Oct 01, 2026 4:24pm IST
Ashok Selvan on Pledging his Parents’ Home for ‘Anbil Avan’: ‘When You Put Something Personal at Stake, Failure has a Real Meaning’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Tamil actor Ashok Selvan has recently been signed as an antagonist for Telugu star Nagarjuna’s (tentatively titled) “#King100.” In an exclusive conversation with Variety India, Ashok gets candid about his pledging his parents’ home to fund “Anbil Avan,” on why he opted to jump into 70-foot water for a stunt and coping with ADHD (Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder).
You pledged your parents' home to fund ‘Anbil Avan.’ Did the emotional weightage of this decision impact your work?
That is the trickiest part. Sometimes when you are that involved creatively, the lines between creativity and business gets blurred. I don’t think I can separate this process completely; maybe, time will tell if this was a wise move. When you put something personal at stake, it doesn’t just become another project, failure has a real meaning. There were moments when I wondered what I had done but when I was on set, I could not carry failure into every shot. I had to convert it into energy. I kept telling myself you made this choice, now make this film worthy of that choice. Once the camera rolled, the pressure disappeared and I was just an actor again. But that underlying fear of this being my parents’ house was always there. According to my parents, they did it for me and I did it for my film, so both are right choices. This film demanded a certain budget. Action sequences became big, sets became big and we thought we should give that film the scale it required.
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The film features a 70-foot jump into water without a safety rope. Are you trying to transition away from your romantic-comedy roots into a more physically demanding space?
I’m not fully moving away from the romantic-comedy space as I love that space and have a lot of fun doing such films. I just don’t want the audience to predict what an Ashok Selvan film looks like. I have always wanted range. If one film requires me to sit across the table and make you believe that I am falling in love with someone, I want to be able to do that. If another film requires me to jump from 70 ft. into water, I want to be able to do that, too. The physicality in “Anbil Avan” was not about attempting to project myself as an action hero. It came from the character and what he was willing to do. I told myself that I have to do this. Audiences are too smart today and they want to see commitment in an actor, and I wanted to showcase my commitment. I didn’t fake it. My whole team was against it, but I thought I should do it. Being a producer made it easy for me as I put my foot down and said I would do it. Looking at that shot now, I am very happy with it.
The script for “Anbil Avan” is penned by Vignesh Raja, who directed you in the career-defining hit ‘Por Thozhil.’ What is it about his writing style that inspires you as an actor?
Vignesh has written the story and we, along with director Kaarthikeyan have co-written the screenplay. What I like about Vignesh is that he does not spoon-feed an actor. He understands what a character doesn’t say can sometimes be more interesting than what he says. Even in “Por Thozil,” there were so many moments when the character’s insecurity, fear or ego was not written as dialogue, it existed underneath the scene. So as an actor that is exciting because you are constantly discovering things between the lines. We have worked together for the last 15 years. We have made short films. So, I understand what he writes more than what a new actor would understand. I know the rhythm of his writing. He writes characters with flaws and I like that. Gone are the days when heroes were just good people doing good things. You need to see the flaws, too.
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You recently opened up about your ADHD diagnosis, sharing that your wife, Keerthi Pandiyan, encouraged you to get evaluated. How has that changed your perspective?
The diagnosis gave me context. There were periods in my life where I could not understand why certain things that were simple for other people were difficult for me or why my mind worked the way it did. When you don’t have an explanation, you turn that confusion inward. You start thinking that there is something wrong with you. There is a lot of shame and guilt associated with it. Getting evaluated doesn’t solve everything. I don’t want to use ADHD as an explanation for every struggle that I have had. It did help me understand myself better. I have a little more perspective today. Keerthi pushing me to understand this properly was important because understanding yourself gives you better tools. Nobody knows you better than your partner and Keerthi rightfully guided me in the right direction. She is the best.
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