Mahdi Ahmed

Mahdi Ahmed (born 17 October 1971) is a Maldivian screenwriter, producer and film director. He made his career debut with critically acclaimed film Amaanaaiy, which fetched him several awards including a Gaumee Film Award for Best Director and Best Screenplay. From 1999 to 2002, he mainly worked as a director and screen writer in the Inter Office Teledrama Competition, which resulted him receiving six awards for the five films submitted. Afterwards, he was mainly recognized for his collaboration with Abdul Faththaah for the romantic disaster film, Hureemey Inthizaarugaa (2005) and fifty episodes' television series Hinithun Velaashey Kalaa (2006). This was followed by Ahmed Nimal-directed romantic film Vaaloabi Engeynama (2006) for which he was bestowed with another Gaumee Film Award for Best Screenplay.

Hussain Munawwar's directorial debut Sazaa (2011) served to be a major breakthrough in his career which fetched him his first Maldives Film Award for best screenplay. However, his biggest accomplishment in the industry is considered to be the critically acclaimed experimental suspense thriller Ingili, which got its international recognition by winning a bronze medal in Best Feature Film category at SAARC Film Festival 2014. Apart from that, Ahmed is known for his comical, modern and naughty dialogues in films like Emme Fahu Vindha Jehendhen (2015) and Vaashey Mashaa Ekee (2016).

Career 1998–2008: Success with Amaanaaiy and office teledramas Ahmed made his directorial debut for the romantic drama Amaanaaiy (1998), which was co-written by Ahmed along with Mohamed Niyaz. The film starring Ali Khalid, Jamsheedha Ahmed and Fathimath Rameeza in the lead revolves around a man who is welcomed with his illegitimate son after the demise of his mother and the consequences of this closure. It is based on Shekhar Kapur's Indian drama film Masoom (1983) which is a remake of the 1982 Malayalam movie Olangal, which are both adaptations of Man, Woman and Child, 1980 novel by Erich Segal. At the 3rd Gaumee Film Awards, he was bestowed with several awards including a Gaumee Film Award for Best Director and Best Screenplay. These two films were awarded as the Best Drama at the respective awarding ceremonies, and Ahmed was bestowed with the Best Director award for the latter. It also holds the record of maximum wins, by winning six out of seven categories.

In 2004, Ahmed collaborated with Ahmed Nimal to rewrite the screenplay of Hama Himeyn from a modern perspective, which was initially conceptualized in 1998. Starring Ali Seezan and Khadheeja Ibrahim Didi in lead roles, the film narrates the compatible relationship of an immature young girl and a drug addict.

Ahmed's first project of 2005 was Mohamed Shareef-directed television series Loabi Vaanama which focuses on the lives of four colleagues, played by Sheela Najeeb, Mohamed Manik, Fathimath Noora and Ahmed Saeed. The first episode of the series met with lukewarm response from the audience due to the different visualization style and sequence arrangement. This was followed by Abdul Faththaah's romantic disaster film, Hureemey Inthizaarugaa (2005) starring Ravee Farooq and Mariyam Zuhura in lead roles. The film, heavily relied on the effect of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake on the Maldives, received favorable reviews from critics though it failed to perform financially. It was applauded by critics and audience for its moral values and being a medium of awareness for drug addiction.

2011–present: International recognition with Ingili and further releases After a gap of two years, Ahmed made his career breakthrough with Hussain Munawwar's directorial debut, Sazaa, starring Ismail Rasheed, Niuma Mohamed and Lufshan Shakeeb. The film fetched him a Maldives Film Awards for Best Original Screenplay award and his third Gaumee Film Award nomination for Best Screenplay.

2013 was a successful year for Ahmed, where he collaborated with Ravee Farooq for his critically acclaimed experimental suspense thriller Ingili, which was based on fourteen years old Mohamed Hassan's National Award-winning short story, Holhuasheege Ekuveriya. The film is celebrated as the first Maldivian film to get recognized internationally by winning bronze medal in Best Feature Film category at SAARC Film Festival 2014 held in Colombo, Sri Lanka. After the success of Sazaa (2011), he again collaborated with Munawwar for the revenge thriller film Dhilakani, released during the same year. The film deals with a man's tumultuous journey to seek vengeance and the demolition of a family bond over a girl. The film attracted negative reviews from critics: Nadheem wrote, "Embraced with futile characters, impractical scenes and outdated music, the film has problems in each department". It fetched him another nomination for Best Original Screenplay at the 3rd Maldives Film Awards.

In 2015, Ahmed worked with Dark Rain Entertainment for Ali Shifau's modern romantic film Emme Fahu Vindha Jehendhen and his psychological thriller Mikoe Bappa Baey Baey. Loosely based on the novel Love Story by Erich Segal, the former received mainly positive reviews from critics. Ismail Nail from Vaguthu called it a "new benchmark" to romantic films and credited a huge success of it to Ahmed's "naughty" screenplay. Similarly, Ahmed received positive reviews from critics for his screenplay for Mikoe Bappa Baey Baey calling it a very "different yet positive" cinematic experience. This was followed by the cop action thriller film Ahmsham co-written with Ahmed Zareer. The film received a mixed to positive response from critics, where Ahmed Nadheem from Avas praised Ahmed's effort to blend romance, action and comedy into the film. All three films released during the year fetched him three separate nominations for Best Screenplay at 8th Gaumee Film Awards.

Filmography Feature film Year Title Writer Director Producer Notes 1998 Amaanaaiy Gaumee Film Award for Best DirectorGaumee Film Award for Best Adapted Screenplay 2011 Sazaa Maldives Film Awards Best ScreenplayNominated—Gaumee Film Award for Best Screenplay 2016 Vee Beyvafa 2017 Vishka Nominated—Gaumee Film Award for Best Screenplay 2017 Hahdhu Nominated—Gaumee Film Award for Best Screenplay 2017 Neydhen Vakivaakah 2019 Kaaku? 2023 Zoya 2024 Kamanaa 2024 Roboman: The Movie 2025 Kan'bulo

Television

Short film Year Title Writer Director Producer Notes 2006 Dr. Rocky 2021 First Coconut - Tales of Maldives 2021 Giant Triton Shell - Tales of Maldives 2021 Koimala - Tales of Maldives 2021 Iyaaru 2022 Butterfly 2023 Loabi 2023 Evolution of Maldives Police Service - The Chase 2024 Hinithun

Accolades Year Award Category Nominated work Result 1999 Office Teledrama Competition Best Drama Thaubaa Best Makeup Amaanaaiy (shared with Mohamed Niyaz) Best Adapted Screenplay Best Dialogue 2008 5th Gaumee Film Awards Best Screenplay Vaaloabi Engeynama Best Audiography Vaaloabi Engeynama (shared with Ali Musthafa) 2012 2nd Maldives Film Awards Best Screenplay Sazaa 2014 3rd Maldives Film Awards Best Screenplay Ingili Dhilakani Best Art Direction Ingili (shared with Ravee Farooq and Hussain Munawwar) 2016 7th Gaumee Film Awards Best Screenplay Ingili Sazaa Best Art Direction Ingili (shared with Ravee Farooq and Hussain Munawwar) Best Costume Design Ingili (shared with Ravee Farooq) 2017 8th Gaumee Film Awards Best Screenplay Vaashey Mashaa Ekee Mikoe Bappa Baey Baey Ahsham (shared with Ahmed Zareer) 2024 NCA Office Teledrama Competition 1445 Best Screenplay Manaal