How ‘dhil’ (guts), street-cricket, and other Chennai traits shaped R Ashwin’s rise to top, director Gautham Menon explains

Gautham is a modern director who makes Chennai-centric movies. His lead characters are mostly educated, opinionated, liberal, secular and those with dhil. That’s what actors R Madhavan and Abbas were on screen in his maiden directorial film Minnale that Bollywood remade in 2001 – Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein, starring Saif Ali Khan.

“No matter where you are, Chennai boys are always considered an underdog, someone who is unassuming and can be written off. And ultimately when we get an opportunity, we go the extra mile. A Chennai boy has that dhil. He is gutsy, keeps trying, keeps searching for something new. When you study in colleges here, you pick it up because it hardens you like anything. Namaku extra va oru dhil iruku (Our boys are a bit more courageous),” Gautham tells The Indian Express.

It doesn’t matter if his lead character plays a lover boy or a police commissioner, sales representative, wannabe movie director, Army major, biker, or college student, they all have Dhil. Often, his hero is an engineering student. Like Ravichandran Ashwin.

It’s a city where almost every household already has an engineer and even the next generation follows in the footsteps by enrolling in one of the numerous engineering colleges. In a state where the reservation system has helped in uplifting lives through education, there is competition from all quarters. Everyday numerous youths from other parts of the state get down at Chennai Central railway station or the Koyambedu bus depot in the hope of carving out a life in the state capital — and there is always this one striking aspect that they often see among their peers from Chennai. “You will not find insecurity in those boys,” Gautham avers.

India’s Ravichandran Ashwin bowls a delivery. (AP Photo)

That last trait, in many ways, depicts Ashwin. Right from the time he broke into the senior state side, Ashwin has been confident of his own skills, capable of going the distance. From asking Mahendra Singh Dhoni to hand over the ball to deliver the Super Over in the Indian Premier League to bowling in the Powerplay with just two fielders in the deep for cover, Ashwin has shown a tendency to relish challenges and grab whatever opportunities that come his way. WV Raman, a former India women’s coach and one who coached Tamil Nadu when Ashwin broke into the senior set-up, uses the same words that Gautham used to describe the 37-year-old off-spinner.

“Ashwin has always been different in having the freedom of speech. He is free-spirited in terms of his actions and what he spoke and that is because he comes from a background where he is encouraged to talk. He is a bit of a seeker, be it knowledge or anything. He is not satisfied with what he has learnt today. He doesn’t have the insecurity that you normally have in cricket. That is because he has always had the confidence that if not cricket, he can do something else,” Raman explains.

xxx

The 2007 released movie ‘Chennai 600028’ was probably the first cricket-based movie that wasn’t about an individual’s quest, but which had the city as its main character. In particular, the concept of ‘namma area’ (our area, our neighbourhood, our gully) was a theme that ran through the movie. If maidan cricket is for Mumbai and tape-ball cricket for Pakistan, for Chennai, it is the gully cricket. In every nook and corner, it is easy to spot a bunch of kids playing cricket with a tennis or a rubber ball.

Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne gets bowled out by India’s Ravichandran Ashwin (right) during the second one day international cricket match between India and Australia in Indore. (AP)

Most of Ashwin’s uniqueness as an offspinner is rooted in Chennai gully/street cricket. The carrom ball is the ‘suduku’ ball in the streets of West Mambalam where he still plays. The batsmen most romanced in the streets are the unconventional openers. No wonder the likes of Kris Srikkanth, VB Chandrasekar, S Ramesh and M Vijay, with his fluid wrists, have emerged from this city.

There is an originality and strength of character that’s the Chennai hallmark. Be it the inventiveness in Ashwin, or the strong-mindedness in S Venkataraghavan, or the nonchalant swagger of Srikkanth or Chandrasekar. ‘Mankading’, suduku, side-arm throws, and chuck-fast balls are all part of street cricket. Footwork isn’t quite a trait in Chennai batsmen as they all reared on facing speedy-chucked throws from a short distance (Chennai gully pacers don’t run in and bowl; they stand and fiercely chuck), which has honed their eye-hand coordination.

If there is a trait that can be found among the Chennai players who have made it big, it’s that they are all true originals. Nothing traditional or conventional or meek about them. They mould the sport in their own style. Even Ashwin’s ‘mankading’. One can romantically stretch the concept of ‘namma area’ to how he takes ownership of his crease, but the strength of the character to soak in the immense criticism that comes his way and keep doing it is quite something. “Dhilu-venum, bro”.

Ravichandran Ashwin during a practice session. (File)

It is just like the lead figure in Gautham’s movies, where the hero, who otherwise comes across as a polished boy, suddenly becomes street-smart when pitted against a tough antagonist. “You find it commonly here, don’t you?” Gautham asks. “He will come across as a very eloquent boy in English, but if he is pushed to a corner, he will show his other side and bring out the originality by speaking in Tamil. It is just showing that I can pull off both the things…enala keela erangiyum adika mudiyum. (I can swoop down to punch blows).

For decades, Chennai and Tamil Nadu in general continue to live with the feeling that they always got marginalised or sidelined despite possessing a wealth of resources. While the language barrier is one that’s allied to fiercely-proud Tamil subnationalism, talk to anyone on the streets of Chennai, and they will talk of being victimised and denied opportunities. From NEET to important ministries at the Centre, it is a never-ending topic that Tamizhs don’t get an extended stay at the top and have to keep proving themselves all the time.

Director CS Amudhan, who has made satirical movies in the past, and is busy getting censorship certificate for his upcoming one, feels that even with Ashwin, you get the same feeling of being overlooked.

India captain Rohit Sharma was confident that Ashwin’s experience will ensure that lack of recent white-ball cricket won’t hamper his performance. (AP)

“He has been India’s biggest match-winner since Anil Kumble. But every match, he has to prove himself. If a batsman cannot be dropped based on the conditions, why shouldn’t the same apply to a bowler? No team will bench a player like Ashwin and play someone else… If you look around, he is head and shoulders above the rest. Although it is the conditions and combinations ultimately that decide the XI, each time it happens only with Ashwin in Tests. It makes you wonder if this treatment would be meted out to anyone else,” Amudhan asks.

Having made India’s World Cup squad as a last-minute entrant, Ashwin could end up featuring in their first match against Australia at Chepauk on Sunday. Having played only four ODIs since 2022, opinions are divided as to whether Ashwin is undercooked or not. Gautham, though, has the final say. “Remember, he is an engineer too. When you finish your course and step out of college, it gears you up for all sorts of challenges in life. It doesn’t matter whether you are pursuing engineering or not. We can do anything.”