Nasir makes his directorial debut

The actor will direct TV shows, a film and a play

Versatile actor Nasir Kazi (son of legendary late comedian Johnny Walker) who  played a string of striking telly characters in serials  like ‘Kesar’ , ‘KKusum’, ‘Kamini Damini’, ‘Kasauti Zindagi Kay’ and in ‘Kyunki Saas Bhi…’ will soon make his directorial debut with a  couple of TV shows, a wacko movie and a sitcom-play.

“Among my directorial projects on the agenda is a telly-centric show called ‘Laughing Tribute to Johnny Walker’ which will have six top stars including Amitabh-ji offering their fond tributes to my dad. Then there is a wacko stand-up comedy show titled ‘Naa Sir Naa Pair’” discloses the enterprising Kazi who will soon be premiering his maiden play ‘Ae..ae..ae Phansaa’ produced by his buddies Anand Mundra and Himanshu Sanghvi.

 “It’s a crazy rollicking comedy where I get ‘fasaaoed’ into tight-corners. There is a glam-girl star cast including TV actors Kamal Toor (hostess of ‘Filmi Fever’) and Preeti (‘Mamta’) Puri, Jyoti Joshi and Tanya Khanna. This  is my ‘first fling’ with direction and I hope it  turns into a regular affair.  But acting and anchoring will always be my first loves,” laughs Nasir who has dedicated himself to his ‘AIDS Awareness’ weekly show ‘Haath Sey Haath Mila’ (Doordarshan)

Enthuses Nasir, “It’s my privilege that this ‘social mission’ TV show produced by BBC singled me out as the roaming anchor. With the active support of over a dozen Bollywood celebs like Urmila Matondkar, Tabu,  Neha Dhupia we have been able to connect with the masses in a big way. There were actors like Fardeen Khan who flew all the way to Shillong and Ishaa Koppikar agrred to reach a far-away location in Kerala. None of them are charging any appearance fee.  The actors have no hang-ups in distributing condoms and inter-acting with the HIV afflicted patients. Although it’s a depressing, touchy issue, we incorporate lots of funny moments and entertaining musical elements to make the show as lively as possible.”

The actor is secretly thrilled that none other than mega-star Amitabh Bachchan is featuring in a Bollywood movie called ‘Johnny Walker’. “What more can one ask for,” shrugs the affable actor.