Ali Haji (born 30 October 1999) is an Indian actor who rose to fame in Yoodlee films's Noblemen (2018) directed by Vandana Kataria. He portrayed a character named Shay Sharma, a struggling adolescent who goes through a life of loss and innocence at his new school. He won the Best Child Actor at the New York Indian Film Festival because of his performance in the movie Noblemen.[1]
Ali Haji | |
|---|---|
| Born | 30 October 1999 Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, Writer, Director |
| Years active | 2000 – present |
| Office | Founder of Pastiche Pictures |
| Parents |
|
| Relatives | Naqiyah Haji (sister) |
| Awards | Best Child Actor for Noblemen at the New York Indian Film Festival |
Before his breakthrough, he assumed smaller roles in several films. In Fanaa, he portrayed Rehan Qadri Jr. who was Aamir Khan and Kajol's son.[2] He was Ranveer Singh "Champ" in the 2007 film Ta Ra Rum Pum, where he also played as Saif Ali Khan and Rani Mukerji's son.[3]
He also had subsequent supporting roles in Partner (2007), Drona (2008), Right Yaaa Wrong (2010), Paathshaala (2010), and Super 30 (2019). He also portrayed Suraj Sinha in Line of Descent alongside Brendan Fraser.
As a director, Ali Haji has written and directed his first feature film called Justice For Good Content. He is also a writer on a web series called United Kacche starring Sunil Grover airing on ZEE5, one of the most watched comedy shows on the channel.
Career
editAli has been a part of over 100 TV commercials and his first film was Family as Amitabh Bachchan's grandson but was uncredited. He has also been a crucial part of the Bollywood feature titled Line of Descent previously known as The Field with Brendan Fraser, Ronit Roy, Neeraj Kabi, and Ali Haji as brothers trying to take over their father's, Prem Chopra business with Haji playing Suraj Sinha, the youngest of the brothers.[4]
Ali starred in his first main role in the film Noblemen for which he won ‘Best Child Actor’ award at the New York Indian Film Festival.[1] The film, also featuring Kunal Kapoor was directed by Vandana Kataria and produced by Saregama and Yoodlee Films, in which the film deals with boarding school and bullying issues. In 2019, he had a supporting role in the film, Super 30 starring Hrithik Roshan. Finally, in 2020, amidst the pandemic, Ali Haji rose like a true underdog as he wrote and filmed his first feature film titled Justice For Good Content .The story is a satire on the Indian film industry's long standing insider-outsider debate with the protagonist named Good Content. It maps the journey of a young filmmaker through the rigamarole of various processes, like producers, casting directors and talent agents to mount a film. The film, by design, has an ensemble cast filled with stellar names from the supporting actor prototype such as Suresh Menon, Anu Menon, Vijay Patkar, Rajkumar Kanojia, Max Fernandes, Jaimini Pathak, Delnaaz Irani, Raj Zutshi, Pradeep Kabra, Kritika Avasthi, Dilnaz Irani, Krishna Bisht, Rati Shankar Tripathi, Rajendra Chawla, Prabhjyot Singh, Vanita Kharat and many many more.
Ali additionally owns a theatre production studio known as Clean Slate Studios, under which he has written and directed two plays, Kaaya and in July 2016, a satire on the Indian parenting system, The Mad World of Rustom Irani.[5]
Filmography
editFilms
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Family - Ties of Blood | Viren's grandson | Uncredited | |
| 2006 | Fanaa | Rehan Qadri Jr. | ||
| 2007 | Partner | Rohan Sahani | ||
| 2007 | Ta Ra Rum Pum | Ranveer Singh "Champ" | ||
| 2008 | Drona | Young Drona | ||
| 2008 | My Friend Ganesha 2 | Vashu | [6] | |
| 2010 | Paathshaala | Rohan | ||
| 2010 | Right Yaaa Wrong | Yash A. Sridhar | ||
| 2019 | Noblemen | Shay | Won 'Best Child Actor at the New York Indian Film Festival.[1] | |
| 2019 | Line of Descent | Suraj Sinha | ||
| 2019 | Super 30 | Prithvi | ||
| 2025 | Khiladi 986 | Suraj Saxena | ||
| 2026 | Deewaar | Young Ravi Verma | Hindi film | |
| 2026 | Baazigar | Young Ravi Verma | Telugu film, Tamil film |
Director
edit| Year | Title | Role | Type of Content | Producer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Bombay Blitz | Writer & Director | Short Film | Mukesh Chhabra |
| 2019 | Naina Da Kya Kasoor | Writer & Director | Short Film | Mika Singh |
| 2020 | #GOALS | Writer & Director | Short Film | Pankaj and Poonam Rungta |
| 2020 | Reva De by Gurdeep Mehndi and Bhoomi Trivedi | Director | Music Video | Mika Singh |
| 2020 | Chhori by Mika Singh and Ali Quli Mirza | Director | Music Video | Mika Singh |
| 2022 | #JusticeForGoodContent | Writer & Director | Feature Film | Mohaan Nadaar |
References
edit- ^ a b c "Accolades for Yoodlee Films' 'Noblemen' at New York Indian Film Festival". United News of India. 18 May 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
- ^ "Aamir-Kajol's kid in 'Fanaa' is all grown up now". Times of India. 8 July 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
- ^ "'Saif uncle and Rani didi encouraged us'". Rediff.com. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
- ^ Atray Banan, Aastha (5 July 2016). "The dark side of Ali Haji". Mid Day. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
- ^ "The Mad World of Rustom Irani - Trailer - A Stage Play - 26th August, 2016". YouTube. Clean Slate Studios. 10 July 2016.
- ^ "Up next: My Friend Ganesha 2". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 20 June 2011. Retrieved 18 December 2023.