Nigel signs south film

Muktodhara 2 isn���t up his street, but Tollywood certainly is. Back from a hiatus, the actor is set to do more films; multi-layered roles are welcome
Time is the best healer. Incensed and breathing fire, Nigel Akkara had withdrawn into a shell right after his first film, Muktodhara, wowed critics and masses alike. His reason? The film wasn���t too real after all.Now, after a small break, Nigel is back to revealing the actor in him. He has signed a Malayalam film by M Padmakumar, shooting for which will begin in January.
Nigel is all set to play a zamindar in the film, Orissa, which stars Malayali actor Unni Mukundan and Odia actress Saanika Nambiar. ���I was approached by the director and didn���t need to audition for the role. I landed at the film���s muhurat and got introduced to the cast,��� says Nigel. But hadn���t he, in his anger, decided to quit filmdom? ���I had decided not to do Muktodhara 2, not other films. I had a lot of offers coming my way, where I was expected to play a villain. But I���m not ready to take up roles which are meant to bash up the hero or kidnap the heroine. I���m keen on doing something on the lines of Naseeruddin Shah in Sarfarosh or take up a film like Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai,��� says the actor. The best part about doing a film outside Bengal is to keep voyeurism at bay. ���People take more interest in my life than the work I do. The south director didn���t mention me as an ex-prisoner, while getting me introduced to the cast. That helps,��� he says. The shooting will take place in Odisha from January 12. Padmakumar is no less excited. ���I had read an article on Nigel in a local newspaper and decided to cast him in the film. Orissa revolves around a zamindar family and will make the audience travel back 25 years,��� he says.
Meanwhile, Nigel is gearing up for more such films. He has roped in two managers ��� Badal Chandra Saha and Goutam Mondal ��� for his security agency, both of whom are former convicts. ���So far I have rehabilitated 40 ex-prisoners. Around 16 of them worked for a few months till they found a better job. At times, the jail officer calls up to ask me if I would take someone in my agency. Others get in touch with me or Madame (Alokananda Roy). Some have worked with me in Balmiki Pratibha. Now that I���ve trained them and have things in order, I can concentrate on films. There���s no point in treating it like a side-business. There are other Tollywood offers and I���m ready to sign one in February,��� he says.