M. Nassar (born Muhammad Hanif; 5 March 1958) is an Indian actor, director, producer, dubbing artist, singer and politician who mainly works in the Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam film industries. He has also worked in few Kannada, English, Hindi and Bengali films. He is the incumbent president of the Nadigar Sangam.[1]
Nassar | |
|---|---|
 Nassar at Oru Kadhai Sollatuma Audio Launch | |
| President of South Indian Nadigar Sangam | |
| Assumed office 2015 | |
| Vice President | Karunas, Ponvannan |
| Preceded by | R. Sarath Kumar |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Muhammad Hanif 5 March 1958 Palur, Chengalpattu, Madras State (now in Tamil Nadu), India |
| Spouse | Kameela |
| Children | 3, including Luthfudeen |
| Residence(s) | Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Occupation | Actor, producer, director |
Early life and education
editNassar was born Muhammad Hanif, on 5 March 1958 to Mehaboob Basha and Mumtaz in Palur, 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.[2] At Madras Christian College, he was an active member of the Dramatic Society.[3][4] 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.[5][6][7]
Career
editNassar 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), Chachi 420 (1997) and Iruvar (1997).[8]
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).
In Malayalam cinema, he is noted for his roles alongside Mohanlal in films like Mukham (1990), Butterflies (1993) and Olympian Anthony Adam (1999). Some of the films that he has acted in Telugu include Chanti (1992), Seshu (2002), Bhageeratha (2005), Athadu (2005), Pokiri (2006), Golimaar (2010), Shakthi (2011), Dookudu (2011), Businessman (2012) and among others.
Besides South Indian language films, he has acted in Hindi language films like Chachi 420 (1997), Phir Milenge (2004), Nishabd (2007), Rowdy Rathore (2012), Saala Khadoos (2016) and Serious Men (2020) among others.[11]
He played Bijjaladeva, a pivotal role in the films Baahubali: The Beginning (2015) and Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017).[12][13]
He was seen as the mysterious antagonist in Ponniyin Selvan: I (2022) and Ponniyin Selvan: II (2023). He plays a two-faced character in the Hindi web series The Jengaburu Curse (2023).[14]
Personal life
editNassar 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.[15] In 2014, he was involved in a serious road accident but recovered after being critically injured.[16] Their second son, Luthfudeen, made his acting debut in A. L. Vijay's Saivam (2014) portraying the grandson of the character played by Nassar.[17] Their third son Abi Hassan is also an actor and featured in Nassar's Sun Sun Thatha (2012)[18] as well as Rajesh Selva's 2019 action thriller Kadaram Kondan.[19]
References
edit- ^ "Sivaji Ganesan to Nassar: Five actors who had a longest-serving period in Nadigar Sangam".
- ^ "Nasser — fearless and forthright". The Hindu. 10 September 2004. Archived from the original on 4 November 2008. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
- ^ "A perfectionist to the core". The Hindu. 4 August 2007. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
- ^ "Nasser: a one-man industry". The Hindu. 23 February 2006. Archived from the original on 18 September 2009. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
- ^ "Mr. Versatile". The Hindu. 13 March 2009. Archived from the original on 31 May 2009. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
- ^ "Reviving an old connection". The Hindu. 1 September 2009. Archived from the original on 23 October 2013. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
- ^ "விடாமுயற்சிக்கு ஒரு நாசர்". Kalki (in Tamil). 2 May 1993. pp. 25–26. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
- ^ "Archived copy". tmcafe.com. Archived from the original on 2 July 2001. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ a b "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.
- ^ "rediff.com, Movies: The Nasser Interview". Rediff.com. 10 January 2002. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
- ^ "Nawazuddin Siddiqui's 'Serious Men' to hit Netflix on October 2". The Hindu. 16 September 2020. Archived from the original on 11 October 2020. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
- ^ "Nassar Biography- Career Awards and Net worth: Bijjaladeva in Bahubali". 23 March 2017. Archived from the original on 2 October 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
- ^ "Baahubali has really taken away my privacy! says actor Nassar in Lucknow". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 20 September 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
- ^ "Nasser reveals he shot his part in Ponniyin Selvan I in a day: 'I feel bad, I was supposed to have more scenes'".
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Actor Nassar's son to make his debut". Sify. 28 January 2014. Archived from the original on 27 November 2014. Retrieved 19 October 2015.
- ^ "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.
- ^ Kumar, Pradeep (10 July 2019). "'I didn't get 'Kadaram Kondan' because I'm Nasser's son,' says Abi Haasan". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2019.