Abi Varghese

Last updated

Abi Varghese
Abi Varghese 4.jpg
Nationality Indian
Alma mater New York University
Occupation(s) Television director, Film director
Years active2008 – present

Abi Varghese is an Indian-American writer-director-producer who most recently directed season 2 of Eros Now's Metro Park .

Contents

He is best known for his Netflix series Brown Nation. He is also the co-director of Akkara Kazhchakal a Malayalam sitcom that completed four seasons. He also directed the first episode of the Netflix series Bhaag Beanie Bhaag .

His feature film Monsoon Mangoes , which was about an amateur filmmaker claiming to be the next film legend, starred Fahad Fasil and Vijay Raaz.

Abi has an independent production company called Infamous Coconuts based in New York and is currently developing several digital series.

Personal life

Varghese was born in Adoor, Kerala and moved out to United States at the age of four along with his parents. [1] He was working at Unilever for a short period before starting his television career. He is an alumnus of New York University.

Raised in Englewood, New Jersey, he is a resident of nearby Norwood. [2]

Television career

Short films

Varghese directed several short films early in his career.

Shortfilms (as director)

YearTitleCastNotes
2010Return AddressJim Donovan, Jon Crefeld, Mary-Nicole Dorn
2009The Blood BankDan Conrad, Marc Seidenstein
2008The Master ChefDavid T. Crowe, Dan Conrad, Greg Vorob
2007WintimidationDan Conrad, Greg Vorob, Jeanine Marie Conrad
2007I'm Bill Myrtle, Your Next Congressman Greg Vorob, Dan Conrad, Elmer J. Santos

Television serials

Varghese is perhaps best known for his Netflix released show Brown Nation. The show released on 15 November 2016 and currently has an 8.6 on IMDb and a 99% on Rotten Tomatoes. [3] [4] Akkara Kazhchakal is a Malayalam sitcom that aired on Kairali TV from 2008 to 2010.

Television Series (as director)

YearTitleNotes
2019―present Metro Park Eros Now
2020 Bhaag Beanie Bhaag Netflix
2016 Brown Nation Netflix
2008 Akkara Kazhchakal

Film career

Abi Varghese made his feature film directorial debut with Akkarakazhchakal: The Movie in 2011 which was released in the United States.

The movie was based out of his earlier sitcom Akkarakazhchakal . His second film is Monsoon Mangoes. which has Fahad Fasil as the lead actor. [5] He has a production house named ‘Infamous Coconut Productions'. [6]

Filmography (as director)

YearTitleNotes
2011 Akkarakazhchakal: The Movie
2016 Monsoon Mangoes

Related Research Articles

<i>Akkara Kazhchakal</i> Indian Malayalam-language television series

Akkara Kazhchakal is an Indian Malayalam-language sitcom that aired on Kairali TV from 2008 to 2010. The series consisted of fifty episodes which chronicled the lives of a middle-class Malayali family settled in the United States of America. The show was created by Abi Varghese and Ajayan Venugopalan and starred relative newcomers as the leads.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">M. K. Arjunan</span> Indian composer (1936–2020)

Maliyekkal Kochukunju Arjunan was an Indian film and theatre composer, known for his works in Malayalam cinema and the theatre of Kerala. He was fondly referred to as Arjunan Master.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ranjith Sankar</span> Indian film director

Ranjith Sankar is an Indian filmmaker who works in Malayalam films. He started his movie career with the 2009 thriller Passenger. He launched his production house Dreams N Beyond in 2012 and his distribution house Punyalan Cinemas in 2017.

<i>Akkarakazhchakal: The Movie</i> 2011 American film

Akkarakazhchakal: The Movie is a 2011 American Malayalam film based upon the popular TV series Akkara Kazhchakal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fahadh Faasil</span> Indian actor and producer (born 1982)

Abdul Hameed Mohammed Fahadh Fazil, professionally known as Fahadh Faasil or FaFa, is an Indian actor and producer who primarily works in Malayalam and Tamil films. Noted for his diverse portrayals, Fahadh is among the highest-paid and most popular Malayalam actors. Fahadh is a recipient of several accolades including a National Film Award, four Kerala State Film Awards and four Filmfare Awards South.

