Shaam (actor)
Shaam | |
|---|---|
| Born | Shamshuddin Ibrahim[1] 4 April 1977 |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) |
| Spouse |
Kashish (m. 2003) |
| Children | 2 |
Shamshuddin Ibrahim (born 4 April 1977), known professionally as Shaam, is an Indian actor and model who mainly appears Tamil and Telugu-language films. Starting his career as a professional model, he soon made his acting debut in the film 12B (2001). He further appeared in lead roles in films such as Lesa Lesa (2003), Iyarkai (2003), and Ullam Ketkumae (2005). He garnered acclaim for his role in the Telugu film Kick (2009), which earned him the name Kick Shaam. Kick enabled Shaam to star in other prominent Telugu films such as Race Gurram (2014). After a hiatus, he returned to Tamil cinema with 6 (2013), Purampokku Engira Podhuvudamai (2015) and Varisu (2023).
Early life
[edit]Shamshuddin Ibrahim was born on 4 April 1977 in Madurai, Tamil Nadu,[2] into a Tamil Muslim Rowther family.[3] His father hails from Madurai, while his mother is from Tiruppathur.[4] He grew up in Bengaluru,[4] where he pursued his studies. After completing his B Com, he did modelling through which he hoped to become an actor.[5]
Career
[edit]2000-2005: Debut and success
[edit]Shaam began his career as a model in Bengaluru, modelling for various ads. Keen on pursuing an acting career, he was vainly searching for acting offers for four years.[6] He auditioned for the lead role in Kadhalar Dhinam (1999), but did not receive the role.[7] He then, following the recommendation of his model coordinator Biju Jayadevan, got to meet cinematographer Jeeva, who was planning to make his directorial debut and was on the lookout for a new face for the film's lead role.[2] He was given the role for the film 12B.[8] He recollects that during his first meeting with Jeeva, he handed over his portfolio and introduced himself in English, when Jeeva heard him out, and then said, "Repeat what you just said, in Tamil" and Shaam did, and was subsequently signed on the next day after a meeting with producer Vikram Singh.[9][6] The promos of the film were critically praised with Shaam signing on to appear on several projects before 12B even released.[10]
His second feature film, however, the S J Suryah-directed Kushi, in which he appeared in a cameo role, released first, since 12B got stuck in production and released in 2001 only.[11] The film which was a blatant rip-off of Sliding Doors, which itself had numerous comparisons with director Krzysztof Kieślowski's 1982 Polish film Blind Chance, fetched rave reviews and was seen as a "dream entry" for Shaam,[6] whose performance was praised as "apt".[12] Shaam was set to work with K. Balachander after Paarthale Paravasam (2001), but the project never materialised.[13] His subsequent releases including Vasanth's Yai! Nee Romba Azhaga Irukey! (2002), Anbe Anbe (2003) and Priyadarshan's Lesa Lesa (2003), garnered only average or poor box office returns.[14] He took a break from his romantic hero films with Bala (2002) but the failure of the film caused him to stick to romantic films.[15] He was approached to play the third male lead role in Aaytha Ezhuthu, but was unable to sign the film because of date issues with Iyarkai.[16] Iyarkai by debutant S P Jananathan was his final release of 2003 and also failed at the box office due to a delayed release, but opened to high critical acclaim, even winning the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil.[17]
Ullam Ketkumae, directed by Jeeva, finally was a commercial success.[14] It is Shaam's first successful film and a critic noted that "he is able to bring out the sensibilities of the character".[18][19] ABCD, a romance film released in August 2005.[20]
2006–2008: Downfalls
[edit]In 2006, he acted in love story, Manathodu Mazhaikalam, which released to negative reviews.[21] He made his Kannada debut in the film Tananam Tananam playing the role of a blind man.[22]
In 2007, post the death of Jeeva, Shaam struggled to succeed in the Tamil film industry.[23]
In 2008, he appeared in the film, Thoondil directed by K. S. Adhiyaman.[24] The next is Inba alongside Sneha in which he played a macho man.[25] These films had no impact at the box office.
