Harishree Ashokan is an actor who has given life to a handful of great comedy characters in Malayalam. Raman in Punjabi House and Sundaresan in Ee Paakkum Thalika are still in the minds of the audience as characters that make people laugh when they remember them. Apart from comedy roles, Harishree Ashoka has also excelled as a villain and as a character actor. He has proved that he is deft in all kinds of roles.
Harishree Ashokan comes to cinema from Mimicry venues. Harishree Ashokan made his film debut in 1986 with the Sathyan Anthikad film Pappan Shretta Pappan. Apart from being an actor, he has also played the role of a director. But now the actor is so active in few films. At the same time, son Arjun Ashokan is standing out among the young stars.
Harishree Ashoka came up from extreme poverty. There was a time when the actor lived by breaking roads for the Telecom Department. The journey that started from that reached the silver screen. Now, Harishree Ashokan has talked about that journey on Amrita TV’s Comedy Masters. The actor also reveals his first reward. Read in detail.
‘All my brothers were in the telecom department and that’s how I got into it. I passed SSLC in 77. As early as 77, I took a Picasso and went down to tear down the road. To lay the cable. The salary I get on that day is six rupees and seventy paise. But it is a big help at home. While I was working on it, I used to go to competitions,”
‘I go to events alone. In Ernakulam Ayyappankav temple, he used to write letters to program in the festival. But they won’t take it. So after waiting for many years I did not get that platform. Later, I got to program at that venue with Harishree and Kalabhavan. Which I have announced right there. Got a lot of applause’,
‘I came to Cochin theater without staying. Played at Carmel Theatres. Later, he started miming for the interludes of Kala Bhavan’s Gana Mela. Advocate KV Prasad, who was the secretary of the Kalabhavan at that time, came to my house in the morning with his coat on and called me to the Kalabhavan after knocking me lying on the verandah. I was scared that day. There is a parade of Siddique Lal on that day.
‘That was my wish. They were my inspiration. They all wanted to do what they were doing. After some time Siddique moved out of it and took me to it. After staying there for some time, he came to Harishree. Harishree Ashokan said that he comes to cinema from there. The actor also said that there was good support from home. The actor’s comment was that it is not a program that earns money in a starving house.
Harishree Ashokan last acted in the film Priyan Ottamin which released last year. Before that, Keshu had appeared in notable roles in the film ‘Ee Dimina Nathan’ and Minnal Murali.
