ARM actor Harish Uthaman on the perils of being typecast as an actor

In nearly a decade and a half as an actor, Harish Uthaman is best known for his roles as a cop or a villain. He does have the occasional positive supporting role too, but by and large, if there is a police role, he is more likely to get a call for it. Talking to RJ Mayuraa on Gold Class, during the promotions of ARM in Bengaluru, Harish addressed how easy it is to fall into a certain box, but breaking out of it is a hassle.

“To fall into a box (of being typecast), is very easy and it happens before you even realize you are in it. To break out of that box is very difficult; it’s a big fight to step out. I think I have made baby steps in that direction with the series Suzhal and now with ARM and a few other films that I am doing at the moment. So, there is a change happening,” says Harish, who was a cop even in his debut Kannada film, Rustum.

The actor adds, though, that he can understand where film teams are coming from when they sit down to decide on casting. “When, say, directors and producers, are talking about casting for a film, and there is a cop role, they just say, ‘Call Harish’, or if there is a villain role, call Kabir (Duhan Singh, his ARM co-star). It’s very easy for them, but it would be nice for audiences to see actors like us in a different light. People will enjoy that because they get to see a completely different side of an actor, who had hitherto only done, say, villain roles,” says Harish.

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The actor also echoed his co-star Tovino Thomas’ argument that seeing someone who has not been a protagonist before in a positive role will be refreshing for audiences. ARM, which is a period fantasy film, featuring Tovino in three roles, was released in theatres on September 12 and is getting a wide pan-India outing with versions in Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, and Hindi.