Banker to bankable villain

While most took the actor to be a Bengali, Shafiqu Rahiman is actually a Malayalali from Kalamassery.
A banker by profession who used work in Dubai, he left the job to pursue his passion of acting. Shafiqu talks about his journey, struggles and upcoming projects.
How did Amar Akbar Anthony (AAA) happen?
I had worked in a couple of movies in 2009-2010 as hero, but they bombed in the box office.Around that time, I met Nadirshah at a wedding, and I requested him for a role in any upcoming movie. For a long time, nothing happened, and I continued to work in Dubai in a bank's business loans division with a handsome salary.
One day, I got a call from Nadirshah's team asking me to join the shoot. I took 25 days’ leave and joined the shoot in Thailand but it stretched to 60 days. I had to resign my job and turn full-time actor. Even during the shooting, most thought I was a Bengali.
What are your upcoming projects?
My upcoming movie is Mrityunjayam, a short movie directed by Laljit Payyannur, make-up artiste turned director. In this movie, I am playing a military officer. The theme is about how we treat our military personnel while they are alive and after they are no more. When I was returning after the shoot in Jaipur, some military men asked me in the train which battalion I belonged to. That was really a thrilling experience for me.
The other movie I am doing is MA Nishad’s Kinar, with Pasupathi and Jayaprada in leading roles. I play a character of an MLA with negative shades. Another project is a Mammootty starrer, which is being shot in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu. I am doing a police officer along with Mammootty and it's a positive character.
Another Tamil movie in which I am doing a full-length villain role is expected to roll out in January next year. As I am a part of CCL as a fast bowler, no movies for me for the next one month. The hero also belongs to the CCL team, so there’s no problem. It's a comedy thriller, and I am playing the heroine's fiance.
After AAA (Amar Akbar Anthony), why were you not seen in full length roles?
Actually, nothing interesting came up except Welcome to Central Jail in which I played a police officer with negative shades. In Tiyaan, I played the henchman of the main villain played by Ravi Singh, but it didn't do too well in the box office. My personal commitments also came in the way of taking up more movies. Next year, I have couple of projects in hand, in Malayalam and Tamil.