"I WOULD LOVE TO PLAY THE VILLAIN TO AJITH SIR" ... ASHWIN KAKUMANU
Interview Team : Kaushik L MThe tall, well-built and handsome Ashwin Kakumanu comes across as a private person, who isn’t into publicity too much. In conversation with him, Kaushik fathoms that Ashwin is a thinking actor and a creatively restless person who is brimming with ideas.
Over the span of his career till date, Ashwin has worked with some of the best names in the business, both among directors and actors. Many actors would kill to work with the likes of Gautham Menon, A.R.Murugadoss, Venkat Prabhu and of course Suriya and Ajith.
Speaking with you, I realize this and feel happy and lucky about working with such talented people in my career so far.
Ashwin was a really shy kid to begin with, and he gradually overcame it to now stand before us as a promising upcoming actor.
I was always interested in cinema, particularly animation. I was fascinated by the Star Wars movies and read a lot of books on cinema and its legends.
I got my first video camera in 1997 after winning a lucky draw contest conducted by Star Movies. I surprisingly got the first prize, went to the US and got myself this camera with the stipend money.
I used to shoot some basic videos along with my friends and presented these videos in an interesting manner. I then went to the US for my education and used to miss Chennai and my friends a lot. During my vacation time here, I used to shoot footages of the city, add music and edit them. I could learn the basics of the craft with such videos.
By the time I was studying in high school in Chennai, I was sure that this was what I was going to do with my life. Till then it was just a hobby but I then got clarity that cinema would be my calling.
More short films and ad films were part of my early grind. I learnt the value of auditions through my experience of working in ads. It was a good exposure at that time. I worked on a print ad for Coke with Vijay sir, where I acted as his friend but the ad didn’t come out. I also did an Airtel ad with Ramcharan and Swati Reddy around 4 to 5 years back.
I worked on a print ad for Coke with Vijay sir
“Ashwin is who?”
I came up with an interesting business card to impress directors. The card said “Ashwin is who?” and featured pictures of me in different avatars.
Sameera Reddy loved it, took one with her to Mumbai and later told me that her actor friends wished to have similar business cards.
On Enthiran’s set, I happened to meet Rajini sir. He too liked my business card and took one with him
The exposure to Gautham Menon and the million dollar opportunity to kiss Sameera Reddy
All along I kept trying for an entry to films and decided to audition for character roles and not waste my time just hoping for lead roles to come my way.
I auditioned for a role in VTV but that didn’t fall through. But this little exposure to Gautham sir got me a brief role in his Nadunisi Naaygal, as Sameera Reddy’s boyfriend. I was told clearly that it was a brief role.
Interestingly when I later read the script, I also found out that there was a kissing scene (laughs). That was a time when almost everyone had a huge crush on Sameera and I was no exception. On the very first day that I met her, we had to shoot for that kissing scene. She was very sweet and though my Nadunisi Naaygal stint was limited to around 2 – 3 days, I got introduced to Gautham sir’s style of working and also later got a chance to work in the Hindi version of VTV in a brief role
On the very first day that I met Sameera, we had to shoot for a kissing scene
Suriya and his meticulous preparation
7aum Arivu happened after this. It was good to work with Suriya sir and Murugadoss sir. I was Suriya sir’s fan all along and he is such a versatile actor. Despite his stature, he used to practice extensively for every scene and take. Working with them was an eye opener for me, and was a total learning experience
"Mankatha – my best experience till date"
Then came Mankatha. A short film (an emotional monologue) which I made for directors got me the chance to act in Mankatha. S.P.Charan sir saw the clip, and recommended me to Venkat Prabhu sir, saying that there is a guy who has the height, weight and is also white (laughs) and would suit the role of a Mumbai cop. Venkat Prabhu was impressed with the video and passed it along to his circle and to Ajith sir too. I then had a meet-up with Ajith sir and things fell in place.
It was a super chilled out unit and it is the best working experience so far, in my career. You wouldn’t even want to go back home, after the shoots. The unit was light-hearted and Prabhu sir never takes himself seriously. The shoots involved a lot of travel and there was a lot of good bonding that happened.
