This story is from August 28, 2007

I'm suddenly tasting stardom:Ashwin

TEJASWINI TIRTA / TNN / Aug 28, 2007, 00:00 IST

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After playing a gay boss in Life in a... Metro and an uncaring son in Lage Raho Munnabhai,Ashwin Mushran is all over the place

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After playing a gay boss in Life in a... Metro and an uncaring son in Lage Raho Munnabhai,Ashwin Mushran is all over the place

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Ashwin Mushran (TOI Photo)After playing a gay boss in Life in a... Metro and an uncaring son in Lage Raho Munnabhai,Ashwin Mushran is all over the place
He's done about 30 ad films, including voiceovers for Ricky Ponting and Stephen Felming. He's been part of theatre productions like Rahul Da Cunha's Pune Highway and Two Steps Behind.He has also been teaching salsa since 2001.
But it was the role of the unloving son, who slaps Sanjay Dutt and hangs upside down from a building, that put Ashwin Mushran in the front of everyone's minds.
"It was crazy. I did have this uncomfortable harness tied round my waist, but it was most frightening. And then I had to also remember my dialogues," recalls Ashwin. The stunt paid off though.

"It was a big hit. People now recognise me on the streets. I'm suddenly tasting stardom," he says. So what if most of his filmy characters - like that of a gay boss in Metro and a villain in Arjun Rampal's I See You - have shades of grey. "I just look at what impact the role has on the film.
Positive character or negative is not an issue. The people I'm working with also make a difference. I can't let go of an opportunity to share screen space with Sanjay and Konkona, can I?" Ashwin asks.

Of course not, especially if it means that he will sign on four films and two television shows soon after. "I'm part of Rakesh Roshan's Krazy4, Kumar Mangat's 123, Breaking News and a bilingual, Quick Gun Murugan. I suddenly find myself shooting for an entire day!" says Ashwin.
And he is also shooting for TV shows - Sab Ka Bheja Fry, Ranvir, Vinay Aur Kaun and The Great Comedy Show Ha Ha Ha. "Yes. Comedy has become the flavour of the season.
But it's not something everyone can do. You need a certain level of actors and an ensemble cast who know what comedy is all about and have excellent timing. But they are definitely a pleasant shift from saas-bahu sagas," he says.
Salsa is Ashwin's other passion. "I started learning the dance for the sake of it, fell immediately in love with it," he says, adding, "Salsa has a long way to go in India.
It is well-supported by the governments and embassies in Malaysia, Singapore, China and other countries. Here, if we were to conduct a salsa congress, we would have our back against the wall.
People are yet to understand that it is a lifestyle." Ask him if exploring the dance form in films and reality shows will help and Aswhin point out, "What they show in films is not salsa, although they claim that's what it is.
If they want to introduce such Latino dance forms in Bollywood, they need to ask the one's who know about it. I even got an offer for a celebrity dance show but I refused." Be it salsa, voiceovers, ads, TV shows or films, at the end of the day it's all work, says Aswhin. "And they all allow me to do what I actually love - travel. Now, how many people you know get paid for doing something they really enjoy?" he smiles.

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