The perfect villain

Once a villain, always a villain— it seems to be true at least in Ashwin Kumar’s case. Most Malayalis still recall Ashwin as the villain Murali of Jacobinte Swargarajyam or the antagonist of the hit Tamil film Dhruvangal 16. Recently, he played Rahman’s younger brother Selvan in Ranam. Six films old, Ashwin has managed to carve a villainous niche for himself; not that he is complaining. “If you look at all my characters, you will realise that not one villain character resembles the other. Each has a different shade. That is where my challenge lies— to give each antagonist a different look, body language wise and acting wise.”

Presently, there is nothing remotely villainous about him. Cooing and gurgling noises emanate from the other end of the line. “That’s my seven-month-old son. As a new dad I am trying to come to terms with the sleepless nights and enjoying the way the little fellow can twist me around his fingers!”

Some murmured instructions later, he returns to the conversation. Ashwin is happy with the reactions to his role in Ranam. It was his limited but ‘genuine’, as he calls it, circle of friends like Jakes Bijoy, Sreejith and Rahman himself who suggested his name for the role. The fact that Ashwin and director Nirmal Sahadev have known each other since 2016 also helped.  Nirmal had seen Jacobinte Swargarajyam, which convinced him of Ashwin’s ability. Ashwin adds, “Selvan is a typical American gangster and Rahman is a self-made mafia leader. The film is all about survival and what path the characters choose— good or bad — to survive.  I actually felt I was playing Rahman’s alter ego who reflects his anger, attitude and ego. If Rahman who played Damodar was calm and collected, then I was the beast within him!”

Ashwin found inspiration from the Hollywood movies he is a fan of and the versatile actors who played dons. Of course, he adds, when it comes to actually playing an American gangster, it was an altogether different ballgame.

There are a couple of interesting Malayalam projects Ashwin is looking at, which are under discussion. He is cautious about signing on the dotted line and explains why: “It is not an easy job to judge a script. The narration may be great but once the shooting starts, you begin to see the real picture. Each project is a calculated risk and it is important that I feel confident about the script.”

What has Ashwin over the moon is his role in the upcoming Dhanush-starrer Enai Noki Paayum Thota directed by Gautham Menon. Though he is not at liberty to say anything about his character, he does mention that the role is a very interesting one — with a totally different look. “It is almost a dream come true! It is an unbelievable space that I have got,” he exclaims. “That GVM stamp is there in the film! I am counting on this role.” He also wants his role in Enai Noki Paayum Thota to be weighed and hopes he gets stronger roles to play in future. He calls himself lucky to have worked with Dhanush, Sasikumar and GVM in one film, which meant a lot to him.

“I feel blessed especially since I have no film background and it is only my work that speaks for me,” he concludes.