Meet ‘Cook with Comali’ star Ashwin Kumar: The man you know, the journey you don’t

In this interview, Ashwin Kumar discusses his long-short journey from Coimbatore, the success of ‘Cook with Comali’, and how the industry sees him, now that the spotlight shines brightly on him

Ashwin Kumar Lakshmikanthan left his hometown Coimbatore for Kodambakkam, the once-hub of Tamil cinema and a microcosm for film aspirants in the city’s ever-changing landscape, carrying big city dreams in his eyes. He had a crippling sense of fear when he landed in Chennai for an audition, having no prior experience nor influential people in his phonebook. He played a small part alongside actor Arya, who himself played a guest role in Kathai Thiraikathai Vasanam in 2014. The scene was eventually trimmed from the film, but it gave Ashwin the confidence of making it in the industry, until he was called for an audition for Mani Ratnam’s OK Kanmani (2015). Ashwin had always looked up to three filmmakers: AR Murugadoss, Mani Ratnam and Gautham Menon, and the offer to be part of a Madras Talkies production [Ratnam’s banner] was just the icing on the cake. But the only thing is, it was not. When he arrived for the audition, the set was crowded with over 70 well-groomed models, both male and female, who too were squeezing for space to register their presence on screen. It was only then that it dawned on Ashwin that the dream — of becoming an actor — was a shared one with perhaps hundreds. He could not make a first impression with Mani Ratnam, though he had a photo opportunity and a blink-and-miss role as a background artiste in OK Kanmani. The second bout of disappointment hit closer when Ashwin approached Gautham Menon for an acting gig, which left the filmmaker a little miffed — especially in the manner in which he landed up at his office. Having been fooled once for a fake audition call, Ashwin says it was actor Sivakarthikeyan who advised him to look up online for director’s offices and audition calls. Later, Ashwin was called for an audition and was eventually selected to play the hero’s friend in a film Gautham was making at that point. As fate would have it, two days before the shoot, Ashwin was informed of Gautham’s decision to cast a familiar actor in his place. Somewhere along, that is when Ashwin says he took the call: if he were to act, it would be as hero.