After Pradeep Ranganathan and Abishan Jeevinth, Ken Karunaas becomes the latest actor-director to reveal that he has faced rejection from heroines for offers to star in his films. The actor-filmmaker is awaiting the release of his film Youth, co-starring Suraj Venjaramoodu and Anishma Anilkumar, among others.

Speaking to Cineulagam in a promotional interview for Youth, Ken said that he did not believe it when Pradeep and Abishan said that heroines rejected them. Referring to his contemporaries, he said, "I thought they were making it up to milk some sympathy for them from the audience. How could one turn down an opportunity to pair with a good artist?"

Then, he revealed that he has faced similar experiences and that "this is the reality" for budding artists like him. He said that actors have shown reluctance to work in his films as these already have multiple other heroines.

"I would deal with such hesitance somehow by elaborating about each of their characters. However, I would not lie to them about them being the main heroine. I would clearly explain to them how much screen space they have in the film," the actor-filmmaker explained.

He added that while there are actors turning down offers by saying that the roles do not align with their interests, some have not even responded to his messages about film offers. "The same heroines do reels with the 'Mutta Kalakki' song. They told me, 'Very happy for you. All the best for you. Excellent. We are rooting for you,'" Ken Karunaas said. For the uninitiated, 'Mutta Kalakki' refers to the first song from Youth.

As reported earlier, the film is slated for a March 19 release in theatres.