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From the UAE to the big screen: Bollywood actor Vishak Nair recalls his Sharjah, Dubai days

'UAE’s multilingualism enables Indian actors to work in Bollywood and other film industries,' says star

Vishak Nair is a pan-Indian star. While the first film where he has a leading role, Footage, will release shortly, he will be seen playing the role of Sanjay Gandhi in Emergency, the Indira Gandhi biopic directed by Kangana Ranaut.

Nair was raised in Rolla Sharjah and is a student of Delhi Private School, Dubai. A studious child, he sensed his acting prowess while in high school, where he took part in theatre and cultural activities before films happened.“I lost my younger brother to a malignant brain tumour while in school and my friends got together and pulled me out of the hole. We made a film.”

His English teacher, Prabha ma'am, used to encourage him to take part in cultural festivals in Sharjah and Dubai. “I was good at studies and extra-curricular activities. I have been onstage during the regular Malayali Samajams and Onam celebrations from my 10th standard onwards.”

He then went on to do his engineering in India and worked while pursuing theatre in the evenings. He is also trained in western classical music from K M Conservatory, AR Rahman’s music school. “I was about to take admission at the Indian School of Business when I got a call for audition for Anandam, my first film. I was shocked like everyone else.”

But his dad had to give the nod. “Dad, being a Chartered Account, asked me to give him a total page count of the script, number of lines I would say, my screen time and would allow me only if it matched his minimum cut-offs. But the role was so meaty, he agreed.”

Emergency, is Nair's second film with Ranaut. The first one was Tejas, which came out earlier this year. “She is a powerhouse of creativity and is very clear as to what she wants to do with her film. I have directorial ambitions too and it was sheer pleasure to see her work.”

Besides directing, Ranaut plays the late Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi, in the movie.

“Sanjay Gandhi was an enigmatic figure. Most of my references of him are from archival footage where he is in a performative space addressing a rally or making a speech. Rarely do we have reference of him in a natural, intimate space. The book The Sanjay Story gave me a lot of insights. The challenge was to humanise him not caricaturise him.”

Nair plays the lead in Malayalam film Footage, opposite the brilliant Manju Warrier. “She is an absolute boss. Given her position and power she could slack off but no, she is ever so ready to learn and super inspiring. There were many action sequences shot in the forest and she pushed her boundaries. Also, she has no qualms [about] saying, 'I don’t know'. She is constantly evolving and that is the reason to her longevity.”

Nair, who straddles Bollywood and the Malayalam film industry, speaks several languages fluently. “[Director] Anurag Kashyap asked me how I could speak both Hindi and Malayalam well and I told him I am from the UAE. We are culturally more exposed and grow up with multiple languages around us and pick it up easily,” he says.

Was it easy to read Malayalam, though he could speak it?

“Since most Malayalis speak their mother tongue, speech wasn’t a problem. But I couldn’t read and write the language that I learnt eventually.”

Does he remember his first shot? “Since we all were new, there was a lot of learning and unlearning. The film did well and for the first time I saw people in the mall look at me and scream the name of the character I played. Mum, who works with the Kerala Government as a Superintendent Engineer, had tears in her eyes.”

His second film was with the legendary Mamooty and he went on to work with several people including Anjali Menon and Radhika Apte.

Does he nurse directorial dreams ? “Direction is not just a creative job but an intensive, logistical and managerial one.You have to be able to manage money and people. I aim to do a female-centric film that is a fun action caper.”

To an actor who is at a vortex of different cultures playing various roles, where is home? Pat comes the reply. “Rolla - Sharjah! I have such fond memories. We used to play football and cricket daily in the heat. I got married two years ago and want to come to the UAE and show my wife around all the places dear to me, including my school.”

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