Ajmal, who made his debut in Malayalam with 'Pranaya Kalam', talks about his film adventures and some of the biggest decisions that he made in his life, including the one to temporarily put his medical practitioner career on hold.
"I have been in the movie industry for some years now, but the number of movies I have done so far can be counted on fingertips. Even if the movie is of a commercial sort, I feel people should get something out of it. That is why I don’t accept all the offers that come my way.
'Pranaya Kalam' (2007) in Malayalam was my debut film and director Mysskin happened to see the song, 'Venal puzhayil' from the movie and asked me to meet him. That is how I bagged a role in the Tamil film 'Anjathey' and ever since then, there was no looking back as far as Kollywood was concerned. 'Anjathey' got me recognition and won me awards too. If you see the kind of movies I have acted in, you would find that they are all meaningful films.
Even when the tough-guy kind of roles came to me after 'Anjathey', I didn’t accept them and was waiting for a script that would exhibit a completely different side of me. And it was just then that the breezy romantic 'Thiru Thiru Thuru Thuru' happened and I did what I wanted. People were, in fact, stunned to see me in a comedy film. Similarly, director K V Anand also promised me that my role in 'Ko' would be different from what I had done till then. I’m happy to have been able to perform a variety of characters and that’s all I wish. I don’t mind playing a rustic or acting in multi-hero subjects or ‘award movies’. In fact, I’m lucky to have shared screen space with actors like Narain, Pasupathy, Simran and Jiiva. My acting was noticed in all my movies and this I would attribute to my talented co-stars. Otherwise, even I wouldn’t have known whether I was giving my best in front of the camera.
Parents have a dream in mind for their children. Likewise, mine wanted me to take the Hippocratic Oath. Hence, I finished MBBS to their satisfaction before taking up acting as my career. I never felt bad because I always wanted to become an actor and it was my dream at that. However, there were moments when I felt I had redeemed myself a bit. During the shooting of 'Taxi' (later renamed 'TN 07 AL 4777'), I was able to perform first aid to an injured driver, who for want of this timely help might have had to lose his hands. I was happy my education had helped someone.
In acting too, I don’t want to be a typecast or stick to one industry. Now I’m doing a Telugu movie and two Tamil movies. I want to explore different genres, languages and scripts. If you have the looks and skills, shining in the movie industry is not that difficult, as many directors keep scouting for the right talent.( Ajmal is an upcoming actor in south India )
