Inaamulhaq


Inaamulhaq is an Indian actor and screenwriter who has been part of several Bollywood films, including Filmistaan, Jolly LLB 2 and Airlift. In 2019 Inaamulhaq has bagged the Best Actor Award at the DCSAFF for his performance in his film Nakkash. and Best Actor Award at India International Film Festival of Boston 2019.
He has written for TV shows including Comedy Circus and dialogue for the Hindi film Bbuddah... Hoga Terra Baap.

Early life and education

Born in Saharanpur, Inaamulhaq first appeared on stage at the age of twelve. Later, he joined the Indian People's Theatre Association in Saharanpur, and acted in numerous plays as a lead. In 2003, he graduated from the National School of Drama New Delhi, with specialisation in acting.

Career

In Mumbai he started his career as a writer for season 2 of Karamchand, directed by Pankaj Parashar.
After working as a scriptwriter and creative consultant with Comedy Circus for two and a half years, he moved into films and wrote dialogue for Bbuddah... Hoga Terra Baap in 2011.
As an actor, he got his first film break with the critically acclaimed Firaaq in 2008. His first major role in a feature film was as the Pakistani national Aaftab, in Nitin Kakkar's National Award winner Filmistaan, for which he was named in the "Top 10 Stand-Out Actors of 2014" by Mid-Day, and "The Most Prominent Debuts of 2014" by IBNlive.com in their Year-ender 2014. He is also listed in IMDB'S Top 200 Best Indian Actors and Actresses. Madhureeta Mukherjee from Times of India wrote: "Inaamulhaq piques the emotions with perfection. The camaraderie between the pure souls who understand only the language of Bollywood is heart-warming". Shubha Shetty-Saha from Mid-Day praised him saying: "But it is Inaamulhaq, who steals your heart with the most natural, endearing performance".
Inaamulhaq appeared in the Askhay Kumar-starrer Airlift. He plays the role of an Iraqi Major Kahalf Bin Zayd, who is the main antagonist of the evacuation that the film is based on. Airlift is one of the biggest success of the actor and his performance in Airlift received a positive review from the critics. 'Airlift was released 22 January 2016. Bollywood Hungama praised him in their review saying: "Inaamulhaq as the Amitabh Bachchan fan Iraqi Major Khalaf Bin Zayd is a delight". Critic Komal Nahta from ETC Bollywood Business stated in his review: "Inaamulhaq is entertaining as the Iraqi major".
His played a cameo in Jolly LLB 2 as a Kashmiri. Mentioning about Inaamulhaq's performance in Jolly LLB-2 review, Sudhir Redkar from KoiMoi.com wrote: "Inaamulhaq has a small cameo that turns out to be an interesting twist". Anna MM Vetticad from FirstPost.com wrote: "Watch Inaamulhaq playing a Kashmiri pronounce "card" differently within a span of a few seconds". He also appeared in Lucknow Central and Firangi and Phullu in and was praised for his performance. Sukanya Verma from Rediff.com praised Inaamulhaq’s performance in Phullu quoting "No wonder a brief cameo by Inaamulhaq, once again reiterating his appeal in showy, idiosyncratic characters, makes more sense that most of this movie".
Inaamulhaq's film Nakkash was released on limited screens on 31 May 2019, in which he played the lead role. The first look poster of Nakkash was unveiled at India Pavilion of the Cannes Film Festival 2018. Pallabi Dey Purkayastha wrote in her The Times of India review "The protagonist, played by Inaamulhaq, is a revelation and his chemistry with his on-screen son almost evokes a sense of resentment towards the society we live in, mainly because of the unfair treatment that they are subjected to". Saibal Chatterjee from NDTV quotes "Inaamulhaq does full justice to his first-ever lead role in a Hindi film, getting into the skin of the conflicted central character with complete conviction".
For his performance in Nakkash Inaamulhaq bagged the Best Actor Award at the 8th Annual DCSAFF . and Best Actor Award at India International Film Festival of Boston 2019.
Inaamulhaq was seen in Nikkhil Advani's web series Hasmukh produced by Applause Entertainment. currently streaming on Netflix.
He also appeared in Maharani as Bengali bureaucrat Parvez Aalam. Where he got great reception from the audience and critics as well. The show is created by Subhash Kapoor and streaming on SonyLIV

Personal life

Inaamulhaq is married to Shibli Anwer. The couple have a son Ivaan.

Filmography

Actor

  • Firaaq as Munna
  • Agneepath as villager
  • Filmistaan as Aftaab
  • Chidiya as Taj
  • Airlift as Major Khalaf Bin Zayd
  • Jolly LLB 2 as Mohammed Iqbal Quadri
  • Phullu
  • Lucknow Central as Dikkat Ansari
  • Firangi as Heera
  • Nakkash as Allah Rakha Siddiqui
  • Pagalpanti as Niraj Modi
  • Hasmukh as Daroga
  • Maharani as Bihar Finance Secretary, Parvez Aalam
  • Mere Desh Ki Dharti as Pappan Khan
  • Zara Hatke Zara Bachke as Bhagwan Das
  • Pippa as Pakistani Shibli
  • ''Welcome to the Jungle''

    Writer

  • Bbuddah... Hoga Terra Baap
  • Screwed Up .

