Abi Mehdi Hassan who is the son of the famous M. Nassar, is one of the cast of "Kadaram Kondan". Still finding his way in the industry, he said that his decision in wanting to be a working actor many years ago sparked a desire in him to succeed.

"I've always known I wanted to get into acting," he revealed. He enrolled in a diploma course in acting at the Blue Ocean Film and Television Academy and after graduating, Abi made his acting debut in the 2012 film "Sun Sun Thatha" (a film set in Malaysia and directed by his father). After his film debut, he started to receive a steady stream of offers from various filmmakers but wasn't impressed with any of them so he chose instead to work as an assistant director with Atlee for "Mersal".

"Mersal" was a rewarding experience, not monetarily, but in understanding the film making process. "I only had an actor's perspective of what films were until "Mersal" happened. But when you're an assistant director on a salary of Rs10,000 per month, and when, sometimes you may not get the daily allowances after a hard day's work... (sighs)... that's when you realise how hard people have it in the film industry. I learnt those things," he said.

Things did not improve after "Mersal" and he admitted to being "idle" for at least eight months after the shoot. However, the situation started to improve when Kamal Haasan suggested his name to director Rajesh.

"The easiest option to imagine is... 'Oh, Abi got this opportunity because he is Nasser's son'... but that was not the case. Yes, Kamal sir and my father are friends. But they (RKFI) had other options for my role from the Telugu industry, and from Mumbai. I had to go through an audition process to land the role," he said.

The audition was anything but smooth according to him. Abi had to endure a period of uncertainty, and was subjected to workshops and tests, where he had to prove his acting chops to Kamal Haasan before the latter was convinced that he was the best fit to play the role of Vasu.

During the trailer launch, Rajesh explained that Hassan is the second lead in the film and Abi is honoured to be working with the experienced actor.

"Growing up, I've always imagined that I would want to be an actor like Vikram sir. He is so versatile and he goes great lengths to transform himself into the character he plays," he said, adding that the senior pro made him feel comfortable while filming. "He adds energy to the sets. He made me feel at home during the outdoor shoot."

However, Abi is adamant that he doesn't wish to follow in any actor's footsteps but wants to carve a name of his own. And he has a good idea on how to do just that.

"It starts with the selection of scripts. I don't want to be a part of clichéd films the Tamil industry churns out often, where there is always two people, a love angle; then a conflict happens, and eventually the hero prevails. I want to do films closer to reality, and it must be something everyone can relate to.It all depends on the script and how they work. It doesn't matter if it is a first timer or a big name director," he said confidently.

Source: The Hindu
Photo Credit: Silver screen