A tribute to Prem Naseer- Evergreen Hero of yesteryears.
You wanted low budget, commercial movies?-Prem Naseer doled out 100’s of them, over 700 to give a ballpark figure. Cine Goers loved him, especially women who loved the tear jerker family dramas he acted in with Sheela, Sharada and Jayabharati.
If Sathyan was the upper-crust elitist’s accomplished actor, Prem Naseer was everybody’s hero, a true blue collar working class actor, who tirelessly churned out movies after movies for the rich and poor, the penniless farmers and the handrikshaw pullers, the coolies at the railway station and the expatriate malayalees, like my parents who moved to northern part of India looking for work and a better life. He romanced the heroines, beat up the bad guys, played the unemployed union activist, dedicated son and rich spoiled brat with a soft heart, with equal aplomb.
He made a good team with Adoor Bhasi as the comedic sidekick. As a lead pair, Sheela acted with him in a record number of movies. In my eyes he was a true super star, remaining a top Malayalam film actor for many years spanning from early sixties to the early seventies. if Amitabh was my favorite Hindi actor for his splendid performance in Zanjeer and Deeewar, Prem Naseer was my favorite Malayalam actor for all the cheap laughs and stunts, melodious songs ( sung by Yesudas), and family drama.
Naseer sir, thank you from the bottom of my heart for bringing 3 hours of fantasy, every now and then which otherwise was a somewhat forgettable childhood, dealing with the anguish of blue collar working class parents, antagonistic surroundings and a general sense of not belonging.
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My father is a Prem Naseer fan as well. Being half mallu, I got to watch all the mallu movies that were shown on DD 1 on Sunday afternoons and also the ones Asianet and Surya used to show (in the daytime only, he he). The most famous movie that *I* remember from the ones that I have seen, is Thulabharam.
Anantha,
It’s been a long time I watched any malayalam movies, but the ones that stand out are ‘Pani theeratha veedu”, ” Aaromalunni” etc. I may have seen Thulabharam too.
Cheers!
i’ve heard the name in passing, but don’t really know anything about him and his films. i’ll have to check out the couple that you mentioned cliff.. thanks.
Interesting personal perspective, Cliff.
Prem Naseer holds the Guinness records for maximum number of movies as hero (around 500) and maximum number of movies with same heroine (Sheela, around 100). Phenomenal numbers!
Didn’t know much about Naseer..thanks for the insight. great read.
@Striker: Naseer was never a ‘great’ actor (those days, you know), but he was easily one of most popular heroes in Malayalam cinema, ever. He also had the best ever songs, when K,J.Yesudas was at his peak. Movies-wise, IMHO his best performance was in ‘Iruttinde Aatmavu’ (Soul of the Night), its an oldie though. Padayottam (adapted from the Count of Monte Cristo) is a good one too; also noted for the fact that Mammootty & Mohanlal appeared together for the first time in it, albeit Mammootty played both the villain and Lal’s dad).
@Ranjit:
You are right. He was not a “Great actor” per se, I would consider “Sathyan” a great actor. He was probably easy to work with and “cheap” for the producers which led to him acting in so many movies and being so popular. Also, he immortalized many of Yesudas’ songs.
I have heard great reviews about “Iruttinte Atmavu”, not sure if I have seen it. If I can get it on DVD, I will see it again.
@Cliff: I saw ‘Iruttinde..’ long ago, and yes, Nazir was fabulous in it. Sathyan, yeah…he was a real good actor!
my child hood hero was Mr prem nazeer , stil now too i am spending time to watch the his filiem , i just want visit his native place chirayinkeezhu, and visit his family also
thank u
rasheed koyilandi
Prem Nazir is the best actor seen in malayalam.
I AM THE RELATIVE OF THE GREAT ACTOR PREM NASEER. THAT MEANS MY MOTHERS 1ST COUSINS WIFE IS THE GRAND DAUGHTER OF PREM NASEER.HER MOTHERS NAME IS RITA
Since last 1 year iam collecting the informations about prem nazir. but now he is a energy booster for me. he was a great actor and more over a good person who helps others.
Yes , he was not a great actor, but as per my knowledge he was a good human being, at the same time acting style of old and new are different , old style is dramatic (with uncommon dialogue )Now I feel acting became more natural ,but cinema is still far away from real life . Even if we are watching the old films of Mamooty & Mohanlal you will feel boring. Rapid changes in technology also made new cinema more perfect.