Tamil actor Abbas gave up acting as he was ‘bored’, had to work at a construction site in New Zealand: ‘I couldn’t even use toilets there’

Talking about why he chose to leave acting, Abbas said, “After a point, it started to bore me. Like how you have problems in a relationship after a few years, I had the same relationship issue with my career. I realised if I was bored of it, naturally the audiences would also get bored. That’s why I decided to do something else. I had to give way to better people and it is not right to hold on to the space.”

The actor moved to New Zealand and planned his future there for two months. “We were supposed to start a business in New Zealand, which will be handled by my wife. I wondered what I would do in my free time if I don’t get a job… I decided to do things I never did in India. In the worst-case scenario, I told myself I would drive cabs. I would interact with people there that way,” he said.

Life in New Zealand was different from the one he is used to in Chennai. He did many odd jobs like working in a petrol pump to a construction site. Sharing about his life there, he said, “I would not use the toilet that was at the construction site. I would instead go to a petrol pump, buy something and use the restroom there. People there would wonder if they have seen me somewhere. I would be like, ‘Yes, I keep getting that.’ Sometimes, I would reveal I am Abbas, and they will be shocked. I just registered their reaction in my head.”

Abbas on being trolled for acting in Harpic ads

Abbas was the face of Harpic in Tamil Nadu at one point. He was part of several ads that promoted the popular toilet cleaner and was mocked by several YouTube sketches for acting in such ads. When asked if such criticism upset him, Abbas said, “No, it didn’t. People needed to be educated about hygiene. I didn’t ask them to drink it. Just use it in the bathroom (laughs). If you don’t want… if you want to keep your house dirty, it’s your wish.”

He added, “I had a lot of time, and they (Harpic) gave me good money. The contract went on for eight years, and I was not part of many films. With the money, I was running the household. What’s wrong with it? Unless you throw away your ego and find other means to put food on the table, no one is going to help you. I treat all professions equally. Everybody is doing it for their family. That’s the end result.”

On Mustafa Mustafa

Even after 27 years, the song Mustafa Mustafa from the iconic film Kadhal Desam continues to be the friendship anthem in Tamil Nadu. However, for Abbas, the song brings back the memories of the early morning shooting schedules. “I only remember being woken up at 4 am in the morning in Ooty winter. Coffee would be brought to the room and I had to get ready immediately for the shoot. We will be wearing three sweaters, but for the shot, we had to remove them all. Kathir sir wanted to shoot sunrise for the montage in the film. I remember only these.”

Abbas on his struggles with mental health

Abbas also opened his struggle with mental health and said he had suicidal thoughts even when he was as young as 15. He said he believes the biggest battle in life is with oneself. “We don’t spend time with ourselves. As we go to the gym for one hour every day, we need to spend time with us. Once we understand who we are, half of the problems are solved. When you know what you want… Just give one hour, even half an hour to yourself.”

Abbas says he addresses problems in his head every day and gives himself the time to remove them from his system. “Be it personal or professional problems… whether present ones or the ones from the past. Like I could have mistreated an assistant. I address it in my head and enact the situation and make it right. It is not like sweeping it under the carpet because it will come back to you as baggage again. You have to properly address the issue and remove it. Most of our problems are due to childhood trauma with family and friends. Once you address it, 60 to 70 per cent of the problems get solved.”

Now, after a nine-year-long break from acting, Abbas has again found love for the profession and is back to pursue the same. He was last seen in the Malayalam film Pachakkallam (2015). In Tamil, he last played the role of Indian scientist Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis in the biopic, Ramanujan.