsi's next superhit wasGolmaal Again in 2017, in which he reprised the role of Madhav from previousGolmaal films, starring alongsideAjay Devgn,Tabu,Parineeti Chopra,Shreyas Talpade,Kunal Khemu andTusshar Kapoor. It went on to become one of the year's highest grossers and was a blockbuster at the box office. AfterGolmaal Again, he went on to star inBhaiyyaji Superhitt,Fraud Saiyaan,Total Dhamaal,Pagalpanti while filmZamaanat, a courtroom drama directed by S Ramanathan, is still unreleased.[61] Arshad Warsi's last release was in March 2022, theAkshay Kumar andKriti Sanon starrer 'Bachchan Pandey'.[62] He'll next be seen inJolly LLB 3 withAkshay Kumar, releasing on 19th September, 2025.[1][2]
Warsi was the co-host of the dance showRazzmatazz (2001) onZee TV.[63] He starred oppositeKarisma Kapoor in the TV serialKarishma – The Miracles of Destiny from 2003 to 2004. It aired onSahara One.[64] He hosted a popular award showSabse Favourite Kaun (2004) forSTAR Gold.[65] He was the host ofBigg Boss 1 (2006), the Indian version of the reality television seriesBig Brother which was aired onSony Entertainment. Warsi won theIndian Television Academy Award for Best Anchor—Game/Quiz Show for this.[66] He has also done a small cameo onDisney Channel's television showIshaan: Sapno Ko Awaaz De (2010).[67]
Arshad Warsi marriedMaria Goretti on 15 February 1996. They have two kids, son named Zeke Warsi, born in 2005 and daughter Zene Zoe Warsi, born in 2007. Zeke also, made a special appearance inSalaam Namaste. During his school days, Warsi was a national level gymnast.[68] In March 2023, Arshad Warsi was accused by India's securities regulator SEBI to have participated in a stock market scam.[69]
Warsi considers himself a better serious actor than a comic one.[70] He's also an avid biker and was part of a bikers' gang in school.[71] ActorNaseeruddin Shah said that: "He is easily the best all-round actor in this generation", whileVidya Balan said of Warsi: "He reminds me of the great European actors who can fit into any role. But he is completely under-utilised".[14] In his bookHero Vol.2, Ashok Raj has called him "one of the most talented actors among today's breed".[72] A well known actor, Warsi does not prefer giving auditions.[73]Bhawana Somaaya has called him "one of the best three dancers of the Hindi film industry".[74] Director Samir Tewari called him "the most underrated and un-utilised actor."[75]Boman Irani also feels the same and called him a "natural and unique performer".[76]
Warsi won theFilmfare Award for Best Performance in a Comic Role in 2007. He has been awarded theZee Cine Award for Best Actor in a Comic Role twice (in 2004 and 2007).
I was born and brought up in Mumbai. My father's original name was Ahmed Ali Khan till he became a follower of a holy man Waris Pak and we became Warsis.
My father was from Lahore. He and his sisters used to talk in Punjabi often. The second language that was used at home was Urdu.
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