Meet Ashima, Vijay Antony’s heroine in Kolaigaran

We had told you that Vijay Antony will be teaming up with Arjun for Leelai director Andrew Louis’s Kolaigaran. Now, we learn that Ashima, a model and actress from Australia, who has done a couple of films in Telugu, has been roped in to play the female lead in the film. This will be Ashima’s debut film in Tamil.
“I am basically from Rohtak, Haryana, but moved to Australia after completing my Class 12.I was pursuing medicine there, but I have been interested in acting since I was a kid. One day, it dawned upon me that I should not be regretting not trying my luck in acting and started taking up acting lessons there. I did modelling, and won titles (Miss Sydney Australia Elegance and Miss India Global 2015) at pageants there. I was also acting in music videos and short films. But, I realised that I was just standing by the sea dipping my feet in the water and not taking the leap into the water. So, I came to Mumbai, discussed with my cousins, and somehow, I came to Chennai and enrolled myself in an acting class here under Vinu Dhamodhar,” begins Ashima.
Seeing her pictures, she got an offer from a Telugu production house for a female-centric film, titled Jessie. “My producer, Swetha, took it to Cannes, but it is yet to release here. I have also shot for another Telugu film, directed by first-time filmmaker Kalyan where I am paired with Ashish Gandhi, also a debutant. And I have signed two more Telugu films — one with Navdeep and another with Harish,” informs the actress.
Being active on social media helped her catch the eye of people in Vijay Antony's production and she got a call her for the film. “I was familiar with his name because his films get dubbed in Telugu and I have seen his posters there,” she says. Now, after signing the film, she watched the Telugu version of his recent release, Kaali. “What about Tamil films? “During my stay earlier in Chennai, I have watched many. Some Rajini sir’s films... I have followed Vijay sir’s films; I watched Theri in the theatre,” she adds.
Talking about her role in Kolaikaran, she says, “I play an innocent girl from Hyderabad who faces some trouble. She comes to Chennai and ends up with more troubles. The script revolves around three characters — Vijay Antony sir’s, Arjun sir’s and mine,” she reveals and adds, “In Australia, my acting coach used to say that we should define a character with an animal. When I asked Andrew sir what animal my character would be like, he said, she would be a white, delicate horse.” He has also asked her to watch a few films for reference, she informs and quickly adds, “But they have nothing to do with this film’s script, though.”
The actress will start shooting for the film from mid-June. “I am comfortable with Tamil because I took acting classes here. But I’ve been away from here for almost two years, so I am learning the language from my teacher, who had also taught me Telugu. The shoot will go on till September, so I hope to get fluent in the language by then. And if I feel really comfortable, then I would love to dub for myself,” she says and signs off.