Exclusive! Asif Ali: I am still an actor who struggles to say ‘no’ to filmmakers

Asif Ali has been part of several movies that have an ensemble cast the past year. With over 13 years of experience in the industry, the young actor now often finds him not just as the leading face of the movie but also in the position of a mentor.

In an exclusive chat with OTTplay, the actor, who recently worked with several young actors including Roshan Mathew in Sibi Malayil’s Kotthu, opened up the only advice he believes he is capable of giving to the new talents that are coming to the industry.

“My only advice to newcomers would be to learn to say ‘no’,” he tells us. “I am someone who is still struggling to do that. A lot of the films that I have done in the recent past too were because I couldn’t say no. You can’t judge a film based on its script or the team behind it. Screenplays would give you an idea of how interesting the subject is but you never know how the final output would be. So, to agree or not should be your decision; you should be able to select the movie that you want to do. I believe that’s the only advice I can give.”

Asif, meanwhile, also explained that he has always loved being part of multi-starrers. The actor said that he has enjoyed working with other actors in the film because each artiste brings something new to the table and that also leads to some great performances on screen.

His upcoming movies include Shaji Kailas’ Kaapa, Mridul Nair’s Kasargold, Sethu’s Maheshum Marutiyum and Nishanth Sattu’s A Ranjith Cinema. He has also completed shooting for Jeethu Joseph’s Kooman, which is an investigative thriller.

On the latter, which is scripted by 12th Man writer Krishnakumar KR, the actor told us that he will be essaying the role of a police constable in the movie, which evolves against the backdrop of a high-range village in the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border.