Abbas turns 46: Five memorable roles of the '90s sensation

Abbas, one of the most loved actors of the ’90s, has turned 46. The model-turned-actor made his tinsel town debut with Kadhir’s romantic outing Kadhal Desam (1996) and became an overnight sensation with his charming looks and style. A hit among the ladies, the actor went on to do a number of films as the lead actor, second lead and even negative characters. His filmography included work in Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada.

Abbas became a star overnight after his splashing debut with the romantic film Kadhal Desam, which was directed by Kadhir and produced by KT Kunjumon. The film had Abbas, Vineeth, Tabu, SP Balasubrahmanyam, Vadivelu, Chinni Jayanth and Srividya in crucial roles. Abbas was roped in for the role of Arun after a screen test despite him not being very familiar with Tamil. Vikram had dubbed for the actor. The music for the film was super hit and the college anthem ‘Mustafa Mustafa’ continues to be one of the most popular songs of AR Rahman even today.

The film, which was an adaptation of Jane Austen’s 1811 novel Sense and Sensibility, was directed by Rajiv Menon and had an ensemble cast comprising Mammootty, Ajith, Abbas, Tabu, Aishwarya Rai, Srividya, Manivannan , Raghuvaran and Shamili. Abbas played Srikanth, a businessman, who is interested in Tamil poetry, music and dance. He is also Meenakshi’s (Aishwarya Rai) love interest, but eventually decides to marry the daughter of a businessman, who bails out him and his company from a financial crisis. The actor won a lot of appreciation for his performance in the film.

In Gautham Menon’s debut directorial Minnale, Abbas played the college student Rajiv Samuel, who is constantly at loggerheads with his collegemate Rajesh (Madhavan). Years later, the duo falls in love with the same woman, Reena Joseph (Reemma Sen). The film was a hit among the yuppie crowd and the music composed by Harris Jayaraj, too, became a chartbuster. Abbas and Madhavan collaborated for the second time in Minnale after their Kannada film Shanti Shanti Shanti.

This family drama, directed by N Lingusamy, had an ensemble cast, which included Mamootty, Murali, Abbas, Devayani, Rambha, Sneha, Delhi Ganesh, Srividya and Shyam Ganesh. Abbas played Kannan, the doting brother, who falls in love with his classmate Viji (Sneha), who is the daughter of a rich man Thavasi (Vijayakumar). Kannan even goes to the extent of cancelling his wedding when he learns that he has to remain ‘veettoda maapilai’ after the wedding, to be with his brothers. Abbas aced his role as Kannan and his character was much-loved by all. The film, went on to become a super hit.

Abbas appeared in a primary supporting character along with Sneha in the Kamal Haasan-Simran-starrer Pammal K Sambandam, directed by Moulee. He played Anand, whose marriage with Malathi (Sneha) is on the rocks, after she feels that he had ‘lied’ to her about a job assignment in Australia. He is constantly dumped with household chores. Abbas played his character to perfection and even managed to garner sympathy in the laugh riot. The dialogues by Crazy Mohan were a hit.