<i>English</i> (2013 film) 2013 Indian film

English: An Autumn in London is a 2013 Indian Malayalam film written by Ajayan Venugopalan and directed by Shyamaprasad. A drama with slight tinges of black humour and satire, the film stars Jayasurya, Nivin Pauly, Mukesh, Nadia Moidu, Remya Nambeesan. The film is produced by Binu Dev under the banner of Navarang Screens and features music composed by Rex Vijayan, whilst cinematography is handled by Udayan Ambaadi and is edited by Vinod Sukumaran. The film tells the story of the lives of several Malayalees living in London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ajayan Venugopalan</span> Indian director

Ajayan Venugopalan is an Indian screenwriter, film director who works in Malayalam and Hindi cinema and television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neeraj Madhav</span> Indian actor, rapper and dancer

Neeraj Madhav, is an Indian actor, who predominantly works in Malayalam films in supporting to character roles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jacob Gregory</span> Indian American actor (born 1986)

Jacob Gregory is an Indian-American actor who has appeared in Malayalam films. He made his film debut with ABCD (2013) directed by Martin Prakkat. He got a breakthrough role in the TV series Akkara Kazhchakal, where he portrayed the character Gregory also known as "Giri giri". Gregory has lived in New Jersey since 1990.

<i>Monsoon Mangoes</i> 2016 Indian film

Monsoon Mangoes is a 2016 Malayalam comedy film written and directed by Abi Varghese. The film stars Fahadh Faasil in the lead, with Iswarya Menon, Vinay Forrt, and Vijay Raaz in supporting roles. The movie was produced by Thampy Antony. The film was released on 15 January 2016.

Midhun Manuel Thomas is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works in the Malayalam film industry.

Sanu John VarugheseISC is an Indian cinematographer, who has worked in the Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu films. After beginning his career as a technician in DD News, commercials and documentaries, he worked on Hindi, Tamil and Malayalam films. He won acclaim for his work in Kamal Haasan's spy thriller, Vishwaroopam (2013).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sanju Sivram</span> Indian actor

Sanju Sivram is an Indian actor who appears in Malayalam cinema, who made his debut in 2013 movie Nee Ko Njaa Cha.

<i>Brown Nation</i> TV series or program

Brown Nation is an American comedy drama series directed by Abi Varghese and written by Matt Grubb, George Kanatt and Varghese. The series is shot in New York City and the first season of the show consists of ten episodes that are 20–25 minutes long. Brown Nation released in all 190 countries offering Netflix on November 15, 2016.

Jakes Bejoy is an Indian film score composer, music producer, and singer. He predominantly works in Malayalam cinema. Angels (2014) was his debut film as a music director.

Rajesh Mohanan also credited as Rajesh Nair is a film director in Malayalam film industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Job Kurian</span> Indian singer and composer (born 1982)

Job Kurian is an Indian singer and composer who works in both indie music and in Malayalam films. He won the South Indian International Movie Award for Best Male Playback Singer in Malayalam in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anaswara Rajan</span> Indian actress

Anaswara Rajan is an Indian actress who works mainly in Malayalam films. Her first feature film was Udaharanam Sujatha in 2017.

Metro Park is an Indian sitcom web television series on Eros Now about the Indian Gujarati family living in Metro Park, an Indian-American majority neighborhood in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States, and the funny problems they face.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karikku</span> Indian digital platform

Karikku is an Indian YouTube Channel in Malayalam, founded by Nikhil Prasad in 2018. The YouTube Channel gained popularity with their first Web series titled "Thera Para". Karikku has different business verticals including Fliq, Tuned, Fuse, Wybe (merchandising) and Zero.

References

  1. "Take the world and paint it "brown"". The Times of India. 27 November 2016. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  2. Passow, Sam. "Forward Direction: Abi Varghese", The Record (Bergen County) , 4 April 2017. Accessed 16 May 2017. "'We always thought the Indian community was not represented in the comedy platform, especially the Indian diaspora who are from abroad,' says Varghese, a Norwood resident who grew up in Englewood after his family immigrated here when he was a kid."
  3. "Brown Nation". Rotten Tomatoes .
  4. "Brown Nation (TV Series 2016) - IMDb". IMDb .
  5. "Comedy on a platter". The Hindu. 7 January 2016. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  6. "Accent on humour". The Hindu. 29 August 2008. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 28 December 2015.