Suneetha Ali

Suneetha Ali (born 28 May 1977) is a Maldivian choreographer, actress and producer.

Suneetha Ali
Born	(1977-05-28) 28 May 1977 (age 47) Aa. Ukulhas, Maldives
Occupation(s)	Choreographer, actress, producer
Years active	1994–present

Early life

Suneetha Ali was born on 28 May 1977 in Aa. Ukulhas.^[1] Her father, is a fisherman while her mother is a homemaker.^[1] Ali spent most of her childhood, in a melodramatic environment, dancing to the tunes of songs from Bollywood.^[1] After her failed marriage, Ali, at the age of fourteen, relocated to Male' where she got exposed to the stage shows and music performances.^[1] A few months later, she participated in a local talent show, Galaxy where she danced to few Bollywood songs and her performance was criticized by the audience to the point where she was "booed off the stage".^[1] However, strong-willed, Ali "polished" her act a year later she was cast as a background dance in a television series.^[1]

Career

In 1994, Suneetha starred in the Mariyam Shauqee and Arifa Ibrahim-directed family drama Manzil (1994) which follows as an intelligent and hardworking orphan, whose life takes a dramatic turn while working as a servant in a reputed family.^[2] Apart from playing the role of Lubna in Amjad Ibrahim's television series, Dheben (1997), she was cast as a maid in his feature film Loabeega Aniyaa (1997) released in 1997.^[3] She next starred in Mariyam Shauqee's widely acclaimed family drama television series Kahthiri, where she played the friend of an indolent mother.^[4]

This was followed by her appearances in item songs of films including, Mila Handhuvaru (1998), Hiyy Halaaku (1998) and Hiiy Edhenee (2001). She then worked with Ibrahim for his children's horror films, Santhi Mariyanbu 1 (2001) and Safaru Kaiydha 1 (2001) where she played the titular roles in all of the installments.^[3] The following year, she collaborated with Amjad Ibrahim for his horror film Sandhuravirey (2002) which narrates the story of a female jinn aiming to win the heart of a human being.^[5] Featuring Shafeeu and Mariyam Nisha in lead roles, she played the role of a mentally retarded young woman.^[6] Upon release, the film received poor reviews from critics.^[6]

Personal life

At the age thirteen, Ali decided to marry her best-friend, to which her parents refused citing her young age.^[1] However, with the help of her neighbors and family members, she managed to convinces her parent for her marriage which lasted three months, when she filed for divorce as her husband disapproved her to play sports with boys of her age.^[1]

In June 2013, while Ali was trying hard to move on with her 8 years old romantic relationship, which she breaks up herself an year ago, for discovering her boyfriends affair, gets amused by the news of Bollywood actor, Priyanka Chopra signing a film four days later to her father's demise, showing "remarkable display of resilience".^[1] Noting the progression from the actor, Ali started "idolizing" her from following her hairstyles to makeup to wardrobe collection.^[1] Soon, she started performing tributes to Chopra by singing, dancing and producing music videos of her Hindi songs, dubbed in Dhivehi, which attracted several criticism from the locals and industry colleagues where she gets mocked by referring her as "Suniyanka".^[1] She recalls her engagement with Chopra at the music concert held in January 2015 as her "happiest day" in her life.^[1]

Filmography

Feature film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref(s)
1997	Hinithun	Herself	Special appearance in the song "Khiyaal Gehlunee Hey?"	[7]
1997	Loabeege Aniyaa	Maid		[3]
1998	Mila Handhuvaru	Herself	Special appearance in the song "Fari Mooney Thee Hoadhaalaa"	[3]
2000	Hiyy Halaaku	Herself	Special appearance in the song "Thiya Loabi Handhaanveema"	[8]
2001	Hiiy Edhenee	Herself	Special appearance in the song "Furusathu Libi Dhuniyeyga"	[9]
2002	Sandhuravirey	Safa		[6]

Short films

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2001	Santhi Mariyan'bu 1	Santhi Mariyan'bu	Children's film
2001	Safaru Kaiydha 1	Safaru Kaiydha	Children's film

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1994	Manzil	Jeeza
1994	Qurubaan	Shifa	Recurring role; 4 episodes
1997	Dheben	Lubna
1997	Kahthiri	Suneetha	Recurring role; 20 episodes
2003	Edhuvas En'buri Annaanenama	Herself	Special appearance in the song "Hiyy Magey Kiyaadhemey"
2004	Vaisoori	Aisthu	In the segment "Ih'thiraam Hoadhavaa"[10]
2008	Manzilakee Thee Ey Magey	Herself	Special appearance in the song "Haadha Loaiybey Heeleemaa"

