Nassar

Nassar is an Indian film actor, director and producer, who mainly works in the South Indian film industry. Nassar 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. He played the protagonist in Yuhi Sethu's Kavithai Paada Neramillai, though his breakthrough role came through his performance as a police officer in Mani Ratnam's Nayakan. He subsequently became a regular in Mani Ratnam and Kamal Haasan's ventures, appearing in pivotal character roles in Roja, Thevar Magan (1992), Bombay (1994) and Kuruthipunal (1995). 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. 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", talking about how he picked to make a story on reincarnation. In the late 1990s, he portrayed a blind musician in Rajiv Menon's Minsara Kanavu (1997), a political leader in Mani Ratnam's Iruvar (1997) and a pair of separated twins in S. Shankar's Jeans (1997).