2009–2018: Action and comedy genres
[edit]Following several more unsuccessful films, he got a major break in Surender Reddy's Telugu action film Kick (2009) as a police officer. He was cast in the film after Surender Reddy saw his stills from Agam Puram (2010). The success of Kick caused his previous films to release in Telugu: Inba was released in Telugu as Neelo Naalo (2009) with a comedy track featuring Sunil and Agam Puram was dubbed in Telugu as Gang War in 2011.[26][27] He reprised his role from Kick in the Tamil remake, titled Thillalangadi (2010).[28] He went on to play similar roles in Veera (2011)[29] and Race Gurram (2014).[30] Shaam signed his second Telugu film, a biopic Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy. However, due to the crisis in Andhra Pradesh at the time, the film failed to materialize.[31] Then he tried his luck in Hindi with director Faisal Saif in the Hindi-Tamil bilingual titled Mujhe Maaf Karo.[32] The film, however, got stuck in production.[33] Regarding his role in Veera, a critic noted that "Shaam fits into his character perfectly, but he has hardly any screen time to shine".[34] Post the release of Kick, Shaam further collaborated with Reddy in Oosaravelli (2011),[35] Race Gurram (2014),[32] and Kick 2 (2015).[36] He was cast in negative roles in several other Telugu-language films including Kalyanram Kathi (2011)[37] and Oxygen (2017).[38] He also signed several Tamil and Telugu bilingual venture including Sariya Thavara, named after a song from his debut film 12B, but the film did not enter production.[1]
In late 2011, he appeared in the film 6, which released to positive reviews.[39] For his role in the film, he spent more than a dozen sleepless nights, which resulted in a big swelling below his eyes and for another look, hereduced his weight and grew his hair long and a beard.[40] Although the film released to positive reviews, the film failed to do well at the box office.[41] After the positive response of the film, Kannada actor, Sudeep, announced that he was going to do a multilingual film with Shaam.[42]
In mid 2014, Shaam appear as Allu Arjun's brother in the film Race Gurram (2014). In a review of the film, a critic stated that "Shaam as the arrogant elder brother Ram delivers a good performance".[43] He was signed to portray one of the lead roles in Kaala Koothu in 2015 and grew his beard for the role. However, he left the role due to differences with the director.[44] In 2015, he won critical acclaim for his portrayal of an honest police officer in Jananathan's political drama Purampokku Engira Podhuvudamai (2015), which had an ensemble cast featuring Arya and Vijay Sethupathi.[4] In an IBT review of the film, the reviewer stated that "Shaam as a police officer stands out among all the leading characters, with the intensity he portrays in his role".[45] Shaam's next release was the Kannada suspense thriller Game, which was also shot in Tamil as Oru Melliya Kodu alongside Arjun and Manisha Koirala.[46] The Kannada version released in February 2016 to positive reviews and the Tamil version released in July 2016 to mixed reviews.[47][48] That same year, he played a negative role in the Kannada-language film Santhu Straight Forward.[49] He made his Malayalam debut with The Great Father (2017).[50] In August 2017, he was cast in Venkat Prabhu's multi-starrer Party in a negative role; however, the film remains unreleased since 2018.
