Asin wants to move beyond comedy

New Delhi, July 22 (IANS) After featuring in back-to-back comedies - "Ready", "Housefull 2" and "Bol Bachchan" - Asin Thottumkal wants a change! She says she has no special corner for the genre and is definitely looking forward to performance-oriented roles.

Asked for the reason behind the string of comedy projects, Asin told IANS: "I would like to change that. I have a soft spot for these universally appealing, fun, emotional stories, not that I have an affinity towards comedy as a genre.

"Now I am looking for more well-written roles and characters that have a scope for performance. I am looking for roles where the woman's character is more fleshed out, but by that I don't mean it has to be a woman-centric film.

Luckily, all her comedy forays have been successful at the box office. However, Asin says "getting hits is great, but after a while you want to do something meaningful as well because for an actor, creative satisfaction is very important".

The 26-year-old is on a high after the success of "Bol Bachchan", in which she shared screen space with actors like Abhishek Bachchan and Ajay Devgn.

"It feels great when your film you does well and gets so much appreciation. The purpose of a film is to entertain viewers and when it achieves that, it is good," said the actress, who has climbed the stairs of success in Bollywood after making a mark down south.

She made her Bollywood debut in 2008 with "Ghajini", a Hindi remake of her own Tamil film of the same name.

With four out of her five Hindi films being a success, Asin is quite satisfied with her journey so far.

"Very few artists enjoy an audience in both south and north. I'm glad the way I have been treated in Bollywood despite being an outsider. Having made a place for myself here, without having any grandfather or father in the industry, it feels great and I know I can do much better. For now, I feel very content with my journey," she said.

In the southern film industry, Asin has a reputation of choosing her films carefully. But now she has date hassles thanks to her Hindi movie projects.

"I have been approached for a few south Indian films but could not take them because of the issue with dates; so that could not work out. But that does not mean that I am going to stay away from southern films.

"If something very interesting comes up, I will take it up because I don't want to be repetitive down south. I have a body of work there and so if something different comes my way, I would love to take that," said Asin, who made her acting debut with a Malayalam film in 2001.

The actress will next be seen in action comedy "Khiladi 786" opposite her "Housefull 2" co-star Akshay Kumar.

She is all praise for Akshay, saying "he is a fabulous co-star. We gelled together very well during the shoot of 'Housefull 2'. He is somebody who has got the right balance of professionalism with fun. He entertains everyone and brings a smile to everyone's face".

Asin Pictures