Mankatha gave me the much-needed recognition among the public. Despite my other films, even now Mankatha remains my calling card for the public. Such is the impact of the film
Mankatha gave me the much-needed recognition
Megha and Ashwin’s optimism surrounding it
There was a big gap after Mankatha as I was on the lookout for solid scripts where I had a solo lead role. But things didn’t fall in place as many variables are involved in the film industry.
Then Megha happened. Raja sir was the biggest draw in the film as I had been an admirer of his music since my childhood days. It would forever be a proud moment for me to have acted in a film with his score, to have spent time with him during the rerecording at his studio and also to get words of appreciation from him. Those moments at his studio were really surreal.
Megha’s audio launch at London was another unforgettable experience, where Kamal sir was invited to launch the music at Raja sir’s concert ‘Rajathi Raja’ in the O2 arena. I literally froze looking at Kamal sir and was completely star-struck looking at him and Raja sir on a stage, in front of so many people.
Megha is a deep love story and has a timeless quality to it. I believe that people would definitely feel its impact, despite the delay in release. Raja sir really likes the movie and hopefully it releases soon
Raja sir really likes Megha and hopefully it releases soon
Balakumara - the chance to explore a totally different genre
Balakumara was the next stop for me and the script completely floored me. I got to be part of a comedy ensemble film, a totally different genre after acting in a love story like Megha. The film had all types of comedy and each character would indulge in a certain kind of humor. In some of my portions with M.S.Bhaskar, I had a hard time in controlling my laughter while filming. His accent was that authentic.
After Mankatha, I kept getting rugged police characters whereas after Balakumara, I have been getting ‘pazham’ kind of roles such as a suave IT professional, an NRI guy and such. The power and impact of a good cinema is such
The future starts with Zero
Zero, my next is a supernatural thriller. It has a young team, helmed by a very talented and particular director. He knows my strengths and weaknesses well and impressed me during the rehearsal itself. The visuals would surely be spoken about
I have another promising film lined up, something which is hero-friendly. I have also been listening to some really interesting stuff of late and just hope that they take off as there are so many factors outside an actor’s control in cinema
"Ajith sir and Vikram sir inspire"
Ajith sir has been advising me to not lose hope when things aren’t going as smoothly as expected.
Self-made guys like Ajith sir and Vikram sir have been really inspirational in the way they have shaped their careers without any backing or support
Time for some testimonials
Rajini – “On the sets of Enthiran, he spent around 20 minutes with us. He is so enthusiastic despite seeing so much in life. He keeps learning and observing new things from all the people that he interacts with.
In conversation with him, I told him that I wished to become an actor and had some ‘mind freeze’ moments while speaking with this true icon”
Ajith – “He is supportive, encouraging and so engaging. He can connect with everyone in a room. I would love to play the villain to Ajith sir”
Suriya – “He is very sincere and focused”
Vijay – “He is effortless. Though he is shy in real life, he switches on as soon as the camera turns on. His face lightens up when he hears the word ‘action’. Of course, he is a brilliant dancer too”
Gautham Menon – “He is so cool. Nothing fazes him”
A.R.Murugadoss – “I admire his attention to detail and the way he focuses on minute intricacies”
Venkat Prabhu – “He enjoys the process of making a film and doesn’t worry too much about the end result. He totally endorses the ‘Take it easy’ policy. I also happened to conceptualize a photo-shoot for him. I really enjoyed this experience and Prabhu sir liked the photos too. He is like an older brother to me”
Megha’s director Rishi – “He is particular with emotions and is a performance based director”
Gokul – “He is another performance based director. Action and humor come equally easily to him”
Zero’s director Arun – “He is a visual director”
Venkat Prabhu sir is like an older brother to me
"I have been preparing to better myself as an actor"
I am ready to shape myself for any kind of role, based on the script and the character.
I have been preparing to better myself as an actor and have been learning new tricks and skills. Though this gap is frustrating, I am actually glad that I got this gap to improve myself. It has made me stronger as a person and has made my priorities clearer
On this positive note, we wish Ashwin the very best, in the years to come …
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