Biography Imran Hasnee

Biography:

Imran Hasnee is an Indian actor known for his work in Indian, Hollywood and French films. Imran’s body of work includes some critically acclaimed films like Paan Singh Tomar (2010),  A Mighty Heart (2007), Slumdog Millionaire (2008) and French films. Critics have heaped praised on Imran for his naturalised acting style and an innate instinct to make every character his own, yet remarkably distinct and unforgettable.

Early life and education

Born in Bhopal on 1st December 1972, to Syed Irfan Hasny, a geologist with HCL (Hindustan Copper Limited) and Shahida Hasny, Imran’s versatility came to light pretty early in life. Imran’s great grandfather and grandfather were Jagirdars, who governed over estates in Rajasthan. Due to his father’s transferable job, Imran had to shift schools very often. He has studied in St. Joseph’s Convent School (Bhopal), Hill Dale School (Khetri), All Saints Diocesan School (Jaipur), Cambridge School (Bhopal), and Yashwant Senior Secondary School (Alwar). Imran’s father passed away while he was in school and his mother took over the reigns of the family and his father’s job at HCL . 

Imran completed his graduation from Lal Bahadur Shastri College (Warangal, Karnataka) and post-graduation from Rajasthan University (Rajasthan). He also completed a SUN JAVA certified programming course and a certified Oracle DBA, alongwith his post-graduation.

Right from his childhood, Imran had a natual flair for sports, and by the time he was in college, he was representing his university at various inter-university championships.  Although he played all sports, football and badminton were his favourites. He is also an expert in horse riding and a trained martial artist with a specialisation in Wushu Kung-fu. 

Early Career

With a core competency in software development, design and management, Imran began his career in the IT (Information Technology) industry. He has worked with many multinational companies in India and abroad in very high positions and was a veritable authority in computer viruses and vaccines.  He has also authored a few books on computer languages.

Imran nurtured his passion for theatre through his theatre group “WE”, which he had set up in school. It was on stage that Imran truly found his calling. He carried his passion everywhere, even when he was working in the Mauritius IT industry. He directed and acted in many plays and conducted theatre workshops in Mauritius and Thailand.

 It was Tigmanshu Dhulia who offered Imran, his first break in Hindi films.  Even though the film, Ghulami, was shelved mid-way, Imran had firmly set his foot in the Hindi film industry. Always a bold risk taker in his career, Imran was never detered by anything, even the fact that he was the lone wolf in his family who had ventured into the entertainment industry. 

TRIVIA

In the early days of Imran’s theatre group, a play titled Qazi Ki Shaadi, written and directed by him had become extremely famous. Imran’s portrayal of the Qazi’s character was very popular, but what sent the audience into uproar was when they realized that the Qazi’s wife, who appears only in the climax was also played by Imran. He did many plays in his theatrical days of scattered 30 years.

CAREER

Imran portrayed the role of Matadeen Singh Tomar (Dadda), brother of Paan Singh Tomar (played by Irrfan Khan) in Tigmanshu’s Dhulia’s biopic of the Indian athelete Paan Singh Tomar (2012) produced by UTV Motion Pictures.  The film received rave reviews and well-known critic, Taran Adarsh, highly praised Imran’s performance. Among other things, he also wrote, “…..Imran Hasnee is first rate.”

Imran has also worked with director Nikkhil Advani on D-Day (2013), an action spy thriller, where he played the dreaded gangster, Saleem Pathan. They collaborated again for the web series Moghuls.

Imran played the main negative role of an Islamic terrorist, Javed, in Hasnain Hyderabadwala’s Ya Rab (2014).

Imran has worked in two feature films produced by Balaji Telefilms and directed by Milan Luthria. - Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai (2010) and The Dirty Picture (2011), in which he played the role of film director, Vijayan.

In PM Narendra Modi (2019) directed by Omung Kumar, Imran played the role of Zafar. 

Apart from feature films, Imran has also worked in television.  Significant among them are Kasshish on Zee TV, directed by Ravi Rai and Sapnon Se Bhare Naina (2010 – 2012), on Star Plus, where he played the hugely popular, main negative character, Sridhar Kaka. In a TV series, titled “Samvidhan”, directed by the veteran Shyam Benegal, he played the role of the Nawab of Bhopal, Nawab Hafiz Muhammad Hamidullah Khan.

WRITING AND DIRECTION

Imran has written and directed many episodic shows for television and short series. Most of the stories of Fear Files (2012 – 2014), that aired on Zee TV,  were researched and written by him. He also appeared in the show as the paranormal subject expert. He has also wrote and directed a few mini series for the web.

HUMANITARIAN INITIATIVES

Imran Hasnee has initiated a non-profit organisation called Dreamboat, that works in the area of rescue and rehabilitation of stray animals, birds and lost children.  Dreamboat organizes life-saving surgeries for the needy and works towards the rescue, remedy and rehabilitation of the underprivileged and marginalized sections of society.

Filmography

Film	Year	Character	Director
Kabaad – The Coin	2020	Badshah Khan	Varadaraj Swami
PM Narendra Modi	2019	Zafar	Omung Kumar
Deendayal Ek Yugpurush	2018	Deendayal Upadhyay	Manoj Giri
Main Khudiram Bose Hun	2016	Amritlal	Bhanuprakash Jha
Welcome 2 Karachi	2015	ISI Officer	Ashish R Mohan
Jai Jawaan Jai Kisaan	2015	Nishkameshwar Prasad Mishra	Milan Ajmera
Ya Rab	2014	Javed	Hasnain Hyderabadwala
D-Day	2013	Saleem Pathan	Nikhil Advani
The Dirty Picture	2011	Vijayan	Milan Luthria
Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai	2010		Milan Luthria
Paan Singh Tomar	2010	Matadeen Singh Tomar (Dadda)	Tigmanshu Dhulia
Slumdog Millionaire	2008	Security	Danny Boyle
A Mighty Heart	2007	Journalist	Michael Winterbottom

Web Series	Year	Character	Plateform
The Family	2018	Khan Sahab	Alt Balaji
Dhanbad Blues	2019	Mamu	Hoichoi & MX Player
Moghuls	2020	Badshah Umer Sheikh Mirza	Hotstar