BENGALURU: From making his directorial debut in 3Devi to playing a principal character in English Vinglish that people remember to date, actor Ashvin Matthew has a wide range of experience. Now, Matthew is prepping for his upcoming Malayalam film Saturday Night which revolves around the journey four friends take after a chain of events during and after college.
The film is directed by Rosshan Andrrews, maker of Kayamkulam Kochunni. Saturday Night stars Nivin Pauly, Saiju Kurup, Siju Wilson and Aju Varghese as the protagonists. Matthew plays the role of a Kannadiga who goes to college with Malayalees and speaks Malayalam with a Kannada accent. “Tangu uncle (my granddad’s friend) is a Malayali who grew up in Hassan. He spoke the strangest Malayalam I had ever heard. I just channelled him and the director loved my work,” he says.
Excitement for acting began at the age of eight for actor Matthew. Whether a family get-together or a party, every event would conclude with his mimicry performance. With his parents and uncles living abroad, Matthew was the only link they had with his grandparents in India. “I would mimic my grandmother and grandfather. The biggest encouragement for me was performing at home,” Matthew says.
It was the first time he experienced three different sequences in the shoot for three consecutive days. “The first day was a serious sequence, the second was a dance sequence, and the third day was a fight sequence. It is amazing to see a director who knows all his shots,” he says.
Back in school, Matthew played Charlie Chaplin in a mono act and stole the show. “During the act, I fell off the stairs because of the extremely long trousers I was wearing. Everyone thought it was a part of the act and applauded my acting skills. I came first,” he says.
A few years later, a conversation with a friend proved to be a turning point. “During the blackout before the play Restless: The Spirit of Youth, a kid asked me if I was nervous and I answered ‘no’. And the whole time I was waiting for my part in the play, I sat there wondering why I said what I said. I was excited but not nervous. That’s when I decided I would take up performing arts and not get into the medical college,” he says.
Matthew still remembers his first role in a film. “The fact that I did an audition and got it feels great. It felt like an accomplishment after years of stand-up comedy, voice recording and voice-overs. It was a movie with Sridevi and I had to play a scene with the actor. It was surreal and I spent hours in a corner trying to let it sink in,” says Matthew, who will soon start the pre-production of a Malayalam film Tenkasi Brothers Private Limited.