Progeny of mother Indira Das, an educationist, and father Mayadhar Nayak, a veteran labour union leader and a noted writer, Akash Das Nayak is a cine star-cum-politician who has a wide fan base. With more than 20 films in his ensemble from his debut Kalinga Putra to the recently-released Agastya, a sensation in the showbiz in Odisha as well as in West Bengal, Das Nayak adds a fresh nuance and subtlety to the characters he portrays on the silver screen with panache. He holds degrees in Journalism and Mass Communication and law and had to quit career in law as the actor in him dominated his earlier professional career. But he joined politics at the behest of his beloved leader and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and opened his innings to the State Assembly from the Korei constituency in 2014. He does not regard himself as a career politician, instead takes politics to be a social service meant for the transformation of the society. In an interview to The Pioneer, Das Nayak spoke to Sugyan Choudhury about his many experiences in the celluloid world and new experiments in politics and public life.
People know your identity as a hero of the film world but with a difference. Your second identity is that you are a young star in politics. How do you confront the reality in politics along with the filmdomIJ
I have never seen the movie world as inert and lifeless. On the contrary, I have accepted it as a living world of portrait gallery. Each protagonist of my celluloid world accords me a new lease of life. I think an actor is such a person who experiences many lives in one birth. Maybe like the character of Kalinga in Kalinga Putra or the lunatic in Aa lo Mora Kandhei or else like the character Satya in Satya Mev Jayate. In my opinion, politics is an excellent way of life. But I agree with you that it has come to be like a strange world owing to a few corrupt politicians. I have not made my journey from filmdom to politics but from a backdrop of social service. I am of the firm conviction that good money should enter into politics and public life keeping the bad money at bay.
How many films you have acted in so far and how many are in the offingIJ
So far, I have acted in over 20 films beginning from Kalinga Putra to Agastya. Films captioned as Herogiri and Just Mohabat are about to be released.
Change, be it in our State, nation or international arena, are taking place. We seem to have been caught in a flux of changing times. In such a scenario, how do you foresee the future of OdishaIJ
Changes are the eternal rule of time. We need to plan out blueprints of certain agenda with positive principles rather than having the blind acceptance of time as the dispensation of the divine. let us adore the company of the wise old men amidst the new generations; let's listen to their voices of wisdom; let's adhere to the values abandoning the index of price system. If our aim could be fixed like a polestar amidst the flux of time then we would be able to develop all our plans and developments systematically. In my opinion, there remains immense possibility for Odisha as it hasa glorious history and traditions of excellence behind, being adorned with a huge youth force with courage and conviction and endowed with rich mineral resources underneath its surface. The future of Odisha is not one of despair as we have the advantage of a strong and stable administration over the years. Those of us who are committed to the concept of a prosperous Odisha should stand united without losing our precious time in political wrangling, manoeuvring, tight-rope walking and ought to act with vision cutting across party lines.
Who are the sources of inspiration behind your achievements at this young ageIJ
I owe my gratitude and inspiration to my mother Indira Das. As a guardian angel, she has spared the rod to guide me, but her silent active sacrifice is more eloquent to shape me to confront the problems and predicaments of life smilingly. Father Mayadhar Nayak has been an inexhaustible lively inspiration for me from my childhood days. I have been a silent witness to his struggling and incessant saga of his political life. He has had been waging a relentless struggle for the men of his working land for the labourers as the sons of their soil by raising slogans for fulfilment of their demands of the economically deplorable plight of the Adivasis. I have witnessed his determination, unrelenting way of fighting against insolent might. I have missed him in my childhood while he was more readily available to the Adivasi children in the area. When I grew a bit older, I accompanied him during his itinerary and mingled and merged myself in the mainstream of social life and outside world. I wonder how he has endeared to the masses without ever sharing an ounce of political power in his life. I have learned courage and conviction from him. The loving smile of my mother full of assurances and the indomitable courage and conviction that I learned from my father are the twine sources of inspiration for me. Here, I want to repeat the story of our unconquerable Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik who had sent for me on March 12, 2014. He wanted then to infuse fresh blood into the BJD body politic. I obeyed at once. In the evening telecast, there came the smiling repertoire of our beloved Chief Minister that Akash is an asset for the BJD. Can I ever forget that memorable dayIJ I have received direct inspiration from the Chief Minister for opening an innings in my political career.
Why do you prefer to spend your birthdays in orphanages, old age homes, among the company of the differently-abled personsIJ
We are habituated to spend our life in our families. Hence, I want to spend my special days with them who are not in the mainstream of society. It is a thing of beauty and joy for me when I share a special day with them, smile with them and dance with them.
It was reported that you have provided the inmates of old age homes with the Darshan of lord Jagannath and covered the wayside sleepers with blankets during this winter. How did you feel out of this actIJ
We can certainly change the society with determination by working together even by making small genial gestures. This society can be transformed if we extend a little helping hand to someone and if we cherish to see smiles over others' faces. I have been able to reap a large dividend of unalloyed happiness by witnessing smiles over their faces. Believe me happiness gets multiplied when it is shared.
What is your message for the New Year of 2017IJ
let the year 2017 be a year of peace, prosperity, plenty and of ideal brotherhood.