He is excited to be a part of the Malayalam film industry. A much sought-after supporting actor in the Kannada film industry, Avinash is waiting for the release of his debut Malayalam movie ‘Doubles’.
Directed by debutant Sohan Seenulal and written by Sachi-Sethu, ‘Doubles’ has Mammootty and Nadia Moidu in the lead, with Taapasee Pannu, Saiju Kurup, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Salim Kumar, Anoop Chandran and Bijukuttan in other roles.
‘Doubles’, he says, is a family drama which deals with relationships. Twenty three years in filmdom and Avinash has carved out a niche for himself. He has been lucky to play the role of the ‘tantri’ in the Kannada, Telugu and Tamil versions of ‘Manichitrathazhu’.
“Malayalam film industry works at a different level. It has a good team of actors, directors and technicians,” he says. A native of Mysore, Avinash’s entry into filmdom was not easy. There were incessant journeys from one studio to another and inevitable knocking at the doors of many directors before he got a chance to act.
He was seriously following theatre during his college days when he got addicted to films. “I have acted in many plays with famous theatre artistes like Shankar Nag, Prasanna and Bombay Jayashree and toured across the state. Later I was with the Mermaid theatre group at Puddle Dock in London. But being an Indian proved to be a barrier in getting roles in their plays.”
His debut was through the film ‘Thrishoola’ but unfortunately, the movie was not released. He was introduced to the industry through another movie, ‘Samyuktha’. The teacher-turned actor is a postgraduate in English and started his career as a lecturer in English at the National Institute of Engineering College (NIEC).
He has acted in more than 200 movies and had won the Best Supporting Artiste State Award a couple of times. The actor is presently busy shooting for a Kannada movie after acting in Tamil movies like ‘Chiruthai’ and ‘Ezham Arivu’. “Malayalam is tough. But give me some time. I will learn the language,” says Avinash, who is married to Malavika, who is also into acting.
saliha@expressbuzz.com