Other work

Year	Title	Director	Producer	Notes
2004	Hiyy Dheewaanaa		Yes	Songs DVD; Co-produced with Shareefa Fakhry
2005	Hiyy Dheewaanaa 2		Yes	Songs DVD; Co-produced with Shareefa Fakhry
2006	Hiyy Dheewaanaa 3		Yes	Songs DVD; Co-produced with Shareefa Fakhry
2008	Hiyy Dheewaanaa 4		Yes	Songs DVD; Co-produced with Shareefa Fakhry
2010	Magey Hithakee Hitheh Noon Hey?		Yes	Drama series
2011	Hiyy Dheewaanaa 5		Yes	Songs DVD
2013	Hiyy Dheewaanaa 6		Yes	Songs DVD

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result	Ref(s)
2007	4th Gaumee Film Awards	Best Choreography	Kalaayaanulaa (Shared with Ravee Farooq)	Won	[11]
2007	1st Miadhu Crystal Award	Best Video Album	Hiyy Dheewaanaa 3	Won	[12]
		Best Video Song	"Fathis Dhan" - Hiyy Dheewaanaa 3	Won	[12]
2008	2nd Miadhu Crystal Award	Best Audio Album	Hiyy Dheewaanaa 4	Won	[13]
		Best Video Song	"Crazy Khiyaaley" - Hiyy Dheewaanaa 4	Won	[13]
		Best Choreography	"Crazy Khiyaaley" - Hiyy Dheewaanaa 4	Won	[13]
2021	ASIA Awards 2020/2021	Asia's Outstanding Woman Achiever Award		Won	[14]
2021	Women Icon Award 2021	Outstanding Women Award		Won	[15]

References

1. Khandekar, Omkar (3 March 2017). "Priyanka Chopra's biggest fan went from being a fisherman's daughter to Maldives' most famous personality". GQ. Archived from the original on 7 March 2021. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
2. Rasheed, Ahmed (9 January 2020). "Shameel to play a tough father's role in Hanaa". MuniAvas (in Divehi). Archived from the original on 29 October 2020. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
3. Adhushan, Ahmed (23 December 2016). "Amjey shocked with his deserving award". Mihaaru (in Divehi). Archived from the original on 22 December 2018. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
4. Ali, Ifraz (1 October 2019). "Where are all the drama series?". Dho? (in Divehi). Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
5. "Amjay's contribution in the industry is recommended". PSMNews (in Divehi). 4 February 2017. Archived from the original on 16 November 2018. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
6. Adhushan, Ahmed (30 January 2017). "A festival of Amjey's films to be organized". Mihaaru (in Divehi). Archived from the original on 22 December 2018. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
7. Ifraz, Ali (23 September 2018). "Wajeeh and Jamsheedha reunites at polling location". Avas (in Divehi). Archived from the original on 1 January 2019. Retrieved 1 January 2019.
8. Maaha, Aishath (12 April 2018). "Niuma and Eupe together for one last time". Dho? (in Divehi). Archived from the original on 2 February 2019. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
9. Abdulla, Fareeha (29 April 2016). "Maldivians like copied products; our own style is not accepted: Seezan" (in Divehi). Vaguthu. Archived from the original on 28 June 2016. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
10. Milna, Mariyam (8 February 2019). "Arifa Ibrahim – Star of the Day". MuniAvas (in Divehi). Archived from the original on 10 April 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2019.
11. Nadheem, Ahmed (30 December 2007). "Winners of 4th Gaumee Film Awards". Haveeru (in Divehi). Archived from the original on 30 September 2018. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
12. "Zuleykha Awarded as Best Film winning in eight categories". Haveeru (in Divehi). Archived from the original on 13 December 2018. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
13. "Garnier Miadhu Crystal Award night : Yousey Afee and Chiliya bags top awards". Miadhu. 21 April 2008. Archived from the original on 4 January 2014. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
14. "Suneetha Ali has bagged Asia's Outstanding Woman Achiever Award". Asia Awards. 7 December 2021. Archived from the original on 7 January 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
15. Rasheed, Ahmed (27 December 2021). "Another International Award for Sunee". MuniAvas (in Divehi). Archived from the original on 7 January 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2022.