Mariyam Azza (born 20 April 1989) is a Maldivian film actress. She is the daughter of actress Aminath Rasheedha and younger sister to actress turned director Aishath Rishmy.
Early life
Born in Malé, Azza is the daughter of actress Aminath Rasheedha and the sister of actress Aishath Rishmy. She made a brief cameo appearance in the film Mithuru, along with Rishmy, which was produced by her step-father Shiyam and co-starring with Rasheedha. In 1997, she starred alongside Rasheedha in Mohamed Ali Manik's Maazee (2000) which narrates the story of two best friends, a boy and a girl, who get separated at childhood and reunite as adults. Azza played the child role of Neeza, a high self-esteemed girl who disregard her own mother and childhood best friend.
Career
2005–16: Debut and breakthrough
In 2005, Azza appeared in a video single titled "Loabiviyya" alongside her sister, Rishmy, which became a chartbuster. She then appeared in several songs produced by her family production. Azza made her acting debut in a supporting role with Hukuru Vileyrey (2006), co-directed by Aishath Rishmy and Aminath Rasheedha which was based on a novel published by Ibrahim Waheed on Haveeru Daily in 2003. The film was a critical and commercial success while being considered as "one of the few acceptable horror film the Maldivian Film Industry has ever produced". It was later released as 15 episodes television series with inclusion of several clips that were edited off while released in theatre. Her performance fetched her a Gaumee Film Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
In 2015, Azza collaborated with Fathimath Nahula for two television drama series. In the first release, a 15-episodes romantic series Vakivumuge Kurin, Azza portrayed a seductive colleague and an irresponsible wife who mistreats her mother. This was followed by Umurah Salaan (2015) which centers on a squabble family which is separated due to the greed for money and misunderstandings. The series which stars Mohamed Faisal, Aminath Rishfa, Ahmed Azmeel and Azza in lead roles, she portrays the character Shazly, an orphan who blindly trusts her husband.
In 2016, Azza played the role of Elisha, an innocent girl who becomes possessed while trapped in a house, in Fathimath Nahula's horror film 4426. Upon release, the film received mostly positive reviews from critics. Ahmed Nadheem of Avas labelled the film as a "masterpiece" and noted her performance to be "good" but not "consistent". However, it was also considered to be her "best performance" so far. Ahmed Adhushan reviewing for Mihaaru considered her dialogue delivery and expressions in the possessed scenes to "stand out" from the film while she delivered a "haunting performance" in her "breakthrough film". With twenty-five back-to-back housefull shows being screened, 4426 was declared as the highest-grossing film of the year in the Maldives.
2017–22: Commercial success and web series
In 2017, Azza established herself as a leading actress of contemporary Maldivian cinema by featuring in four of the top-grossing productions of the year. Her first release of the year was the Ali Shifau-directed romantic comedy Mee Loaybakee alongside Mohamed Jumayyil. At the time of release, the film held the record of being the Maldivian film featuring the largest cast onscreen. The film tells the story of ex-lovers sliding into the friend zone, and the envy and diffidence they experience amidst a convoluted love-triangle. In the film, she played the role of Lam, an insecure friend of Ishan - her ex-boyfirend. The film and Azza's performance received mixed reviews, with Aishath Maaha of Avas calling her performance "a drawback from her previous films". The film emerged as one of the highest grossing Maldivian films of 2017. She next featured alongside an ensemble cast including Yoosuf Shafeeu, Mohamed Manik, Ahmed Saeed and Ali Seezan in another romantic comedy film Naughty 40 which was directed by Shafeeu. The film revolves around three friends, Ashwanee, Ahsan and Ajwad (Played by Shafeeu, Saeed and Manik respectively) who are single and having a youthful outlook, in spite of being in their forties. She featured in dual roles - Ziyana, a woman who gets impregnated after being sexually assaulted, and later as Ashwa, the daughter of Ziyana, an introverted daughter who meets her father after nineteen years. The film met with both critical and commercial success, emerging as one of the highest grossing Maldivian films of 2017.