Zain Imam

Zain Imam is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Hindi television. He is best known for his portrayal of Neil Khanna in Star Plus show Naamkaran and Yuvraj Luthra in Zee TV's Tashan-E-Ishq which earned him Gold Awards for Best Actor in Negative Role. In 2019, Imam participated in Colors TV's stunt-based reality show Khatron Ke Khiladi 9.

Zain Imam زین امام
Imam in 2023
Born	Syed Zain Imam (1988-05-18) 18 May 1988 (age 36) Delhi, India
Nationality	Indian
Alma mater	University of Delhi
Occupations	Actor Model
Years active	2014–present
Known for	Naamkarann Tashan-e-Ishq Fanaa: Ishq Mein Marjawan
Awards	Gold Awards (For Best Actor in Negative Role and Most Stylish Actor)

He was last seen portraying the role of Agastya Raichand in Colors TV's Fanaa: Ishq Mein Marjawan until August 2022.

Career

Early career and success (2014–2017)

Imam started his career as a model, working for agencies such as Aldo Group, and also did few TV commercials before debuting in Hindi television. His first work as an actor came with MTV India television series Kaisi Yeh Yaariaan where he played Abhimanyu Thakkar.^[1]

From 2015 to 2016, he played a grey-shaded character of Yuvraj Luthra in Zee TV's love triangle Tashan-e-Ishq opposite Jasmin Bhasin.^[2][3] The show proved a breakout for him, he won the Gold Award for Best Actor in a Negative Role.^[4]

Then, he was cast as Abir Dharmadhikari, new male lead of Zee TV's Yeh Vaada Raha when it took a large leap, from October 2016 to January 2017.

Establishment and other projects (2017–2021)

Imam in 2018

Imam got his biggest success when he was introduced as ACP Neil Khanna in StarPlus's romantic-drama Naamkarann along with Aditi Rathore after a generation leap.^[5] The show wrapped up in May 2018.^[6]

After doing an episodic in &TV's Laal Ishq with Mahhi Vij, Imam entered the popular StarPlus's series Ishqbaaaz as Mohit Malhotra, a full-fledged antagonist in September 2018.

Venturing into reality shows, Imam made his debut in reality with participated in the adventure stunt-based show Fear Factor: Khatron Ke Khiladi 9 in 2019 where he finished at 9th place.^[7]

His subsequent fictional role as Kabir Mittal, a former army officer in StarPlus' mystery revenge drama Ek Bhram Sarvagun Sampanna failed to impress audience.^[8] He was next seen in the music video Tanhaai by Tulsi Kumar under T-Series in 2020.^[9]

In 2021, Imam progressed into digital platform with the web series Crashh portrayed Dr. Rishabh Sachdeva co-starring Rohan Mehra, Kunj Anand, Aditi Sharma and Anushka Sen.^[10]

Television comeback (2022–present)

Imam returned to television after a long break of 3 years with his role of Agastya Raichand an obsessive/possessive lover, the main protagonist in Gul Khan production Fanaa: Ishq Mein Marjawan on Colors TV opposite Reem Shaikh.^[11][12] for which he received praise from audience. The show ended on 2 September 2022.^[13] In March, he made a brief appearance in Bekaboo as Pratham Raichand opposite Shivangi Joshi.^[14]

In the media

He appeared in the Times of India's Top 20 "Most Desirable Men" list rank at No. 5 in 2018^[15] and at No. 15 in 2019.^[16]

Filmography

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2014–15	Kaisi Yeh Yaariaan	Abhimanyu Thakkar		[17]
2015–16	Tashan-e-Ishq	Yuvraj "Yuvi" Luthra		[18]
2016–17	Yeh Vaada Raha	Abir Dharmadhikari		[19]
2017–18	Naamkarann	ACP Neil Khanna		[20]
2018	Ishqbaaaz	Mohit Malhotra		[21]
2019	Khatron Ke Khiladi 9	Contestant	10th place	[22]
	Ek Bhram Sarvagun Sampanna	Kabir Mittal		[23]
2022	Fanaa: Ishq Mein Marjawan	Agastya Raichand / Arjun "Vicky" Sharma		[24]
2024–present	Suman Indori	Teerth Mittal		[25]

