Happy birthday, Fahadh Faasil: Looking at his five memorable roles
Fahadh Faasil is a towering personality in South Indian cinema, known to be a chameleon who can easily slide into the skin of any character. The actor—who made his debut at the tender age of 19 with Kaiyethum Doorath—has now established himself as one of the most sought-after artists in cinema. On his 40th birthday, we look at his five memorable but underrated roles.
'Super Deluxe'
Super Deluxe was an experimental, offbeat anthology film and boasted an impressive ensemble comprising Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Vijay Sethupathi, and Ramya Krishnan, among others. Faasil's role as Mugil, Ruth Prabhu's husband, earned him a lot of acclaim and he was praised for his camaraderie with his co-stars and for shining in a film adorned by numerous terrific artists. You can watch it on Netflix.
'Joji'
Joji was released on Amazon Prime Video in April 2021 and is based on William Shakespeare's revenge drama Macbeth. Faasil earned critical acclaim for playing the titular character, who finds himself confined and constricted under his father's dominating, overpowering influence. Reportedly the third Indian adaptation of Macbeth after Maqbool and Veeram, Joji won the Best International Feature Film Award at Swedish International Film Festival.
'Kumbalangi Nights'
Kumbalangi Nights is widely regarded as one of the most stellar, visually appealing films to come out of Malayalam cinema. Faasil played Shammi, the anti-hero who was "normal" only on the surface but had psychopathic tendencies brewing inside him. Interestingly, the role was initially sketched for Tamil actor Dhanush but eventually fell into Faasil's lap. The drama film is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
'Irul'
Excellent thrillers set up an adrenaline-pumping mystery in a brief time frame and with few characters. This stands true for Irul, which only features three characters: two victims and a predator. Faasil played a (seemingly) evil man in this Netflix film that throws numerous curveballs at you and keeps you guessing. Despite the overall mixed reviews, Faasil's performance scored a definite home run.
'Trance'
Trance was a neo-noir psychological thriller, written and directed by Anwar Rasheed. Faasil played a motivational speaker masquerading as a Christian pastor. Due to its themes such as religion, drugs, and spirituality, it also ran into trouble with the censor board and faced hurdles, but eventually premiered on Amazon Prime Video in April 2020. Critics praised Faasil for playing a "hysteric" and "disturbing" character.
