Rohman Shawl: After Amaran, people will see my acting skills and cast accordingly | Exclusive interview

Rohman Shawl

Rohman Shawl, who has so far frequented the Instagram pages of paparazzi every time he stepped out with his ex-partner and close friend Sushmita Sen, has a new identity now. "People didn't know me in South but now they call me Asifwani," says Rohman who played the antagonist in the recently released Tamil film ‘Amaran' starring Sivakarthikeyan and Sai Pallavi in the lead.

Rohman says that his phone is flooded with messages from people who have watched and loved the film and his performance. "Everybody's telling me, we hated you so much on the screen that now we love you in person. I think that was the biggest compliment," the actor says talking to mid-day.com.

Rohman on landing Amaran without audition

'Amaran' was a project that was seeking Rohman who had given up on the hopes of getting into the profession after a major heartbreak. He revealed that he was selected for a major film but was replaced at the last moment. "That's when I decided, it is not my kind of thing. So, I kept away from acting till 2021. But as they say, if something is meant to happen you will eventually get back to it and I fortunately got back into acting."

Shawl was skeptical about giving auditions as he felt he did not know how to act. So when he was approached to audition for 'Amaran, he refused to do the film. "Within five minutes, I got a call from the director who said that he did not want an audition from me. A friend of his told him about me and it is exactly what he was looking for," he said adding that the director Rajkumar Periasamy asked him to send a video of his performance to understand how much work needed to be done on his acting.

"From whatever gist he gave me about the script, I made a scene out of it and sent it to him. He was so happy and that's when we locked it," shared Shawl.

Shawl onboarded the film in October 2022. He grew his hair out to get a fierce look and also did acting workshops to hone his skills. The language, which is alien to him, was also never a barrier and he credits the pan-Indian nature of the film for it. "I spoke everything in Hindi. I think they dubbed my voice down south. But in the Hindi version, it's me speaking. So, it was never a problem for me that way. And that's the beauty of pan-Indian films nowadays."

The actor gave two years to the film without taking up any other project. "I held on to it because I knew that what we've shot is special. And this is really going to help me. That conviction made me do it," he said adding, "People had just known, Roman is this person. But they don't know my acting capabilities. And Inshallah, with this film, they will. And then they will approach me accordingly, which is already happening".

Rohman Shawl on working with Siva Karthikeyan and Sai Pallavi

For his first film, he shared the screen with the much-loved stars Sai Pallavi and Sivakarthikeyan. Talking about working with them, he said, "They are so down to earth and dedicated to their work, that you can only learn from them. So, you're learning how actually to work and not be worried about other things. Do your thing and go back home. That's what I've learned. The simplicity and the hard work that they put into their work is what I want to teach in my life.

Further when asked how Sushmita Sen reacted to his work in his debut film, he said, "She was happy. She was there throughout. I would show her stuff, whatever we could BTS. She was very happy."