# Happy Birthday (2009 film)

Happy Birthday is a 2009 Maldivian suspense thriller film written and directed by Moomin Fuad. Produced by Yoosuf Mohamed Ali under Dark Rain Entertainment, the film stars Yoosuf Shafeeu and Niuma Mohamed in pivotal roles. Winning five Gaumee Film Awards and twelve Maldives Film Awards, the film was also screened at the Venice Film Festival.
The film narrates the story of a simple man who receives a call on his birthday informing that his wife and son have been kidnapped and is asked to get the ransom if he wants them back. Though the film received positive reviews from critics, it was a commercial failure. According to Fuad, its failure had a big impact on his career and he lost several other projects due to its financial loss.

## Cast

* Yoosuf Shafeeu as Asif
* Niuma Mohamed as Suza
* Mohamed Rasheed as Office Boss
* Ahmed Asim as Ahmed
* Ahmed Saeed as Hussain
* Fathimath Azifa as Fazla
* Ali Farooq as Bank Manager
* Ismail Nuweil as Akko
* Abdul Satthar as Father
* Nashmee Mohamed Saeed as Bank Girl

## Reception

The film received positive reviews from critics. Ifraz Ali from Avas called the film a "masterpiece" of Fuad in terms of writing and direction. A total of five shows with little occupancy were screened at the cinema and was crashed afterwards. Regarding its commercial failure, producer Mohamed Ali noted; "Maldivians were experiencing a wave of melodrama at the time, few to none were aware of art films".

## Accolades

| Year | Award | Category | Recipients | Result |
| 2011 | 1st Maldives Film Awards | Best Film | Happy Birthday | Won |
| 2011 | 1st Maldives Film Awards | Best Director | Moomin Fuad | Won |
| 2011 | 1st Maldives Film Awards | Best Actor | Yoosuf Shafeeu | Won |
| 2011 | 1st Maldives Film Awards | Best Editing | Ali Shifau | Won |
| 2011 | 1st Maldives Film Awards | Best Cinematography | Moomin Fuad | Won |
| 2011 | 1st Maldives Film Awards | Best Screenplay | Moomin Fuad | Won |
| 2011 | 1st Maldives Film Awards | Best Art Direction | Ali Shifau, Moomin Fuad | Won |
| 2011 | 1st Maldives Film Awards | Best Child Artist | Ismail Nuwail | Nominated |
| 2011 | 1st Maldives Film Awards | Best Original Song | Moomin Fuad - "Araamu" | Won |
| 2011 | 1st Maldives Film Awards | Best Original Score | Shaaz Saeed, Abdul Basith | Won |
| 2011 | 1st Maldives Film Awards | Best Sound Editing | Ali Shifau | Won |
| 2011 | 1st Maldives Film Awards | Best Sound Mixing | Ali Shifau, Moomin Fuad | Won |
| 2011 | 1st Maldives Film Awards | Best Costume Designer | Ibrahim Ali, Aminath Hassan | Won |
| 2015 | 6th Gaumee Film Awards | Best Film | Happy Birthday | Won |
| 2015 | 6th Gaumee Film Awards | Best Director | Moomin Fuad | Won |
| 2015 | 6th Gaumee Film Awards | Best Actor | Yoosuf Shafeeu | Won |
| 2015 | 6th Gaumee Film Awards | Best Original Song | Moomin Fuad - "Araamu" | Nominated |
| 2015 | 6th Gaumee Film Awards | Best Editing | Ali Shifau | Won |
| 2015 | 6th Gaumee Film Awards | Best Screenplay | Moomin Fuad | Won |
| 2015 | 6th Gaumee Film Awards | Best Art Direction | Moomin Fuad, Ali Shifau, Mohamed Ali | Nominated |
| 2015 | 6th Gaumee Film Awards | Best Costume Design | Ibrahim Ali, Aminath Hassan | Nominated |