With the release of Violin, his first
film as the solo hero, and the
success of Salt N' Pepper,Asif Ali is being seen as the most promising young actor in
Malayalam cinema.
All of a sudden, he has become
hot property and has several
high profile projects lined up. In
Joshiy's Sevens, he will team up
with a group of youngsters. He
is playing the hero in A K Sajan's Asuravithu and in Siby Malayil's
forthcoming film.
Asif Ali discusses his roles and his
passion for acting.
You've played a romantic
hero in Violin, which was
also your first film as the
sole male lead.
It has always been a passion of
mine to be a part of films and I
have been careful in choosing my
roles. My character is that of an
innocent boy from Idukki who is
caring and extremely likeable.
I believe that playing the hero is
a great responsibility and I
worked on my slang and
mannerisms. It was indeed
fantastic to have started off
playing the hero in a Siby Malayil film.
'I don't want to be slotted
into a particular image'
Salt N' Pepper has become
the flavour of the season.
It's a new generation, fun film,
which is different from the
conventional format. The
character sketch was great and
it was a totally enjoyable
experience. It is in the modern style but emotions have been
given due importance. It's quite
heartening that the film has
been tremendously appreciated.
You seem to be
experimenting with your
characters in a big way.
I don't want to be slotted into a
particular image. That is the
reason I do various kinds of
characters, which includes
baddies. In fact, in my debut film
Rithu, I played a gay in a subtle way. In Apoorvaragam, I have
played a baddie who will do
anything for money.
How do you select a role?
When someone narrates a script
or a storyline, I usually try to
visualise it and think if it would
suit me. Of course, I have gone
wrong at times. But then that is
how it happens in films.
'My charecter in Salt N'
Pepper is the closest to my
heart'
What was it like working
with director Joshiy in
Sevens?
It was wonderful working with
Joshiy Sir, and we had a great
time shooting for the film with
actors Kunchacko Boban, Nadia
Moidu, Nivin Pauly, Bhama, Rima
Kallingal and so on. Football is the backdrop of the film. My
character is called Sooraj and he
is a hardware engineer.
What is your character in
Asuravithu like?
My character, Don Bosco, is an
orphan, growing up in a
seminary. He is a polytechnic
student, religious and pious. But
certain things happen that
change him. It is a family- oriented action film. The action
element and the script
attracted me to this film. The
character changes through the
film and that seemed really
exciting. He doesn't talk much in the first half, limits everything
to his own mind and is hesitant
to express much. But things
change in the second half.
Among the roles you have
played, which was the
closest to the real Asif Ali?
(Smiles) Tough one, but I think
it's Manu in Salt N' Pepper. He
does nothing much and is the
carefree sort, who doesn't plan
his life. But, then, I am serious
and focused about my career. I can't multi-task and I am always
thinking about the film that I am
doing at a particular point of
time.