Will the real Jay Nesh please stand up?

SINGAPORE — If you bump into Vasantham artiste Jay Nesh in real life, there’s a chance you might not recognise him.

The 37-year-old actor, who started out as a dancer in 1997 and has been a familiar face in the hosting industry for the past 15 years, is known for roles in the dramas Vettai, Vanjam and Vetri. Currently seen in the sitcom Kudumbam United, he’s also a DJ at Oli 96.8FM, a rapper, and a host for live shows like Vasantham Star, Dance Jodi and everything in between. On top of that, he runs his own nail spa, Bestiez, in Holland Village.

With so many roles to play in his life, sometimes he doesn’t even recognise himself —and neither can his co-stars.

And after his well-received turn as a saintly teacher in last year’s Vetri, he revealed how his co-star Vetri was thrown into confusion after the drama wrapped up.

“She said, ‘I can’t even recognise you. I can’t accept you as Jay Nesh.’ Vetri is the perfect man for any lady, so they expect me to be like that. She was very disappointed,” he laughed. “I said, ‘Eh, this is me lah. What do you expect? The drama is over!’”

SPLIT PERSONALITY

But even Jay Nesh himself doesn’t quite understand how it is that he can be one person in real life and another on air or on stage.

“It’s a different persona, actually, when I’m on stage or on set. I don’t know, I haven’t figured this out,” he mused. “When I’m having a one-to-one conversation with someone, I’m very quiet and reserved. But when I go on air, something changes. Even I don’t understand it. Even my (radio co-host) Anand will be like, ‘How do you suddenly become different?’ Sometimes, when I watch myself, I’m like, ‘Did I do that?” He laughed. “Something clicks.”

The difference is so stark that “my mum is my biggest fan because she’ll be like, ‘I don’t see you smiling or laughing at home — only on TV. At home you’re very quiet.’” He added: “I’m a Cancerian so I could have 10 moods in a day. I can suddenly be very moody, very cranky, very happy.”

Which of his many personas is his favourite? That’s a difficult question for him. “Sometimes you get lost. Sometimes it comes to the point — it’s very sad actually — where you enjoy being on air or being somebody else more than being your own self. So, I have to do some reflecting. You feel so happy on air, and when you’re back home or in your normal life, you feel a bit restricted or sad.”

The search for the real Jay Nesh is on and, truth be told, he confessed he’s still looking for the answer. “Sometimes you just feel, ‘Why not just give up everything and have a normal life? Why are we so stressed up with all this? Just be a waiter or something, where nobody recognises you. Just earn a small income and be happy.’ That was how it was at the beginning (of my life). I think I was happier.”

PRATA MAN

Yes, he’s played even more roles. Besides waiting on tables, Jay Nesh has worked as a guest relations officer at a hotel and even a roti prata man.

That last job came about by accident when the chef at his father’s roti prata shop didn’t show up one day and he was forced to step in. “I took a very long time to make one egg prata and then the egg would spill out. The fourth day, it just clicked and I was able to do it. And then I was stuck there for two years because my dad didn’t want to let me go — he couldn’t find a replacement and he didn’t have to pay me. There would be some girl fans — they wouldn’t be eating, just checking me out. ‘Till today, everybody goes, ‘Eh, you used to make roti prata, right?’ It happened nine years ago lah — why don’t you all ever forget that?” he laughed.

Still, Jay Nesh remains thankful for the freedom to do a job he loves. “My wife works in the Ministry of Finance. She’s on a different path that’s sometimes very scary to see — climbing the corporate ladder. It’s so tough,” he said. Smiling, he added, “She’s very practical. She’s the one who controls the finances. Less headache for me. She’s the one who makes the decisions — small decisions. The major decisions, of course, are made by me!”

About his wife of two years, he added: “She is very supportive — sometimes when I act with (female) artistes, she’ll be like, ‘I don’t think you did well because there was no chemistry. Work on it. I can’t feel the love.’”

Another thing he feels he has to work on is keeping in shape in order to keep pace with the younger male artistes. “I have to squeeze in going to the gym as well, because I am already 37. I’m the oldest among this lot: Guna, Saravanan Ayyavoo, Arvind and Shabir. So, I have to keep up with the new guys,” he said.

Catch Kudumbam United from Mondays to Thursdays at 10.30pm on MediaCorp TV Vasantham.

CREDITS

Photos: Jason Ho

Hair and makeup: Joanna Ang, Sono Bello (96953772) using Make Up For Ever