“I have slogged a lot. But, I am sure that I will make a mark in the industry.” The confidence in his words and body language is quite unbelievable.
It would be wrong to refer to Ryan as a new-comer. For, he was seen in Rajasenan’s ‘Nakshathrakkannulla Rajakumaran Avanundoru Rajakumari’ released in 2002. By the way, then he was introduced as Renju. And, unfortunately for him, he was not seen in Malayalam industry after that movie.
Besides changing his name to Ryan, the actor is geared up for a new innings. And going by the response he is getting for his anti-hero role in ‘College Days’ (he plays a Minister’s son in the suspense movie, which obvious comparisons to the infamous son of a State Minister), it appears he is going to be around for sometime more. And he has high hopes with a Malayalam and Tamil film in his kitty.
A Malayali, born in Kerala (at Koodal, Pathanamthitta) and brought up and now settled in Chennai, Ryan is an engineer, an MBA holder and a businessman (real estate). So, why acting, when he knows that it is not easy to make it big in the industry unless you have a god-father or you have an illustrious film lineage or unless and until you are absolutely lucky? “I know that. But then, acting has been a passion for me and my entry into films was through modelling,” he says.
And Ryan has had his bitter experiences after his Malayalam debut. “I was sidelined. Also, there is enough lobbying and politics in this industry. Tamil film industry is more open to newcomers when compared to Malayalam. Though the audience here is very sensitive, they are not that willing to accept a newcomer,” was how Ryan put it.
After ‘Nakshathrakkannulla...’ he worked in two English movies ‘19 revolutions’ and ‘Ceremony’, both directed by Sridhar Reddy and three Tamil films, ‘Maranthen Meimaranthen’, ‘Ramakrishna’ and ‘Villale’.
‘College Days’, a suspense thriller directed by debutant B N Krishnakumar, has had an okay run at the box office and Ryan is elated by the experience. “It had a good team and I am fortunate to have been part of the project,” he says.
And Ryan is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that he is not left behind in the race to stardom. He is giving extra care to his physique, has learnt bharatanatyam and western dance and has even taken acting lessons. “I didn’t try that hard in my first outing as an actor because I was pissed off by what was going around,” he says. He even dreams of starting a production company on his own, someday.