Ramanan, played by actor Harisree Ashokan, from the movie Punjabi House is one of the finest humorous characters the Malayalam film industry has seen till date. The dialogues and the manner in which he handled the character proved that making the audiences laugh their hearts out is the most difficult thing an actor can do. However, the actor in his real life is pretty much the opposite of that, says Arjun Ashokan, son of the ace actor and the latest addition to the clan of star kids who have joined the movie industry.
He adds, “What better example can you quote to show how professional an actor can be. This has been my driving force to try a hand at cinema with full confidence. I strongly believe that good cinema is about good acting and it has nothing to do with the type of roles you are handling. Even if you get the same genre, if you are a good actor you can make every role unique.”
Arjun marked his debut in the Malayalam film industry with Soubin Shahir's Parava where he had to handle a role that just appeared for a small duration in the movie. However, he has no qualms about the role because he wishes to consider it as the best school he could enroll in before starting off as an actor. “The entire team of Parava, the director, actors and above all the phenomenal storyline were a huge experience to me in terms of acting,” says Arjun.
According to the actor, he sincerely obeyed what his father had told him — “Just follow your mind and only take up roles you feel are made for you. Don’t take them up for the sake of picking up lead roles.” He therefore appeared in the role of Azad in the recently released Asif Ali-starrer Btech. “Even though the character doesn’t appear in the movie throughout its length, Azad and the events related to his death form the crucial turning point in the story. Though short, my role has prominence and I had an opportunity to showcase my talents.”
Arjun is not on a quest for lead roles. When asked if he is also looking forward to doing comedy, Arjun says he would definitely like to experiment with comedy but feels it’s one of the toughest genres. Arjun is currently shooting for his next project at Vagamon. The untitled movie, according to the actor, has given him a chance to associate with the hit-makers of the industry, Fahad Fazil and Amal Neerad. The next release will be Mandaram.
