Farina Azad

Farina Azad is an Indian television presenter and actress who works in Tamil television. She began her career as a VJ and host in 2014, made her acting debut in the Sun TV serial Azhagu (2017), and is best known as Dr. Venba, the obsessive antagonist of the Star Vijay serial Bharathi Kannamma, a role she played from 2019 to 2023 and reprised in its spin-off Bharathi Kannamma 2.

Alongside serials she has appeared on several reality and game shows. With her husband she finished as joint second runner-up on Mr and Mrs Chinnathirai season 4 (2022), and in 2024 she was a guest comali on Cooku with Comali season 5. She also played Suchithra in the Disney+ Hotstar web series Uppu Puli Kaaram (2024 to 2025).

As of November 2026, her most recent serial role was Mithra in the Zee Tamil serial Idhayam, which she played from March to June 2025.

Quick facts

Career

Television presenter (2014 to 2015)

Farina Azad, who was born in Chennai, started out as a television anchor. Her first show as host was Oru Nimidam Please in 2014, and the same year she presented the film-news programme Kollywood Uncut. In 2015 she hosted the cooking show Kitchen Galatta. She has continued to host alongside acting, presenting Anjarai Petti in 2018 and Takkar Takkar in 2023.

Acting debut: Azhagu (2017 to 2018)

She made her acting debut in Azhagu, the Sun TV family drama produced by Vision Time that premiered on 20 November 2017 with Revathi and Thalaivasal Vijay in the lead roles. Azad played Nivedhitha, known as Nivi, the wife of Thirunavukkarasu. She left the serial in 2018 and the role was taken over by Akshitha Bopaiah and later by Vaishnavi Arulmozhi.

Bharathi Kannamma and other serials (2019 to 2023)

Her breakthrough came with Bharathi Kannamma, the Star Vijay serial directed by Praveen Bennett and produced by Global Villagers, a remake of the Malayalam serial Karuthamuthu. It ran for 1,036 episodes from 25 February 2019 to 4 February 2023, with Arun Prasath as Dr. Bharathi and Roshini Haripriyan, later Vinusha Devi, as Kannamma. Azad played Dr. Venba, a doctor obsessed with Bharathi who sets out to wreck his marriage to Kannamma. The serial became one of the most watched Tamil shows of its time, climbing into the top five Tamil serials by ratings in 2020. She returned as Venba in the spin-off Bharathi Kannamma 2, which ran on Star Vijay from 6 February to 6 August 2023 with Vinusha Devi and Sibbu Suryan in the leads.

In 2019 she also played Vaani in Thari on Colors Tamil and Shobana in Nachiyarpuram on Zee Tamil, and in 2021 she played Bhavani in Abhi Tailor on Colors Tamil.

Reality shows (2022 to 2024)

Azad and her husband competed in the fourth season of Mr and Mrs Chinnathirai, the Star Vijay couples' talent show hosted by Ma Ka Pa Anand and Aranthangi Nisha, which aired from 2 July to 20 November 2022. They finished as joint second runners-up with Vasanthakumar and Rekha; Mahalingam and Rajeswari won the season.

In 2024 she joined the fifth season of the Star Vijay cooking comedy show Cooku with Comali as a guest comali, entering in the third week and appearing in several episodes of the season, which ended on 29 September 2024 with Priyanka Deshpande as winner. In July 2024 she made a special appearance in the Zee Tamil serial Ninaithale Inikkum.

Uppu Puli Kaaram and Idhayam (2024 to 2025)

From 30 May 2024 to 2 January 2025 she played Suchithra, known as Suchi, in Uppu Puli Kaaram, a Disney+ Hotstar web series produced by Vikatan Televistas and directed by M. Ramesh Baarathi and Chidambaram Manivannan. An official Tamil remake of the Korean drama My Father Is Strange, it ran for 128 episodes and starred Ponvannan and Vanitha Krishnachandran, with Naveen Muralidhar as Suchi's husband Udhay.

In 2025 she joined the second season of Idhayam, the Zee Tamil serial produced by Rajammal Creations and starring Richard Jose as Aadhi. Entering after the story's five-year leap on 24 March 2025, she played Mithra, Aadhi's colleague who is obsessively in love with him. She left the serial in June 2025 and Subbalakshmi Rangan took over the role.

Television

Shows as host

Web series

Personal life

Farina Azad married Ubaidh Rahman in Chennai in October 2017.

FAQ

Which serial made Farina Azad famous?

Bharathi Kannamma on Star Vijay, in which she played Dr. Venba, the antagonist obsessed with Bharathi, from 2019 to 2023. She returned as Venba in Bharathi Kannamma 2 in 2023.

Was Farina Azad an anchor before acting?

Yes. She started as a television host in 2014 with Oru Nimidam Please and Kollywood Uncut, and presented the cooking show Kitchen Galatta in 2015 before her acting debut in Azhagu in 2017.

What was Farina Azad's first serial?

Azhagu on Sun TV, which premiered on 20 November 2017. She played Nivedhitha, the wife of Thirunavukkarasu.

Which reality shows has Farina Azad appeared on?

Mr and Mrs Chinnathirai season 4 (2022) with her husband, where they finished as joint second runners-up, and Cooku with Comali season 5 (2024) as a guest comali.

What is Farina Azad's latest serial?

Idhayam on Zee Tamil, in which she played Mithra in the second season from March to June 2025.

Who is Farina Azad's husband?

Ubaidh Rahman, whom she married in Chennai in October 2017. The couple appeared together on Mr and Mrs Chinnathirai season 4 in 2022.