Inaamulhaq is an Indian actor and screenwriter. He is known for his performance in the film Nakkash.
Wiki/Biography
Inaamulhaq was born on Wednesday, 14 November 1979, (43 years; as of 2022) in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. he made his first appearance on the stage at the age of twelve. Later, he joined the Indian People’s Theatre Association in Saharanpur and played a lead role in various plays. He completed his graduation in 2003, with a specialization in acting from the National School of Drama, New Delhi. His Zodiac sign is Scorpio.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 7″
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Family
He belongs to an Indian-Muslim family.
Parents & Siblings
There is not much information is available about his parents and siblings.
Wife & Children
Inaamulhaq is married to Shibli Anwer, and the couple has a son, named Ivaan.
Inaamulhaq with his wife, Shibli Anwar, and his son Ivaan
Career
As a Writer
Before starting his career in acting, Inaamulhaq worked as a writer for various television shows and films. He debuted his career as a writer for the second season of the Cult Indian detective TV series “Karamchand,” directed by Pankaj Parashar. He worked as a writer for the popular comedy show “Comedy Circus,” aired on Sony Entertainment Television, for two and half years. Some other television shows, for which Inaamulhaq wrote include Filmfare Fever (2008), Chhote Ustaad-2 (2010), Dekh Video Dekh (2011), Yam Kisi Se Kam Nahi (2014), and Goldie Ahuja Matric Pass (2015). He wrote dialogues for the film “Bbuddah… Hoga Terra Baap” (2011), and the web series “Screwed Up” (2018).
As an Actor
Theatre
Before entering the film industry, Inaamulhaq used to perform theatre plays. Some of his most notable performances in theatre play include – as Madhavye (Vidushak) in the play “Abhijnanashakuntalam” (also known as “The Recognition of Shakuntala”) written by Kalidasa, Nils Krogstad in the play “A Doll’s House,” written by Henrik Ibsen, Edgar in the play “King Lear,” written by William Shakespeare, Chintak-1 in the play “Ek Tha Gadha urf Aladad Khan,” written Sharad Joshi, and Ivan Kaliayev in the play “The Just Assassins,” written by Alber Camus.
Inaamulhaq as Madhavye (Vidushak) in the play ‘Abhijnanashakuntalam’
Inaamulhaq as Ivan Kaliayev in the play ‘The Just Assassins’
Film
Inaamulhaq debuted his acting career in Bollywood with the film “Firaaq” in 2008. In 2012, he played the role of Aftaab in the National Award-winning film, “Filmistaan.”
Poster of the film ‘Filmistaan’ (2012)
In the film “Airlift,” starring Akshay Kumar, Inaamulhaq played the role of the main antagonist, Iraqi Major Kahalf Bin Zayd, and earned critical acclaim from the audience for the same.
Inaamulhaq as Major Kahalf Bin Zayd in a still from the film ‘Airlift’
In 2018, he played the lead role of Allah Rakha Siddiqui, in the film “Nakkash,” and bagged many awards for his performance in the film. The film was released on 31 May 2019, on limited screens, and its poster’s first look was revealed at the India Pavillion of the Cannes Film Festival 2018.
Inaamulhaq (centre) in the poster of the film ‘Nakkash’
Some of his other best performances in films include, as Mohammed Iqbal Quadri in the film “Jolly LLB 2 (2017), Dikkat Ansari in the film “Lucknow Central” (2017), Niraj Modi in the film “Pagalpanti” (2019), and Pappan Khan in the film “Mere Desh Ki Dharti” (2022).
Web Series
Apart from films, Inaamulhaq was also seen in web series. In 2020, he made his debut in the web series with the web series “Hasmukh,” streaming on Netflix.
Inaamulhaq in a still from the web series ‘Hasmukh’
In 2021, he appeared in the web series “Maharani,” streaming on SonyLIV. His performance in the series as Bengali bureaucrat Parvez Aalam earned a great acclamation from the audience.
