The term superstar may not be attributed to him but he is one in every sense of the word if you go by the immense popularity Harisree Ashokan enjoys. Cutting across the generation gap, Ashokan is one actor who remains evergreen and undoubtedly deserves to be crowned as the superstar of comic roles.
Ashokan’s memes are the troller’s favourite weapon with his popular dialogue from the film Punjabi House, where he plays Ramanan, still managing to bring a smile to even a hardened critic’s face. A veteran of more than 100 films, wherein he mouthed some witty dialogues, the mimicry artiste-turned-actor has managed to create a unique niche for himself in Mollywood, which to this day remains untouched. If fans of Ashokan have not been seeing him in action for the past several months, the reason is something that will surprise them all.
Ashokan, the actor, is changing tracks from in front of the camera to behind it. Yes, you heard right – he is turning a director with the upcoming film An International Local Story. The actor is busy with the work of his film; he is just wrapping up a narration with an actor and there are a hundred things to do. But he makes time for a quick chat. The decision to turn to direction was not made out of the blue but one that he has invested years into — to give it a tangible shape and form.
“This was a decision I took nine years back and I have been busy giving shape to that dream all these years. I have always wanted to direct a film but the only hitch was getting an apt subject. When it was time, I happened to get a good subject and decided to not delay my direction stint anymore,” he explains.
Ashokan has worked with almost all the newcomers and veterans in the industry and counts many of them as his close personal friends too. The same band of friends rallied around him as advisors and well-wishers to give wings to his dreams. He says, “I received a lot of suggestions and advice from my industry friends. I had umpteen discussions with Siddique and Lal and also advice with the scripting side. So that way I have prepared myself for the transition.”
Admittedly, any transition is not always a cakewalk and Ashokan is aware of that as he says, “Direction is more difficult than acting. Every job has got its share of challenges and so does directing.” He elaborates, “Direction demands a lot more of your time; there is a lot to think about while dealing with the script in hand.”
While on the subject of scripts, the audience would naturally be expecting a comedy film from his side and Ashokan agrees that the film is a comedy one, but wait, there’s more. He says, “There is also a beautiful friendship that is the core of the story. The film moves forward with that friendship being given due weightage along with comic elements.”
Ashokan does not want to reveal too much of the storyline but divulges that there will be two different time frames shown in the film. The cast has also been decided with Varathan fame Namitha, Surabhi Santosh, Rahul Madhav, Deepak Parambol, Dharmajan Bolgatty, Suresh Krishna, Manoj K. Jayan and Nandu in key roles. Incidentally, Nandu plays two different age groups in this film.
There, now you have the reason why Ashokan has not been accepting any new projects. He himself admits, “It has been eight months since I signed on any dotted line because I have been concentrating my energies completely on my directorial debut.”
He also divulges an offer that he had to let go, “I was supposed to do a film with Lal Jose which had a tailor-made role for me but then dates got shifted and I had to say no to it because it clashed with the dates of the shoot of my film. Anyway, one thing is clear — while I am directing, I will not be able to act!”
There was also a stage show that he had to postpone for his film. The shooting for the film will begin by September 10 and the locations will be in and around Kochi.
