January 29, 2012 Y. Sunitha Chowdhary
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Nasser is in a happy place, with a repertoire of 400 plus films he goes about his work every morning to the sets with an enthusiasm of a child, eager to learn and give the best of what is expected of him. He has been part of director Puri Jagannath's Pokiri and now Businessman both of which have been a success at the box-office; In the former he plays the hero's father and in the latter he is the heroine's father.
Ask him if it's true that character artistes have lost their importance and space in contemporary cinema, he doesn't agree. He avers, "Character artistes have well-defined roles even now, I feel the quantity or the volume is not of importance, how much of it is well presented and makes an impact matters, ultimately the goal is box-office success. My duty is to deliver what is asked of me, I try to do my best and add value to the character. The definition of the character I repeat is important.
Puri Jagan never thinks beyond films, he is a thorough professional, very sure of his shots and doesn't take too many of them. Businessman was shot in 74 days and this clarity is what we need, he knows how to pamper and control his artistes, and is a very good ring master."
The actor says there is no place for monotony in his life and if it were to creep in he would have quit long back. When he is not shooting he is either reading, writing or sculpting; But when he is with his family he prefers to be with them and do nothing.
He quips, "I enjoy my work, there are no goals, but use the term responsibility, then yes. I don't want to strain or stretch my life for a goal. Movies are just part of my life but whatever little I do I put in 100 percent." Nasser observes that there has been a progress in cinema technically and he changes himself to adapt to the needs of the director and live up to his vision.
He adds, "I've retained the quality of a learner and I find the work every day interesting, one has to move on and develop otherwise you tend to stagnate and monotony sets in. It was different when I came here, I appreciate the qualities of the current day directors and the change that is happening is drastic.
Those days the technology was limited for the director, we had only a camera, trolley and a maximum a crane, but we had wonderful stories, wonderful emotions. There was no monitor those days, once the shot got over we would turn our face and look at the director for approval, if he smiles that meant he is happy with the work and it would mean a world to us.
The appreciation would keep us going, but now the director's focus is towards the monitor, he has his compulsions to see if everything, every frame is perfect and they have to discuss if we have to go for another shot or not, they have to compete with others..we cant complain though but some where I feel that after all the narration and work what does an actor need? An appreciation. The intimacy, the vibes between the actor and the director is lost.
Technology is taking over in other States as well but notice that we produced an ANR, an NTR, Rajnikanth and Chiranjeevi, etc., all without these technology. I'm not against technology, but we have to understand the significance of the emotions." Nasser doesn't quite approve when you term him a born artist.
He says, "I am here in this industry because of my training, you are calling me a reasonable actor or a good actor because of my training. I have acquired these skills and I don't believe it when people are called born artistes, no one is a born doctor, lawyer or scientist. A good training hones you, polishes, removes your inhibitions and gives you confidence, fights your fear to survive in this world. It applies to any field, I remember my father insisting on me becoming an actor and I going through the training and workshops".
Nasser projects a very stern personality, the no nonsense type but he is in fact very warm, cordial and accessible. He signs off, "I guess that impression that people have of me is from the characters I portrayed in films. Actually speaking I'm not a great person, not too important either than the scavenger who cleans the municipality."
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