Nassar (actor)

M. Nassar (born 5 March 1958) is a polyglot Indian film actor, director, producer, dubbing artist and playback singer who mainly works in the South Indian film industry. He is the incumbent leader of the Nadigar Sangam.[1]

Nassar
Nassar at Oru Kadhai Sollattumaa Audio Launch
President of South Indian Nadigar Sangam
Incumbent
Assumed office 2015
Vice President	Karunas, Ponvannan
Preceded by	R. Sarath Kumar
Personal details
Born	Muhammad Hanif (1958-03-05) 5 March 1958 Chengalpattu, Madras State, India (now in Tamil Nadu, India)
Nationality	Indian
Spouse(s)	Kameela
Children	Abdul Asan Faizal Luthfudeen Abi Hassan
Residence	Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Occupation	Film actor, producer, director

Nassar made his acting debut in the K. Balachander movie Kalyana Agathigal in 1985, portraying a secondary supporting role, before moving on to play villainous roles. With the breakthrough role through his performance in Nayakan (1987), he became one of the most important actors in Indian cinema.[2] He subsequently became a regular in Mani Ratnam and Kamal Haasan ventures. He is mostly seen in supporting or villainous roles. He speaks fluent Hindi, Tamil, Urdu, English, Arabic, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam.[3]

Early life and education

Nassar was born on 5 March 1958 to Mehaboob Basha and Mumtaz in Tamil Nadu, India. He studied in St. Joseph's Higher Secondary School (Chengalpattu). He moved to Madras (now Chennai) after school, where he finished his pre-university at Madras Christian College. At Madras Christian College, he was an active member of the Dramatic Society. Later for a brief time, he worked in the Indian Air Force. He trained in two acting schools: the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce's Film Institute and the Tamil Nadu Institute for Film and Television Technology.[4][5][6][7][8]

Career

See also: Nassar filmography

Nassar made his acting debut in K. Balachander's Kalyana Agathigal (1985) portraying a secondary supporting role, before moving on to play villainous roles in S. P. Muthuraman's Velaikaran (1987) and Vanna Kanavugal (1987). He played the protagonist in Yuhi Sethu's Kavithai Paada Neramillai (1987), though his breakthrough role came through his performance as a police officer in Mani Ratnam's Nayakan (1987). He subsequently became a regular in Mani Ratnam and Kamal Haasan's ventures, appearing in pivotal character roles in Roja (1992), Thevar Magan (1992), Bombay (1995), Kuruthipunal (1995) and Iruvar (1997).

Nassar made his directorial debut with Avatharam (1995), a film based on the backdrop of a folk art troupe. Starring Revathi as his co-star, Nassar stated that the idea had come to him as a result of his childhood memories of watching theru koothu being performed on the streets alongside his father. The film won critical acclaim, but failed to become a commercially successful venture.[9] Soon afterwards, he made Devathai (1997), stating he remembered a story he had first heard as a child, which became the "creative seed for this film" about reincarnation.[9] He stated that his immediate busy schedule had subsequently cost him a role in Aamir Khan's Lagaan (2001).[10] He subsequently continued to work in films in the late 1990s, portraying a blind musician in Rajiv Menon's Minsara Kanavu (1997), a political leader in Mani Ratnam's Iruvar (1997) and as the father of a pair of separated twins in S. Shankar's Jeans (1998).

Some of the films that he has acted in Telugu include Chanti (1992), Bhageeratha (2005), Athadu (2005), Pokiri (2006), Golimaar (2010), Shakthi (2011), Dookudu (2011) and among others. Besides South India language films, he has acted in some Hindi language films like Chachi 420 (1997), Phir Milenge (2004), Nishabd (2007), Saala Khadoos (2016) and among others. He played a pivotal role in the films Baahubali: The Beginning (2015) and Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017).[11]

In the Baahubali franchise, Nassar played Bijjaladeva.[12]

Personal life

Nassar is married to Producer turned Politician, Kameela and they have three sons. The eldest, Abdul Asan Faizal was initially reported to be making his acting debut in a film to be produced by T. Siva, but eventually did not do so.[13] In 2014, he was involved in a serious road accident but recovered after being critically injured.[14] Their second son, Luthfudeen, made his acting debut in A. L. Vijay's Saivam (2014) portraying the grandson of the character played by Nassar.[15] Their third son Abi Hassan is also an actor and featured in Nassar's Sun Sun Thatha (2012).[16][17]

References

1. "Nadigar Sangam elections 2015 : Results". Telangananewspaper.com. Archived from the original on 19 October 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 20 January 2019. Retrieved 20 January 2019.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 21 February 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2019.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
4. "Nasser: a one-man industry". The Hindu. 23 February 2006. Archived from the original on 18 September 2009. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
5. "Nasser — fearless and forthright". The Hindu. 10 September 2004. Archived from the original on 4 November 2008. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
6. "Mr. Versatile". The Hindu. 13 March 2009. Archived from the original on 31 May 2009. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
7. "Reviving an old connection". The Hindu. 1 September 2009. Archived from the original on 23 October 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
8. "A perfectionist to the core". The Hindu. 4 August 2007. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
9. "Rediff On The Net, Movies: An interview with Tamil actor-director Nasser". Rediff.com. 1 September 1997. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
10. "rediff.com, Movies: The Nasser Interview". Rediff.com. 10 January 2002. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
11. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/baahubali-has-really-taken-away-my-privacy-says-actor-nassar-in-lucknow/articleshow/68864356.cms
12. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2 October 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2019.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
13. "Actor's son makes his debut - Behindwoods.com - Tamil Movies News - Nasser Shiva Mariyadhai". Behindwoods.com. Archived from the original on 27 April 2014. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
14. "Nasser's son recovers following road accident - The Times of India". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 24 May 2014. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
15. "Actor Nassar`s son to make his debut". Sify.com. 28 January 2014. Archived from the original on 27 November 2014. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
16. "Nassar directs, son debuts - The Times of India". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 10 November 2012. Archived from the original on 24 November 2018. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
17. "'I didn't get 'Kadaram Kondan' because I'm Nasser's son,' says Abi Haasan". The Hindu. 10 July 2019. Retrieved 18 July 2019.

External links

• Nassar on IMDb