Arshad Warsi

Arshad Warsi
Warsi at the Launch of Malti Bhojwani's 'Don't Think Of A Blue Ball' book
Born	(1968-04-19) 19 April 1968 (age 48) Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Nationality	Indian
Occupation	Actor, Playback singer, Television presenter, Producer
Years active	1996–present
Spouse(s)	Maria Goretti (m. 1999)
Website	Official website

Arshad Warsi (born 19 April 1968) is an Indian film actor, and producer. he made his debut in 1996 with Tere Mere Sapne which was a box office success. He is best known for his portrayal of Circuit in the comedy film Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. (2003) and its sequel, Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006). He won the Filmfare Award for Best Performance in a Comic Role for the latter. He is also recognised for his role as Babban in Ishqiya (2010) and its sequel Dedh Ishqiya (2014), and for his role in Jolly LLB (2013). All of these films received critical acclaim.

Warsi was born into a Muslim family in Mumbai, India. His father's name was Ahmed Ali Khan. Warsi did his schooling at a boarding school, Barnes School, Deolali in Nashik district, Maharashtra. He was orphaned at the age of 14 and struggled for a living in Mumbai during his early days. He left school after 10th standard.

Financial circumstances forced Warsi to start work as a door-to-door cosmetics salesman at age 17. Later he worked in a photo lab. Meanwhile, he had a keen interest in dancing and received an offer to join Akbar Sami's Dance group in Mumbai, which started his dancing and choreographing career. He also assisted Mahesh Bhatt in Thikana (1987) and Kaash (1987).

Then in 1991, he won the Indian dance competition, followed by the fourth prize in the Modern Jazz category in 1992 World Dance championship, London, at the age of 21. Soon, he started his own dance studio, 'Awesome' with that money and also formed a dance troupe. It was here, his future wife, Maria Goretti, a St. Andrew's College student joined him, before she became a VJ. He was also associated with English theatre group in Mumbai, choreographing shows for Bharat Dabholkar and got an opportunity to choreograph the title track for the film, Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja (1993). During this time he was offered a role by Jaya Bachchan for Tere Mere Sapne.