Ajay Naidu Movies
Actor Ajay Naidu made an auspicious and promising onscreen debut in 1984, when then-tyro director Robert Mandel cast him in a pivotal and difficult role -- that of a tough Chicagoan preteen who becomes accessory to the mugging of a hockey player (Michael Keaton) and then watches the athlete fall for his mother (Maria Conchita Alonso), in the romantic comedy sleeper Touch and Go. Unfortunately, that film got shelved for two years, but when it did reach the public, in August 1986, it put Naidu on the map and paved the way for additional film work. After an appearance in the fantasy comedy Vice Versa (1988), Naidu took time off for around a decade to accommodate schooling, then returned to screens during his mid- to late twenties.At that point, producers often typecast the muscle-bound, frequently bald actor as tough characters, often with Middle Eastern backgrounds. Among other projects, he played Samir in Mike Judge's ode to cubicle hell, Office Space (1999); portrayed a physician at a mental institution in Iain Softley's cerebral sci-fi outing K-PAX (2001); and landed a brief but memorable role as a Hindustani Troublemaker in the Billy Bob Thornton Christmas black comedy Bad Santa (2003). Naidu also essayed a supporting role in director Joseph Castelo's controversial, terrorist-themed post-9/11 drama The War Within (2005) and landed another small supporting part in director Griffin Dunne's light romantic comedy The Accidental Husband (2008). ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- 1986
- PG
This drama concerns the clash of two worlds in the person of a young boy. The small boy (Alessandro Rabelo) is the offspring of a missionary who died before the he was born, and a Native American who is later killed by white prospectors. Father O'Reilly (Charles Durning) comes to hear about the legend of the orphan born to a holy man and a "sorceress" and guesses the truth about his parentage. He manages to bring the young boy to a Catholic orphanage where the lad is confronted with "civilized" behavior and is quite shocked by it. Meanwhile, Father O'Reilly is having second thoughts as the boy indirectly teaches him something about the values of his "primitive" culture. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charles Durning, Alessandro Rabelo, (more)
- 1986
- R
Michael Keaton plays a famous Chicago-based hockey player who befriends trouble-prone teenager Ajay Naidu (after Naidu's gang has tried to mug him!) He also extends the hand of friendship to Naidu's mother Maria Conchita Alonso, a friendship that blossoms into a physical relationship. Too self-centered to make a commitment to Alonso, Keaton tries to break things off, but Naidu won't let him go so easily. This seemingly frivolous situation is underscored by the more serious efforts of Alonso to make a better life for herself and her son. The comic and dramatic elements of Touch and Go never quite jell, but the winning performances of the three main characters help gloss over the film's unevenness. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael Keaton, Maria Conchita Alonso, (more)
