Abu Farhan Azmi is an Indian entrepreneur, restaurateur, and politician. He owns many restaurants in Mumbai and Goa including “Koyla,” “Café Basilico,” “ChaiCoffi,” and “Basilico House.” Farhan is the husband of the Bollywood actress, Ayesha Takia.
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Wiki/Biography
Farhan Azmi was born on Sunday, 21 February 1982 (age 37 years; as in 2019) in Mumbai. His zodiac sign is Pisces.
He did his schooling from Mumbai’s Scholar High School and went to Jai Hind College to pursue his graduation. Farhan attended Mumbai’s Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics to pursue his post-graduation.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5’ 7”
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Dark Brown
Family, Caste & Wife
Farhan Azmi belongs to a Muslim Family. His father, Abu Asim Azim, is the MLA of Mankhurd Shivaji Nagar Constituency in Mumbai. His mother’s name is Zahida Azmi. He is the grandson of Haji Niyaz Ahmed Azmi. Farhan has a sister, Farzeen Azmi.
Farhan Azmi got married to Ayesha Takia on 1 March 2009 after dating her for three years. The couple has a son, Mikail Azmi.
Career as a Businessman
Farhan Azmi began his career as a businessman. He owns many hospitality brands, hotels, and restaurants.
Azmi runs a large chain of vegetarian restaurants like Koyla, Café Basilico, TGL Co., Citywalk Shoes, Madras Diaries, ChaiCoffi, and Basilico House in Mumbai and Goa.
Political Career
Azmi is also active in politics. He contested the 2010 Legislative Assembly by-elections from the Bhiwandi (East) Constituency as a member of the Samajwadi Party. Farhan lost the elections to Shiv Sena candidate Rupesh Mhatre. In 2014, he became the state president of the Yuva Cell of the Samajwadi Party. Azmi worked on various projects to empower the youth, fight for women’s safety, tackle various environmental issues, address the needs of underprivileged children, and to fight religious discrimination. He even contested the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from the North Mumbai Constituency but lost the elections. In January 2018, Farhan resigned from his post of the state president of the Yuva Cell of Samajwadi Party but continued to serve the party.
In 2017, he campaigned for the Samajwadi Party at Nagpada Mahasabha, South Mumbai, for the BMC elections.
Controversies
- Farhan Azmi was deeply criticised in the media when he lashed out over a tweet by actress, Esha Gupta. Reportedly, Esha commented on his father, Abu Azmi’s controversial statement, which stated that women themselves were responsible for their molestation. Abu made this statement in context of the mass molestation incident in Bengaluru on the New Year’s Eve.
- In January 2017, Farhan made a controversial remark during a public rally at the Nagpada Junction, Mumbai. While addressing the public, Azmi said, “different political parties have used Muslims as condoms.” His comment received heavy criticism from many Muslim leaders.
- In 2017, Farhan received death threats from a Hindu extremist organisation for marrying a Hindu girl while himself being a Muslim. They called it an act of Love Jihad. The callers even threatened him of planting bombs in his house, office, and vehicles. Surprisingly, the threats came after eight years of his marriage to Ayesha Takia. Farhan filed an FIR in Mumbai’s Colaba Police Station against a Rajasthan-based Hindu activist group for making the calls.
- Farhan landed into controversy for his net worth that became four times in the span of four years. Apparently, he revealed his net worth Rs. 16 crores during the 2010 Bhiwandi by-elections, which later increased to Rs. 64 crores when he contested the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
- Farhan was also involved in a legal battle with his business partner, Kashiff Khan, over their restaurant “Koyla.” While Khan accused Azmi of siphoning off funds originally invested in the business, Farhan filed a complaint against him for sending goons to his Bandra restaurant. As a result, the restaurant was shut down until the case resolved.
Awards
Net Worth
Farhan’s net worth is estimated to be Rs. 66 crores.
Favourite Things
- Food: Hummus, Pav Bhaji, Butter Chicken
- Actress: Sridevi
- Colour: White
- Travel Destination: Maldives
Facts
- His hobbies include travelling, swimming, and shopping.
- Farhan loves to ride motorbikes.
- Farhan is very active on social media and often use it as a platform to promote his business and to talk about his political ideas.
- His wife, Ayesha, is often spotted with him while he is working on social issues like environment protection, women rights, and senior citizen rights.
- He keeps travelling to different countries like Switzerland, France, Thailand, Norway and the USA for his business deals.
- He is an avid dog lover.