While there are many artistes who have transitioned to the silver screen from the small screen, there are still a few talented people in Sandalwood who remain consciously loyal to television. Child artiste H Anand is one of them. Popular as Master Anand, he started his career in 1989 and for the next 10 years, he had the opportunity to portray a variety of roles as a child artist. He worked with popular comedians like Doddanna and Tennis Krishna among others.
This modest star who is a household name after his small screen work as a director and actor in SSLC Nan Makklu, Paduvaralli Paddegalu and now Robot Family, which is quite popular, says that he followed the example of Puneeth Rajkumar and Manjunath.
“I am glad that I began as a child artiste and I could prove my acting abilities in films like Muthinna Hara, Gowri Ganesha, and Karpoorada Gombe. Having been in the industry from the early 90s, I have seen an overall industry transformation and now after 25 years in the industry, I think I still exist because of the discipline that I have maintained all these years,” says Anand.
The actor who was last seen in the film Pyarge Aagbittaite along with Komal is quite confident about his decision to keep his presence minimal on the silver screen. “Juggling two mediums will only spoil the quality. Today, the satisfaction I receive from audiences on small screen is encouraging. I want to be committed to one thing and so I have chosen to be on the small screen for now,” he says.
Helming the camera for a comedy serial, he says that making people laugh is not easy. “Unlike a family drama, comedy cannot be novel-based or an incident told in a series. We need to think of daily concepts, current issues and convert that into comedy for the audience to get connected. Directing a comedy is like a 24-hour job,” he says.
“Comedy has not died, but I think, comparatively, the quality is not up to the mark. I am not generalising as there are people who are thinking fresh, but what we see today is either inspired or remade from old comic concepts which do not have originality. We need some real comedy and it is necessary that it is created for the family, which is lacking,” he says.
Anand also feels that all child artistes cannot become stars unless they come from a celebrity background. He explains, “My general observation is that it is difficult to get launched today without a godfather. But I have gained experience by directing three serials and I am able to create a number of concepts for the big screen also,” says Anand, who did try his hands on directing a movie, 5 Idiots, which did not catch fire.
He also justifies the trend of comedians turning heroes. “Comedy is a very serious job. A comedian can do all characters with ease. Komal or Sharan have turned heroes only after many years of experience as comedians. It is a risky job but they are ready to take a chance and there is opportunity too,” he signs off.