I. Ahmed hails from a traditional Muslim middle-class family. His mother was a teacher by profession and his father worked in a private firm. None of his family members are related to the cinema industry. Although Ahmed was not academically inclined in his school days, he spent most of his time dreaming about cinemas and filmmaking. Ahmed studied Visual communication course at Loyola College, Chennai. His first documentary explored the lives of trans-genders and their social rejection. His second documentary - Brother Unwanted - covered the living conditions of Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in refugee camps.