2019–present
[edit]After a brief sabbatical in Tamil films, Shaam returned with the long delayed Tamil film Kaaviyyan in 2019.[51] The film released to negative reviews. A critic from The Times of India wrote that "The film, however, is sure to disappoint those who even go without any expectation".[52] He played a negative role in Naanga Romba Busy (2020) starring Prasanna and Ashwin Kakumanu.[53] Shaam has played the role of Vijay’s brother in Varisu (2023).[54]
Personal life
[edit]Shamsuddin has three brothers and two sisters.[6]
He is married to a Punjabi, Kashish, who was his college mate.[55][56][5]
Filmography
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Language | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Kushi | Shiva's friend | Tamil | Uncredited role |
| 2001 | 12B | Shakthivel | Tamil | Debut film |
| 2002 | Yai! Nee Romba Azhaga Irukey! | Hari | Tamil | |
| Bala | Bala | Tamil | ||
| 2003 | Anbe Anbe | Cheenu | Tamil | |
| Lesa Lesa | Rakesh | Tamil | ||
| Iyarkai | Marudhu | Tamil | ||
| 2005 | Girivalam | Arjun | Tamil | |
| Ullam Ketkumae | Shyam | Tamil | ||
| ABCD | Anand | Tamil | ||
| 2006 | Manathodu Mazhaikalam | Siva | Tamil | |
| Tananam Tananam | Shankar | Kannada | Debut in Kannada cinema | |
| 2008 | Thoondil | Sriram | Tamil | |
| Inba | Inba | Tamil | ||
| 2009 | Kick | Kalyan Krishna | Telugu | Debut in Telugu cinema |
| Anthony Yaar? | Anthony | Tamil | ||
| 2010 | Thillalangadi | Krishna Kumar | Tamil | |
| Kalyanram Kathi | Krishna Mohan | Telugu | ||
| Agam Puram | Thiru | Tamil | ||
| 2011 | Veera | Shyamsunder | Telugu | |
| Oosaravelli | Surya | Telugu | ||
| Kshetram | Chakradeva Rayalu | Telugu | ||
| 2013 | Action 3D | Ajay | Telugu | |
| 6 | Ram | Tamil | Also co-producer | |
| 2014 | Race Gurram | Ram Prasad | Telugu | |
| 2015 | Purampokku Engira Podhuvudamai | Macaulay | Tamil | 25th Film |
| Kick 2 | Kalyan Krishna | Telugu | Cameo appearance | |
| 2016 | Game | Akshay | Kannada | |
| Oru Melliya Kodu | Tamil | |||
| Santhu Straight Forward | Deva | Kannada | ||
| 2017 | The Great Father | Samuel | Malayalam | Cameo appearance |
| Oxygen | Mahendra Raghupathi | Telugu | ||
| 2018 | Party | Hitman | Tamil | Unreleased |
| 2019 | Kaaviyyan | Akilan Vishwanath | Tamil | |
| 2020 | Naanga Romba Busy | Ravichandran | Tamil | Television film |
| 2022 | Poikkal Kudhirai | ACP | Tamil | Cameo appearance |
| 2023 | Varisu | Ajay Rajendran | Tamil | |
| 2024 | Viswam | Karthik | Telugu | |
| 2025 | Asthram † | TBA | Tamil | Filming |
| 2025 | Nodikku Nodi † | TBA | Tamil | Filming |
Television
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Network | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Dance vs Dance Season 2 | Team leader | Colors Tamil | [57] |
| 2024 | Goli Soda Rising | Vellai Ravi | Disney+ Hotstar | |
| 2024 | Parachute | TBA | Disney+ Hotstar |
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Telugu film 'Kick' revives Shaam's career". Deccan Herald. 12 June 2009.
- ^ a b "Stars : Star Interviews : Excl: Interview with Shaam". Telugucinema.com. Archived from the original on 31 December 2010. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
- ^ "Take everything in his stride". The Hindu. 17 July 2002. Archived from the original on 18 October 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
- ^ a b c Srinivasan, Sudhir (23 May 2015). "Acting is the last thing an actor should do". The Hindu.
- ^ a b "Stars : Star Interviews : Excl: Interview with Shaam". Telugucinema.com. Archived from the original on 31 August 2009. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
- ^ a b c d Rangarajan, Malathi (24 November 2003). "Sailing with SHAAM". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 7 December 2003. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Archive News". The Hindu. 19 November 2003. Retrieved 16 August 2020.
- ^ "Stars : Star Interviews : Excl: Interview with Shaam". Telugucinema.com. Archived from the original on 3 August 2009. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
- ^ "Making progress steadily, surely". The Hindu. 19 October 2007.
- ^ "Riding high on '12B' fame". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 15 January 2016.
- ^ "Actor Shaam made his debut in Vijay's 'Kushi'". The Times of India.
- ^ "Film Review: 12 B". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 27 December 2016.
- ^ "Ticket to stardom on 12 B". The Hindu. 6 October 2001. Archived from the original on 19 August 2020. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
- ^ a b "The ABCD of Shaam's life!". Rediff.com. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
- ^ "Shaam Kicks his chocolate boy image". Indiaglitz. 18 April 2009.