Inaamulhaq as Parvez Aalam in a still from the web series ‘Maharani’
As a Director
Inaamulhaq turned director for two short films. His short film “The Search” (2005) got nominated for the “Best Film Award” in the competition category at Berlin Asia-Pacific Film Festival 2006, Germany. His other short film “Parchhaiyaan” (2004) was based on an anti-War poem written by renowned poet Sahir Ludhianvi.
Controversies
Denied a house on rent
Inaamulhaq filed a complaint against DSM housing society in Versova’s Kalyan Complex for denying him a house on rent. According to the actor, the management of the society was not allowing him to meet committee members, and are not giving him a valid reason for their denial. He said,
For five Sundays, they kept me waiting, citing different reasons. First, they told me I should prove I am a married by bringing my wife and son, who are out of Mumbai for the summer holidays. But even when they returned, the society refused to give us an appointment.”
On the other hand, the secretary said that they didn’t deny him to give a house on rent, rather, he didn’t follow the norms of society completely. According to the secretary, Inaamulhaq didn’t bring his wife and son for the interview, due to which his appointment was delayed.
Awards & Achievements
For Filmistaan
- “Top 10 Stand-Out Actors of 2014” by Mid-Day (an Indian compact newspaper)
- “The Most Prominent Debuts of 2014” by IBNlive.com
- Best Actor in a Supporting Role at “Big Life OK Now Awards”
- Best Actor in a Supporting Role at “SICA Awards”
- Best Actor in a Supporting Role at “21st Annual Screen Awards”
- Best Actor in a Supporting Role at “IBNLive Movie Awards 2015”
- Best Actor in a Supporting Role at “AIBA Awards 2015″
- Nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role( Male) at “IIFA Awards 2015”
For Nakkash
- Best Actor Award at the 8th Annual DCSAFF (Washington DC South Asian Film Festival 2018)
- Best Actor Award at the India International Film Festival of Boston (IIFFB) in 2019.
- Jury Award at Lifft India Filmotsav at World Cine Fest 2019
Other Award
In 2022, Inaamulhaq won the “Iconic Achievers Award” for the Most Promising Actor of the Year.
Favourites
- Actors: Manoj Bajpayee, Irrfan Khan, and Kumud Mishra
- Films: Rang De Basanti amd 3 Idiots
Facts/Trivia
- Inaamulhaq believes that cinema plays a huge role in influencing the audience, therefore, it should not be used to make only entertainment films, but rather some more meaningful films should also be made. While talking about this in an interview, he said,
I feel stars should use their power to do more meaningful (films), other than doing entertainment stuff because cinema does influence people and we must use it carefully. There is need for quality cinema. We should make films that audience remembers for years.”
- In an interview, while talking about his struggle, Inaamulhaq shared that once a newspaper refused to print an article about his journey by making an excuse that there was no space left to print his article. Later, Inaamulhaq found that there was a news article titled “Bebo ke birthday pr kya pehnegi Lolo,” that was printed by replacing his article, which was not worth to be printed according to him.
- For the promotion of his film, “Nakkash,” Inaamulhaq stood on the road, holding the hoardings, along with his co-star Sharib Hashmi. Inaamulhaq said that they didn’t have money for the hoardings, therefore, they prefer to promote their film with the idea of carrying hoardings.
Inaamulhaq standing on the road along with his co-star Sharib Hashmi, holding the hoardings, for the promotion of his film ‘Nakkash’
- In an interview, Inaamulhaq revealed that he has rejected many films in his career for various reasons, but the most common reason behind doing so was that he always tries to avoid performing similar characters in different films to retain versatility in his acting career. He stated,
Whatever I am, I am not because of my ‘Yes,’ whatever I am, I am because of my ‘NO’.”
- In 2017, Inaamulhaq celebrated his birthday by spending his day with specially-abled children in Varanasi, where he was shooting for a film those days. As it was the occasion of Children’s Day also, his film “Airlift” was screened for the children which they really enjoyed. Sharing his experience of spending his birthday with special children, Inaamulhaq said,
I was called to motivate them but the joy and motivation that I got from these kids in return is much more than I could ever get from anyone else. My film ‘Airlift’ was screened for them and they all thoroughly enjoyed themselves.”
Inaamulhaq with special children on his birthday
