This actor was a star in 90s and 2000s, working with the likes of Aishwarya Rai, Rajinikanth, and Kamal Haasan, before a career choice ruined him.
In cinema, fame can be fickle. There have been many actors who slog it out for years before making it big. Nawazuddin Siddiqui is a prime example. Then there are actors at the other end of the spectrum, who get success, fame, and money – everything very quickly, before it all comes crashing down. This is the story of one actor who was poised to become a superstar before fate took it all away.
The actor who was a star at 22
Mirza Abbas Ali, known as Abbas, was born in 1975, began his career in 1996. Even though he did not know Tamil, Abbas memorised his lines and became successful soon, being called the upcoming star. In that phase of his career, he was considered a better bet for romantic roles than other rising stars like Vijay, Madhavan, and Ajith Kumar, and other south stars like Prabhas. He worked alongside top actresses like Tabu and Aishwarya Rai in this time. But in the early 2000s, he had a string of unsuccessful films at the box office, which dimmed his star.
How one mistake ruined Abbas’ career
His decision of doing supporting roles in films headlined by Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan is said to have hurt his image as a lead actor. Abbas played bit roles in Hey Ram and Padayappa andwhile both films were successful, Abbas was reduced to a supporting actor. While his performance in Aanandham and Pammal K. Sambandam were praised by critics, Abbas’ career stalled. His Bollywood debut Ansh flopped and a number of other films were shelved, leading to more supporting roles. By 2014, citing diminished interest in films, he moved to New Zealand.
Abbas’ life in New Zealand and what he does now
Abbas reportedly lost money upon moving to Auckland in New Zealand. As per reports, he did a lot of menial jobs there, working as a mechanic and taxi driver, and occasionally cleaning toilets. Abbas continues to live in New Zealand and currently works as a motivational speaker there.
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 "Abbas with Aishwarya Rai")
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