Hero On The Role

His modesty appeals to you. And by the time you leave what you remember is his ever-smiling face. Meet Ashish Chowdhary. What stands out ...

Written by Ashmita Vaidya & Uma Karve
November 30, 1999 12:00 AM IST

3 min read

His modesty appeals to you. And by the time you leave what you remember is his ever-smiling face. Meet Ashish Chowdhary. What stands out is his famous 8220;Kyon, Hero8221;, the Hero Honda bike ad. All of 24 and he is raring to go.

And how did it all begin?
8220;I worked as a child model, remember the Quality icecreams ad? As a child, I used to sing for AIR till my voice cracked,8221; says Ashish, laughing. At 17, I won the Mr Catwalk title in Mumbai, at the inter-college level and I still wonder why. Then came numerous fashion shows and ad films. Oh yes, I was also anchoring a cartoon show for Walt Disney, that is one experience I shall never forget. What irritated me most about it though was delivering the same old dialogues before the ads and at the end of the programme.

So what since ?
I played the lead in Yash Chopra8217;s Humko Ishq Ne Maara and the National Film Development Corporation NFDC produced Chalo America, which was selected for the International Film Festival.

What about tele-serials ?
I feel that one can8217;t grow much acting in tele-serials where there are usually no retakes or rehearsals. Mostly, there is pressure to complete an episode a day which is not the case with films. There is a lot of scope to grow as an actor in the film industry.

On the good8217; and bad8217; films8230;
There are films like Shool and Vastav which could fall in the good films category. Then there are films slotted as rubbish8217; thus belonging to the bad8217; category. But this categorisation is unfair. You have to give due credit to the director for making an entertaining film that caters to the masses. After all, they know what sells.

Besides acting8230;
I have my business to fall back upon. I run an ad agency in Mumbai, called ART which made the controversial MR Coffee ad as well as an event-management firm. I am involved in the making of ads which is an enriching experience.

Any dos and won8217;t dos?
Well, I know I shall enjoy all sorts of roles and give them my best shot, be it an intense or a completely idiotic one! A definite no is backdoor entry and No Sex Films, please8217;.

Family, friends, girlfriends8230;
I am very close to my family and I thank God for the same. Yes, I do have friends but I do not believe in very close friends. I am seeing a girl right now and she happens to be a model.

In the end8230;
Don8217;t worry, things come your way. Believe me, everything comes around.