    Awards

; Won
  • Best Actor Award for Nakkash at IIFFB
  • Best Actor Award for Nakkash at DCSAFF
  • Jury Award for outstanding performance in Nakkash at Lifft India Filmotsav-World Cine Fest 2019
  • Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Filmistaan at 21st Annual Screen Awards
  • Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Filmistaan at IBNLive Movie Awards
  • Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Filmistaan at SICA Awards
  • Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Filmistaan at AIBA Awards
; Nominated
  • Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Filmistaan at IIFA Awards 2015

    Short films

Inaamulhaq directed two short films – "The Search" which got nominated for the Best Film Award in competition category at Berlin Asia-Pacific Film Festival-2006, and "Parchhaiyaan", based on an anti-War poem by renowned poet Sahir Ludhianvi.

Television

YearShowCreditBroadcaster
2007Karamchand - Season 2WriterSony
2007Comedy Circus - Season 1Writer/Associate Content DirectorSony
2007Comedy Circus - Lage RahoWriter/Associate Content DirectorSony
2008Comedy Circus 2Writer/Associate Content DirectorSony
2008Comedy HonoursWriterSTAR Gold
2008Comedy Circus - Kante Ki TakkarWriter/Associate Content DirectorSony
2008Filmfare FeverWriterSony
2008Sabse Favourite Koun?WriterSTAR Gold
2008Arre Deewano Mujhe PehchanoContent DirectorSTAR Plus
2009Comedy Circus – Chinchpokli to ChinaAssociate Content DirectorSony
2009Comedy Circus - 20–20Associate Content DirectorSony
2009Kaho Na Yaar HaiAssociate Creative DirectorSTAR Plus
2009Comedy Circus - Dekh India DekhAssociate Content DirectorSony
2009Comedy Circus 3 – Ka TadkaAssociate Content DirectorSony
2010Comedy Circus – MahaSangramAssociate Content DirectorSony
2010Chhote Ustaad - 2WriterSTAR Plus
2011Dekh Video DekhWriterColors
2011Comedy Ka Maha MuqabalaAct ProducerSTAR Plus
2013Nautanki-The Comedy TheatreAssociate Creative DirectorColors
2014Yam Kisi Se Kam NahiWriterEPIC
2015Goldie Ahuja Matric PassWriterDISNEY

Theatre

File:Inaamulhaq as Nils Krogstad.JPG|thumbnail|Inaamulhaq as Nils Krogstad in Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House with NSD batch-mate Shiromani Kaushik.
File:Inaamulhaq as Madhavye.JPG|thumbnail|Inaamulhaq as Madhavye in Kalidasa's Abhijñānaśākuntalam
File:Inaamulhaq as Ivan Kaliayev.JPG|thumbnail|Inaamulhaq as Ivan Kaliayev in Albert Camus's The Just Assassins
PlayCharacterWritten ByProduced by
A Doll's HouseNils KrogstadHenrik IbsenNSD
AbhijñānaśākuntalamMadhavye KalidasaNSD
Acchhe AadmiBatasuPhanishwar Nath 'Renu'NSD
Andha YugKripacharyaDharamvir BharatiSARGAM-A
Arey Shareef LogDr. GhatakJaywant DalviIPTA
Bade Bhai SahabNarratorMunshi PremchandIPTA
Ek Ladki Paanch DeewaneSoloHarishankar ParsaiIPTA
Ek Tha Gadha urf Aladad KhanChintak-1Sharad JoshiIPTA
HanooshTober/Officer-TwoBhisham SahniBNA/NSD
Inspector Matadeen Chand ParMatadeenHarishankar ParsaiBNA/NSD
Julius CaesarVarious CharactersWilliam ShakespeareNSD
Kabuli WalaNarratorRabindranath TagoreNSD
King LearEdgarWilliam ShakespeareNSD
Kiska HaathChetuRamSatish DeADACAAR
LadaiVarious CharacterSarveshwar Dayal SaxenaNATYA
Panchhi Aise Aate HainAnna ParadkerVijay TendulkarNAVANKUR
Rasik SampadakSampadak ChokhelalMunshi PremchandIPTA
Saint JoanDauphin, Charles VIIGeorge Bernard ShawNSD
The NoseIvan YakovlevichNikolai GogolIPTA
Shanichar Ka ChakkarVarious CharacterImprovisedIPTA/ITC
Singhasan Khali HaiTeenSushil Kumar SinghIPTA
Tajmahal Ka TenderShahjahanAjay ShuklaIPTA
Thank You Mr. GladVarious CharactersAnil BerveSARGAM-A
The FrogsEuripidesAristophanesNSD
The IllusionAlcandre, A MagicianTony KushnerNSD
The Just AssassinsIvan KaliayevAlbert CamusNSD
The ObsessionVarious CharactersImprovisedIPTA
Kheench Rahe HainVarious CharacterRavi DeepIPTA
Tinka-TinkaVarious CharactersImprovisedNSD
Yahudi Ki LarkiAzraAgha Hashar KashmiriNSD