Comedian-turned-actor Nadirshah was first offered a chance to helm a movie by famous producer GoodKnight Mohan. He refused it, because he simply didn’t know how to do it.
Now, almost a decade later, Nadirshah the director has arrived and how. His Amar Akbar Anthony, a humour outing starring Prithviraj, Indrajith and Jayasoorya in the lead, is on its way to becoming the top grosser of the year. “The response is beyond my expectations. Everyone was confident that it is going to be a hit, but I waited for the audience reaction,” he says.
Nadirshah might have had a steady presence in Mollywood juggling many things for over two decades, but he waited for the “right time and right story” before venturing into direction.
It all happened when two youngsters, Vishnu Unnikrishnan and Bibin George, brought him a script. “When I heard the story, I knew this was going to be my debut. But then, things weren’t smooth. Though it was a full-on comic ride, its pace was heavily dependent on the making. One misstep could ruin it forever and the topic of child abuse, which I have dealt with, is ultra-sensitive,” says Nadirshah.
His vast experience in the industry may have enabled him to tackle humour, but Nadirshah says he didn’t want a ‘vacuous movie which offers nothing but a few laughs’. “The humour was inevitable, but there had to be a social message and that’s what I did through Amar Akbar Anthony,” he adds.
Released on October 16, the film has managed to elicit laughter and at the same time thrust a very relevant subject on the Malayali consciousness—child abuse. Nadirshah says he wanted to say it without the gloom associated with it. “It was a fine line that I tread. I was careful to depict the subject in all its seriousness, while not slowing the tempo of the movie. Not a single scene is shown where a child is in pain. But, at the same time, the message had to be clear and powerful,” he says.
The overwhelming success of the film has only made him wary. So, he is in no mood to jump onto another project. “Till now, I had this tag of ‘Mimicry artist Nadirshah’. Now, the response to the film has made me more apprehensive. The bar is too high and I am not confident as to how I’m going to surpass it,” says Nadirshah, who is planning a Tamil remake of the film.
“The story line will be intact but changes will be made to suit the taste of the Tamil audience. We have not decided on the cast or other details,” he says.
And for his next Malayalam project? “My mind is empty. I might as well sit idle, rather than rush on with another project. I can take up work only if I am convinced. I am in no hurry,” says Nadirshah.
