Duel between the dancers

Ashwin Jerome is making his debut in Tamil cinema with the action film, Yaanum Theeyavan that will star choreographer Raju Sundaram as the antagonist for the first time. The excited Ashwin plays an upper middle-class character called Mike. “My character elopes with the heroine, as our families don’t approve of our relationship. We end up in a slum that is located near the safe-house of a murderer. The heroine becomes a witness to one of his murders and that puts us in trouble and on the run.”

He likes that his character has a never-give-up attitude. “Yaanum Theeyavan won’t be a typical commercial film. The story is based on real-life incidents, and I had to do my homework to get into the skin of the character. After the film, I can safely say that I’ve become a better actor,” says Ashwin. 

Ashwin is a professional dancer, and is quick to indicate that Raju Sundaram being a part of this film had nothing to do with his dancing career. “It was just sheer co-incidence that we managed to get him on board. We needed an actor who hadn’t done a villain role before. The role is that of a murderer not yet exposed to the world. Also, as a dancer, Raju has got that swag and attitude which made him a fantastic fit for the role.” Ashwin himself found that his gymnastics background helped with the action sequences.

The actor, who attended workshops for the film for almost six months, says it isn’t easy to break into the Tamil cinema industry. “I have been trying to make my debut for the last three years. It is harder than ever to land a lead role. I’m lucky Yaanum Theeyavan happened at the right time,” Ashwin says.

The film, which also stars Varsha Bollamma, Ponvannan, VTV Ganesh and Arunraja