Mirza Abbas Ali (born 21 May 1975) is a former Indian actor, model, and present-day motivational speaker who has predominantly appeared in Tamil and Telugu films.^[2] Following his career as a fashion model, he made his film debut with Kathir's Kadhal Desam (1996) which gave him instant recognition. He continued to appear in lead roles, which went unsuccessful, before continuing his career as part of ensemble casts and in antagonistic roles in major Tamil films such as Padayappa (1999), Kandukondain Kandukondain (2000), Minnale (2001), Aanandham (2001), Pammal K. Sambandam (2001), Guru En Aalu (2009), and Ramanujan (2014). He quit acting in films after 2015, when he moved to New Zealand and became a motivational speaker.

His full name is Mirza Abbas Ali and was born on 21 May 1975 in Howrah, which is twin city of Kolkata. Abbas revealed that he went through a phase of being a "troubled teenager".^[3] He failed in 10th exam and his girlfriend left him.^[3] This event turned him taking his own life.^[3] As he stood on the verge of stepping in front of a truck, he noticed a motorcyclist following closely behind.^[3] This realization struck him deeply, as he understood that his actions would not only harm himself but also potentially injure the unsuspecting motorcyclist.^[3] This sudden awareness shifted his mindset and compelled him to reconsider his decision.^[3]

He mentioned that his first priority was to become an Air Force pilot, indicating that he had a passion for aviation and wanted to pursue a career in the Indian Air Force.^[4] However, he wasn't successful in clearing the entrance examination for the National Defence Academy (NDA), which is the premier training institute for the Indian Armed Forces.^[4] After his dream of becoming an Air Force pilot didn't materialize, Abbas had an alternate plan to pursue MBA.^[4] However, he states that he didn't clear the NDA entrance exam, implying that this setback led him to explore other opportunities.^[4]

Abbas grew up watching Hindi films. His maternal grandfather being an actor Farrukh Mirza acted in Neel Darpan (Bengali) and his paternal family being related to actor Feroz Khan.^[5] He partook in modelling assignments since his modeling in the college days won "Face of 94" in Bangalore.^[5] His model colleagues were Dino Morea, Suman Ranganathan, Rajeev Gopalkrishna, Rahul Dev and Sameer Malhotra.^[4] Following the success of his debut film "Kadhal Desam," Abbas received more acting offers, which prompted him to consider a career in the film industry.^[4] He mentions that the offers poured in after the film became a hit, indicating that the success of his first film opened doors for him in the acting field.^[4] Ultimately, Abbas decided to venture into acting once he completed his college education.^[4] This suggests that he saw potential in the opportunities presented to him in the film industry and chose to pursue a career in acting rather than continuing with his initial plans of becoming an Air Force pilot or pursuing an MBA.^[4]

Abbas was born on 21 May 1975. He married Erum Hussain Khan, in 1997. After marriage, Erum launched her own label known as Erum ALi & EA Bridal Lounge. The couple have a daughter and a son.^[14] Erum designed costumes for movies, notably Aayirathil Oruvan and Guru En Aalu, where Abbas' co-star Madhavan's wife, Saritha, also worked as a designer.^[15]