- ^ "Bhoot, now in Tamil". Rediff.com. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
- ^ Rangarajan, Malathi (7 August 2004). "Honour well deserved". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 6 April 2005. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "I believe in inner resolve". The Hindu. 30 June 2005. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
- ^ "Review : (2005)". Sify. Archived from the original on 4 January 2022.
- ^ "Tamil movie review : ABCD". www.behindwoods.com.
- ^ "Manadodu Mazhaikalam review. Manadodu Mazhaikalam Tamil movie review, story, rating". IndiaGlitz.com.
- ^ "Thananam Thananam Kannada Movies". Nowrunning.com. 26 November 2006.
- ^ "Shaam takes the action route". The Times of India.
- ^ "Review: Thoondil fails". www.rediff.com.
- ^ "The beard's tale". The Hindu. 28 March 2008. Archived from the original on 22 October 2020. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
- ^ "Neelo Naalo". The New Indian Express. 3 July 2009. Archived from the original on 17 February 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
- ^ "Shaam turns producer". Sify. 1 March 2010. Archived from the original on 9 October 2020.
- ^ "Thillalangadi is a ridiculous pot-boiler". Rediff.
- ^ "They call me Kick Shaam!". Rediff.
- ^ "Race Gurram". Sify. Archived from the original on 25 October 2021.
- ^ Kumar, S. R. Ashok (18 March 2010). "Grill Mill — Shaam". The Hindu.
- ^ a b Ramchandani, Binita (18 April 2014). "Race Gurram kick-starts Shaam's career". Deccan Chronicle.
- ^ Special Corresspondent (28 May 2009). "My Telugu looks sell'". Deccan Chronicle. Archived from the original on 28 May 2009. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
- ^ "Veera Movie Review {2/5}: Critic Review of Veera by Times of India". The Times of India.
- ^ "NTR Jr's back with Oosaravelli this Dussehra". Rediff.
- ^ kavirayani, suresh (22 August 2015). "Movie review 'Kick 2': The first kick was better". Deccan Chronicle.
- ^ "Kalyan Ram Kathi Movie Review {2/5}: Critic Review of Kalyan Ram Kathi by Times of India". The Times of India.
- ^ "Oxygen Review: Entire first half runs on flimsy sequences". Sify. Archived from the original on 30 November 2017.
- ^ "I have to lose 15 kilos for my next film". Rediff. 18 May 2011.
- ^ Sangeetha, P (26 June 2012). "Shaam stuns Kollywood". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
- ^ "6 box office collection". www.behindwoods.com.
- ^ Saravanan, T. (27 September 2013). "Shaam hits a six". The Hindu.
- ^ Rajendra, Ranjani (11 April 2014). "Race Gurram: Allu all the way". The Hindu.
- ^ "Shaam walks out of Kaala Koothu". The Times of India. 16 January 2017. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
- ^ Nicy V.P (15 May 2015). "'Purampokku Engira Podhuvudamai' Movie Review: A Slow-Paced Movie Featuring Vijay Sethupathi, Arya, Shaam". International Business Times.
- ^ Khajane, Muralidhara (27 February 2016). "Where every character plays a 'Game'". The Hindu.
- ^ "Game Movie Review, Trailer, & Show timings at Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
- ^ Subramanian, Anupama (2 July 2016). "Oru Melliya Kodu movie review: Despite glitches, worth a watch". Deccan Chronicle.
- ^ "Review: Santhu... is out-and-out Yash's show". The New Indian Express. 29 October 2016.
- ^ "Arya helps Shaam make his Mollywood debut". The Times of India.
- ^ "Shaam's 'Kaaviyan', a cop thriller set in Las Vegas". The New Indian Express. 17 October 2019.
- ^ "Kaaviyyan Movie Review: A sloppy script staged in an artificial set up with hardly any character arc". The Times of India.
- ^ "Mayabazar 2016 Tamil remake goes on floors". Cinema Express. 14 September 2020.
- ^ "Thalapathy Vijay wanted to do a family entertainer for his fans, says Varisu co-star Shaam | Exclusive". 5 January 2023.
- ^ "With love, my dear!". Times of India. 19 December 2009.
- ^ "Shaam to tie the knot!". The Hindu. 9 December 2002.
- ^ "Dance battle with a twist". 20 October 2021.