Special appearances

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2018	Laal Ishq	Arjun	Episode: "Raatrani"	[26]
2023	Bekaboo	Pratham Raichand		[27]
2024	Laughter Chefs – Unlimited Entertainment	Teerth

Web series

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2020	Never Kiss Your Bestfriend - Lockdown Special	Zayed		[28]
	Poison	Harshvardhan Oberoi	Season 2	[29]
2021	Crashh	Dr. Rishabh Sachdeva		[30]
2022	Fanaa: Ishq Mein Marjawan: Aakhri Imtihaan	Agastya Raichand / Arjun "Vicky" Sharma		[31]

Music videos

Year	Title	Singer(s)	Ref.
2019	Yaara 2	Mamta Sharma	[32]
2020	Yaariyan
	Tanhaai	Tulsi Kumar	[33]
2021	Mujhko Mana Lena	Alka Yagnik, Ashok Ojha	[34]
	Ishqiya	Shubham Singh Rajput	[35]
	Promise	Ayaana Khan	[36]
2022	Puri Bottle Ve	Ayaana Khan	[37]
	Mulaqaat	Sumit Bhalla	[38]
	Mukuraa Lena Tum	Palak Muchhal	[39]
	Humko Tumse Pyaar Hua	Soham Naik	[40]
	Bahut Bewafa Hai Wo	Javed Ali	[41]
2023	Jo Haal Dil Ka	Dev Negi, Priya Saraiya	[42]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result	Ref.
2016	Gold Awards	Best Actor In Negative Role (Critics)	Tashan-e-Ishq	Won	[43]
2019		Most Stylish Actor	—	Won	[44]
2017	Indian Television Academy Awards	Best Actor (Popular)	Naamkarann	Nominated	[citation needed]
2018				Nominated	[citation needed]
2019	Indian Telly Awards	Best On-screen Couple (with Aditi Rathore)		Nominated	[citation needed]
2020	Gold Glam and Style Awards	Hotstepper (Male) TV	—	Won
2022	22nd Indian Television Academy	Best Actor (Popular)	Fanaa: Ishq Mein Marjawan	Nominated	[citation needed]
2023	Gold Awards	Best Actor in a Lead Role		Nominated	[45]
		Best Jodi (with Reem Shaikh)
		Most Fit Actor	—
		Style Icon	—

