The big break: Abhilash Hussain

He is the man who tells Mammootty’s David Nainan —‘You don’t look like a smoker!’ Abhilash Hussain is over the moon as he is one of those lucky few fresh faces who got the opportunity to shine onscreen with a super star. For Abhilash, this was his big break on big screen after playing small parts in major films such as Vijay’s Theri and Rajesh Pillai’s Vettah. His passion and love for the limelight led him to pursue movies from a very young age. “I used to love acting as a child and enjoyed films. In between, I got into modelling for a while. But then I met with an accident after which life moved on with job and marriage.”

He adds on, “While young actors like Nivin Pauly and Asif Ali were auditioning to be a part of the film industry, I never thought of even appearing for the auditions because I was settled with a family. As a family man, somehow I never saw myself as someone who could be part of the industry.” But then he had an epiphany. “After walking around with this wish for long, isn’t it bad that I’m not even trying? So I came down to Ernakulam with that wish, initially did not know what to do. I then joined Act Lab institute here. I regularly visited film locations and sets to see what goes on there. That’s when the first chance rolled in —a small scene in Amar Akbar Anthony and from there a scene in Action Hero Biju and Theri.”

Speaking about his role in The Great Father, Abhilash says, “My scene from Theri led me to The Great Father. I play the character ‘SI Sreekumar’. It was an amazing experience to work with Mammookka. Without doubt, I was tensed. He encouraged me when I kept forgeting my dialogues and he never threw a negative shade. I received huge support from him and director Haneef Adeni.” Abhilash, who is currently in talks for other projects, is happy that even those who taunted him for dreaming to become an actor are appreciating him.