Desi News Corp - Index

Desi News Corp - Desi News - March 2009 - Index

Ghajini broke
records, grossing
nearly Rs.
2.35 billion ($58.75
million). Its leading
lady is enjoying the
attention, but says that
the moment she stops
enjoying herself as an actress,
she will not hesitate to pack her
bags and quit acting because
she is not in the profession
star TREK
because of financial pressures.
And success isn’t new, not
something that she tasted only
after Ghajini, her first film in
Hindi, clicked in a big way.
For Asin Thottumkal, who
began modelling at the young
age of 14 while she was in
grade 9, success is something
she has grown up with. By the
time she was 16, Asin had to
her credit nearly 60 advertising
commercials.
“I was Cochin-based. My
face got noticed after I was seen
in several ads, and I bagged the
role of the leading lady opposite
Kunjacko Boban in the
Malayalam film Narendran
Makan directed by Satyan
Anthikkadu, a very popular
director.” says Asin.
A spate of films in both
Tamil and Telugu followed,
and Asin found herself pitted
opposite actors like Nagarjun,
Ajith, Vijay, Shyam, Arya and
Venkatesh.
“But it was only after the
first few films had been released
that I realized that I actually
liked acting and was destined
to be an actress! I could see all
the positives, though I was
quite raw when I entered the
industry.”
Her doting parents, she says,
are responsible for her downto-earth
approach and complete
lack of starry airs. “It is
my parents who keep me
grounded. It is from them that
I have inherited my values.”
“I think I have done pretty
well for myself!” ASIN
Acting, she admits, she
learned on the job.
“I had absolutely no idea
about acting, films or anything
even remotely related to the
industry. Today newcomers
come fully prepared from gymming
to horse riding to singing
and even directing.
“When I acted in the Tamil
original of Ghajini with Surya,
I frankly did not even dream
that the film would take me to
a higher level and I would be
called upon to make my dream
debut in Hindi films, that too
with an actor of the calibre of
Aamir Khan,” gushes Asin
with child-like innocence.
“For someone who had no
‘connections’ in
the film industry
and did not know
what acting was,
I think I have
done pretty well
for myself!”
The character
of Kalpana that
she has played in
Ghajini is a lot
like the real Asin,
she says.
“Like Kalpana,
I am also mad
and naughty. Like
Kalpana, I am
also involved in a
lot of charitable
activities though I
would rather not
talk about them.
“The Tamil version
of Ghajini
had a subtle message
of woman
power. In fact,
the character of
Kalpana was inspired
by and based
on astronaut Kal-
pana Chawla.
“The part that
Jiah Khan played,
essayed in the
Tamil version by Nayantara,
was based on astronaut Sunita
William. It was the director’s
way of paying tribute to
women achievers in society.”
How was working with
Aamir Khan different from
working with Surya?
“Both Surya and Aamir have
interpreted their characters in
their own individual ways. Both
are similar as far as focusing on
their work is concerned. Both
have no other interest on the
sets other than their work and
concentrate on how to better
their scenes. Both are ready to
go to any lengths to get into
the skin of their characters. I
got along fabulously with both
Surya and Aamir and was also
very close to both Jyothika,
Surya’s wife, and Kiran Rao,
Aamir’s wife.”
Asin has now moved on
from Ghajini to her next
projects.
She plays the only girl in a
music band in London Dreams
directed by Vipul Shah with
Ajay Devgan and Salman
Khan opposite her.
She has also been signed to
do a Walt Disney project, The
Nineteenth Step, directed by
Bharat Bala, also starring
Kamal Hassan and the Japanbased
Hollywood actor Tadanobu
Asano.
– V. ANANTH
“Ghajini’s Kalpana was based
on astronaut Kalpana Chawla”
March 2009 Desi News 33