See also

• List of Indian television actors

References

1. "Zain Imam: If you aren't talented, you can't survive competition". Times of India. 4 August 2015. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
2. "Five shades of grey for Zain in Tashan-E-Ishq". Times of India. 17 December 2015. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
3. "PICS: Zain Imam's new look in Tashan-E-Ishq". Times of India. 11 August 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
4. "'Tashan-E-Ishq' to end on September 16". Times of India. 25 August 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
5. "Zain Imam wants to marry his Naamkarann co-star Aditi Rathore. Here's what he said". www.timesnownews.com. April 2018.
6. "Naamkaran goes off air; see pics from the last day of shoot". The Times of India. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
7. "Zain Imam on his preparation for Khatron Ke Khiladi: I am working a lot on my strength". The Indian Express. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
8. "EXCLUSIVE: Zain Imam on his character in Ek Bhram Sarvagun Sampanna, being secure as an actor & web series". Pinkvilla.
9. Ramsay, Amit (27 February 2021). "Tulsi Kumar elated as 'Tanhaai' crosses 100 million views on YouTube". Zee News. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
10. Barve, Ameya (24 December 2020). "First look of 'Crashh': Saga of sibling love and pain of being separated". www.indiatvnews.com. Retrieved 30 January 2021.
11. "Zain Imam to play the anti-hero in Dipti Kalwani's Fanaa, Akshit Sukhija and Reem Shaikh join the cast too". The Times of India. 15 December 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
12. "Zain Imam and Reem Shaikh start shooting for Gul Khan's next". news.abplive.com. 15 December 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
13. "Fanaa: Ishq Mein Marjawan to end on August 5; to move to the channel's OTT platform". The Times of India. Retrieved 19 July 2022.
14. "Zain Imam and Shivangi Joshi's appearances in Bekaboo leave netizens stunned". Pinkvilla. 12 March 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2023.
15. "Meet television's most desirable dudes". The Times of India. 16 May 2019.
16. "Sidharth Shukla is The Times Most Desirable Man on TV 2019". ANI. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
17. "Did you know Zain Imam, Dishank Arrora and Karan Jotwani were a part of MTV Kaisi Yeh Yaariyan?". Telly Chakkar. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
18. "Tashan-E-Ishq gave me everything that a newbie ever wants: Zain Imam". Telly Chakkar. 10 August 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
19. "Zain Imam to romance Sonal Vengurlekar on Yeh Vaada Raha post leap". Bollywood Life. 25 November 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
20. "Naamkarann Couple Aditi Rathore And Zain Imam: We Share A Special Chocolate Bond". Mid Day. 6 March 2018.
21. "Mandana Karimi to Zain Imam: Entry of these actors to bring major twists in TV shows". India Today. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
22. "Zain Imam on Khatron Ke Khiladi 9: Rohit Shetty motivated us to perform better". Indian Express. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
23. Bureau, ABP News (18 June 2019). "CONFIRMED! Zain Imam's 'Ek Bhram...Sarvagun Sampanna' heroine Tanvi Dogra LEAVES the show!". ABP Live. Retrieved 19 February 2021. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
24. "Zain Imam to play the anti-hero in Dipti Kalwani's Fanaa, Akshit Sukhija and Reem Shaikh join the cast too". The Times of India. 15 December 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
25. "Anita Hassanandani and Zain Imam finalised for Prateek Sharma's next show". The Times of India. 2 June 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
26. "Zain Imam to do a Cameo in Colors titled Beqaboo". India Today. 15 June 2018. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
27. "Zain Imam to do a Cameo in Colors titled Beqaboo". Pinkvilla. 22 February 2023. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
28. "Never Kiss Your Best Friend: Lockdown Special Season 2 Review : It's a light and easy-breezy watch". The Times of India.
29. "I enjoy playing dark characters without any apprehension: Zain Imam". Hindustan Times. 11 February 2022.
30. "Crashh cast details revealed;". The Tribune. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
31. Keshri, Shweta (2 August 2022). "Zain Imam, Reem Shaikh's Fanna Ishq Mein Marjawan to stream on Voot from August 8". India Today. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
32. "I hope a vaccine is found soon, and everyone's life goes back to normal". Hindustan Times. 5 June 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
33. "Music Video - 'Tanhaai' Sung By Tulsi Kumar Featuring Zain Imam". The Times of India. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
34. "Zain Imam: "Alka Yagnik ji is a LEGEND and when I came to know that..." | Mujhko Mana Lena - Bollywood Hungama". Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
35. Ishqiya, 6 October 2021, retrieved 15 December 2021
36. "Zain Imam and Ayaana Khan on launch party of their song 'Promise' | SBS". news.abplive.com. 1 November 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
37. "Zain Imam features in new music video 'Puri Bottle Ve' | SBS Originals". news.abplive.com. 9 February 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
38. "Zain Imam goes shirtless in towel at Dubai, see viral footage". 18 February 2023.
39. "'Muskuraa Lena Tum' is a love ballad for those nursing a broken heart - Times of India". The Times of India. 20 July 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
40. Service, Tribune News. "Zain Imam and Reem Sameer Shaikh feature in 'Humko Tumse Pyaar Hua'". Tribuneindia News Service. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
41. "First Look: Zain Imam and Reem Shaikh to romance in new music video Bhaut Bewafa Hai Wo". 16 November 2022.
42. Jo Haal Dil Ka | Zain Imam, Reem Sameer Sheikh | Dev Negi, Priya Saraiya | Tips Official, retrieved 20 December 2023
43. "Gold Awards 2016: List of Winners". India Today. 9 June 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
44. A, Nagarathna (12 October 2019). "Gold Awards 2019 Winners: Helly Shah, Zain Imam, Shivangi Joshi, Mohsin Khan & Others Win Big". www.filmibeat.com.
45. "14th Boroplus Gold Awards, 2022: Check Out The List Of Nominees". Gold Awards. Retrieved 23 July 2022.

External links

• Zain Imam at IMDb
• Zain Imam on Instagram