Unconventional is Skanda Ashok's middle name. When most actors who get a toehold into tinsel town would be signing movies left, right and centre, Skanda chooses to be different. He tends to pick and choose his roles. And the characters he plays do not usually tread the tried and tested path.
Laughs Skanda: “I am definitely not trying to be Aamir Khan but yes, I do select my roles with care. I need to know I'll be able to do justice to them. I also take into consideration the director I will be working with before agreeing to a role.”
Playing a teenager who gets his girlfriend pregnant in his debut film ‘Notebook' by Rosshan Andrrews, he says, he was unfazed by the negative reaction to the movie when it was first released.
“I knew the movie would draw flak as it did not stick to a conventional theme. I decided to play Sooraj because I felt the character and the theme of the movie were realistic. And I had fun working with my co-stars who were also debutants,” says the youngster who hails from Bangalore.
The young actor with his unconventional good looks and neat acting skills went on to play a techie-musician in V.K. Prakash's ‘Positive.' “It was a murder mystery and I enjoyed my role of a guy who is accused of his love interest's murder,” says Skanda who also starred in another thriller titled ‘Malli Malli.'
A Telugu movie directed by Raaj Adithya, ‘Malli Malli' had Skanda playing a youth caught in a time loop.
‘Elektra's Edwin
“He is sort of an underdog who goes on to save the day,” says Skanda who will be seen next playing Edwin, a neurotic character in Shyamaprasad's ‘Elektra,' which has been selected for the Indian Panorama section of the International Film Festival of India in Goa.
“Shyam sir is an actor's director. He knows how to bring out the best in an actor. He guided me in my role as a guy who is neurotic and almost incestuous in ‘Elektra.' He would tell me to mellow down whenever I became melodramatic in my scenes,” says Skanda who will be starring opposite Manisha Koirala, Prakash Raj and Nayantara in the movie.
“Manishaji is a gorgeous person and it was amazing watching her perform on the sets. Her portrayal of the gamut of emotions of the character was a treat to watch. Nayantara likes to go through the lines before we shoot,” says Skanda, who was noticed by Rosshan in an advertisement.
Hailing from a family who has no links with tinsel town, Skanda says entering cinema was by fluke. “A relative of mine is a fashion photographer. He took a couple of my pictures and I realised that I rather enjoyed being in front of the camera. My family was a bit sceptical at first when I told them I wanted to try my hand in acting. No one in the family is in the film field. In fact, if not acting I would probably be helping my father run his business. I was at an impressionable age when I entered the field. My family's only source of relief was that I was in the hands of capable directors, be it Rosshan sir or Shyam sir. Mollywood has given me my life – cinema. By the way, I seem to have started a trend; my cousin is planning to join the film industry soon.”
Enjoys experimenting
But why play the unconventional roles? Wouldn't it be safer to play the boy-next-door? “Believe me, I would enjoy playing the guy who gets to romance the pretty girls all the time, but then I love experimenting with roles. Where else can you play such varied characters without the fear off being called cuckoo?,” laughs Skanda who says he enjoys horse riding, dancing and dirt bike racing during his spare time.
So, any other works that will be added to his kitty? “I do have some offers from Kollywood and from the Telugu film industry but I would like to wait until ‘Elektra' hits the screens,” he says.
