Actors are often envied for their professional perks that take them to the most exotic of places for their shoots. That is only one side of the coin; they also shoot in locales that a normal man would think twice about entering. Ameer Niyaz who is acting in the tri-lingual film Kaanagan, to be made in Tamil, Telugu and Kannada, had some close encounters of the wild kind. Though Ameer plays the antagonist in the film, it is a very pivotal role and he explains, “We had to shoot deep inside the forests near Hyderabad for around 20 days where the nearest village was miles away.”
“The whole crew used to get up at 4.30 am every morning and then walk for half an hour into the deep forest for the shoot. By 5.30 pm the whole forest turns dark and for the first time in my life, I slept by 7.30 pm which is unthinkable for a city guy like me! There was no computer, the mobile phones had no network and we were completely cut off from the outside world for those 20 days. Walking outside our lodgings was not an option because of the risk of wild animals attacking us; I just wished that the shoot would get over fast so that I could go back to my city life!”
Though, the film was shot in three different languages, Ameer mentions that since the crew was the same he had no difficulty with the language. The shoot of the film took a year to complete and Ameer had to forgo many other offers since he had a different look in Kaanagan which could not be compromised. The film is an action-oriented one and he has pinned a lot of hopes on it.
He has had roles in films like Sevens, Puthumukhangal and Run Baby Run. He also was a part of the film My Life Partner which had gay undertones and faced its own share of problems after its release. He says, “My acting in the film did not affect my career and the film was even nominated for awards at the national level.” He is currently acting in the upcoming action comedy Malayalam film Kolamass where he plays the role of a man who works in an advertising company and comes to the village from the city.
Ameer is also running a business in Dubai and adds that he does not find it difficult flying between Dubai and Kerala for his films. Though he admits films being a competitive arena, he is adamant about being selective.
