V Md Amanulla, popular with his screen name as Amaan, is a recognised face in film, television and theatre circles in Karnataka. Even today people identify him as Nakul from Prakash Belawadi’s series, Garva. He played pivotal roles in noted serials of the time, including Hombala for Zee Kannada, Bidagi Chandramma and Mouna Raga for ETV, Chitrasmarane and Tholeda Muthu for DD 9, directed by stalwarts of the small screen of the era such as P Sheshadri and Sihi Kahi Chandru. In fact, Amaan got so busy with his acting career that he had to quit his day job as cabin crew with an airline.
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“Those were my golden days,” says Amaan. “I was young, a household name and thought that there would be no looking back, but that did not happen.” Post Amaan’s National Award for Prakash Belawadi’s Stumble, there was a four-year lull as the television industry went through a organisational shift. “They were looking for new faces and suddenly I felt my presence was wiped out from the world of small screen.”
Amaan took to theatre as a child and returned to it during the long waiting periods for roles in films. “That is what sustained my creative passion, but keeping the kitchen fires burning through stage is a challenge.” During the lull, Amaan, returned to working for the airline as well. “This time I was in the sales department as I had started losing hair and was not considered fit for cabin crew,” Amaan says with a laugh.
Calling his father the “culprit” for instilling the passion for acting in him, Amaan says, “I am an only son and my father is a religious man, who knew nothing besides work, family, reading the Quran and praying five times a day. He was aware that I would playact imaginary characters on our terrace.”
As his father could not afford to take Amaan to watch films, he would take him to Ravindra Kalakshetra by bus every weekend. “He would either sit in a corner or doze off, while I explored the place. I was a child of six or seven and would watch theatre legends such as BV Karanth and MS Sathyu in action as they rehearsed plays.”
When Amaan’s father learnt that Shankar Nag was auditioning children for Malgudi Days, he went all over the city and finally found the place where the auditions where taking place and took Amaan for them. “I spent three full days and was chosen to play Swami’s friend. The role required me to be away from school for 32 days and my father was not happy about it so I lost that chance.”
Amaan treasure every moment he interacted with Shankar Nag. “Trying on the costumes and acting in front of the camera... everything struck a chord in me and I knew that this is what I wanted to do.” Amaan started off with English theatre with Mahesh Dattani, Prakash, Poile Sengupta and Chippy Ganjee. “I started with theatre, progressed to television and finally the silver screen.”
Amaan has worked with directors including KM Chaitanya (Aa Dinagalu, Aadya), K Suchendra Prasad (Sangdhigdha), R Madhavan (Rocketry - The Nambi Effect) and Manu Anand (FIR). “I feel blessed to have worked across the five Indian languages, and with some of the best actors, directors and technicians from the world of cinema.”
Amaan awaits the release of two Kannada films — Basrikatte and 3Devi. “No offers have come my way, for a while now making me feel like a struggling actor all over again. I wonder if one has to always knock on doors for a role, despite having the credentials and being known to deliver? You cannot command work in the industry. I took up jobs as a corporate consultant to sustain my family financially.”
Having a flood of offers and then facing a drought has been a pattern for the past two decades, Amaan says. “That is when I tell myself I am still struggling actor. One should never give up trying if your heart and soul is in it. So the trials will also continue.”
