Ashok Selvan

Ashok Selvan, a name that’s kinda everywhere in Tamil cinema these days, kicked off his journey in Chennai after moving there for school. He ended up at Loyola College, studying Visual Communication. That’s pretty much where he started showing off, bagging an award at some international film conference in Singapore for his short film “Green.” Not bad for a student, right? Honestly, his acting gig started small—tiny role as young Billa in Billa 2, barely a blip on the radar. But before all the cameras and spotlights, he actually worked behind the scenes as an assistant director with S.J. Suryah. Then commercials came calling, and somehow Nalan Kumarasamy noticed him, casting him in Soodhu Kavvum. That movie? Massive. He played Kesavan, the jobless grad, alongside Vijay Sethupathi and Sanchita Shetty. The film was such a hit, pulling in crores at the box office. Funny enough, he tried out for Pizza but didn’t make the cut. Later, he landed the lead in Pizza II: Villa, playing an English novelist. He didn’t stop there. Next up was Thegidi, a murder mystery, where he played a detective opposite Janani Iyer. He kept switching genres—Sila Samayangalil was a heavy drama about people waiting for AIDS test results. That film actually made it to the final round at the Golden Globes. Then came Kootathil Oruthan, a rom-com about an average guy in love with the class topper, and Oh My Kadavule, which hit it big at the box office. Selvan moved into Telugu with Ninnila Ninnila and Malayalam with Marakkar, playing a baddie. He’s also done web series and TV, basically showing up everywhere. Not just a film guy, clearly.