Ashok Selvan
Ashok Selvan | |
|---|---|
| File:Ashok Selvan at Vijay Awards 2014.jpg Ashok Selvan, pictured in 2014 Vijay Awards | |
| Born | Ashok Selvan 8 November 1989 Erode, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Alma mater | Loyola College Chennai |
| Occupation | Film actor |
| Years active | 2013–Present |
Ashok Selvan is a Tamil film actor. He made his breakthrough playing one of the lead roles in Soodhu Kavvum (2013), before gaining critical acclaim for his performances in C. V. Kumar's productions Pizza 2: The Villa and Thegidi (2014).
Early life
Ashok was born on 8 November 1989 in Erode(chennimalai), Tamil Nadu, India. He moved to Chennai aged three, and completed his schooling at Santhome Higher Secondary School, Chennai before graduating in Visual Communications from Loyola College of Arts and Science, Chennai.[1] During college, Ashok Selvan participated in short films, completing a dozen short films as an actor as well as directing a few including Green, which won Best Film at the 2012 International Tamil Thoth Conference held in Singapore.
Film career
After graduating from college, Ashok sought opportunities in films as an actor and auditioned for roles including in Prakash Raj's production Inidhu Inidhu and Bharat Bala's 19th Step but was rejected.[2] During the period, he applied to work as an assistant director to AR Murugadoss and was given the opportunity to feature in a few scenes as Suriya's friend in the director's venture 7aam Arivu, though his scenes did not make the final version. He was also featured in the title card of Chakri Toleti's Billa 2, with a childhood picture of Ashok Selvan used to represent a younger version of Ajith Kumar's titular character.[3] He then also auditioned unsuccessfully for a role in Pizza, before Nalan Kumarasamy offered him the role of Kesavan in his black comedy film, Soodhu Kavvum (2013) after seeing him in a commercial. Featuring alongside an ensemble cast including Vijay Sethupathi, Bobby Simha and Sanchita Shetty, Soodhu Kavvum became a commercial success, with Ashok being described as "fantastic" in his role of an unemployed graduate.[4][5]
Ashok was then selected to replace Vaibhav Reddy in Deepan Chakravarthy's psychological thriller Pizza II: Villa, a second film in C. V. Kumar's Pizza franchise. Portraying an English novel writer in the film, the film told the story of eerie happenings in a villa owned by Ashok's character. In order to portray the role of a 30-year-old writer, he gained weight and grew his hair within two weeks.[6] The film opened to positive reviews and above average box office collections, with a critic noting that "Ashok delivers an outstanding performance".[7][8] He collaborated with C. V. Kumar again in his third film, Thegidi, a murder mystery story directed by another newcomer Ramesh. Portraying a detective, Ashok featured opposite Janani Iyer, and won positive reviews for his acting in the film. A critic from Sify.com noted he "is subtle and conveys a lot through his body language and pleasing face", while another reviewer wrote "he seems to be quite proficient".[9][10] He's currently working on comedy film Savaale Samaali and other two projects.[11][12]
Filmography
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Billa II | Young Billa | |
| 2013 | Soodhu Kavvum | Kesavan | |
| Pizza 2: The Villa | Jebin Jose | Nominated, Vijay Award for Best Debut Actor | |
| 2014 | Thegidi | Vetri | |
| 2015 | Orange Mittai | Hospital paramedic | Cameo appearance |
| Savaale Samaali | Karthik | ||
| 144 | Ashok | ||
| 2016 | Pirai Thaediya Naatkal | Pre-production | |
| Kootathil Oruthan | Filming | ||
| Sila Samayangalil | Post-Production |
References
- ^ http://www.newindianexpress.com/education/edex/Ashok-Met-His-First-Love-in-College/2014/05/19/article2228889.ece
- ^ http://www.onlykollywood.com/interview-with-ashok-selvan/
- ^ http://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/interviews/I-thought-I-was-not-destined-for-cinema-Ashok-Selvan/2013/09/18/article1789316.ece
- ^ http://www.rediff.com/movies/report/south-review-soodhu-kavvum/20130503.htm
- ^ http://www.sify.com/movies/soodhu-kavvum-review-tamil-15027789.html
- ^ http://ibnlive.in.com/news/transformed-from-boy-to-man-for-pizza-2-ashok-selvan/425921-71-180.html
- ^ http://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/regional/movie-review-pizza-2-villa-is-a-must-watch/article1-1151928.aspx#sthash.QDpkVZZi.dpuf
- ^ http://www.rediff.com/movies/report/review-pizza-2-villa-is-a-gripping-suspense-thriller-south/20131115.htm
- ^ http://www.sify.com/movies/thegidi-review-tamil-15050247.html
- ^ http://www.rediff.com/movies/report/review-thegidi-is-an-exciting-thriller-south/20140228.htm
- ^ http://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/a-filmy-ode-to-friendship/article6026007.ece
- ^ http://lifeandtrendz.com/life-style/item/503-ashok-selvan#.VTomz2Z7njF