S. A. Ashokan

S. A. Ashokan, born as Antony and often spelled Asokan, was an Indian actor who worked mainly in Tamil cinema and theatre. He was popular mainly for playing negative roles but was also a successful character actor. Early life Ashokan was born on 20 May 1931 as Anthony in Tiruchirapalli. He showed interest in stage plays and frequently took part in oratorical and writing competitions during his childhood. He finished his B.A. degree at the St. Joseph's College, Tiruchirapalli. Career After completing his degree, Anthony met director T. R. Ramanna, who introduced him to the film industry. Anthony changed his name to Ashokan upon Ramanna's request and maintained the same name for life. Ashokan made his acting debut in a minor role in the film Avvaiyar. He was given a positive role in the film Penn Kulathin Ponvilakku (1959) as an admirer of a woman he considers a sister. He gained the attention of the general public with the film Kappalottiya Thamizhan in 1961, where he portrayed the role of Collector Ash. Later films which featured him in the lead were, however, moderately successful. Active mostly in the 1960s and 1970s, he acted mainly in villainous roles and did character roles opposite many leading actors of those times. Ashokan's performance as a helpless traveller who gets conned in Vallavanukku Vallavan, and as the historical Indian character Duryodhana in the mythology film Karnan were well received. He was regularly cast in supporting roles as an elder brother, father or father-in-law, or the main villain in 59 films with M. G. Ramachandran in the lead role, right from Baghdad Thirudan in 1960 to Ninaithadhai Mudippavan in 1975. Some of the popular films with MGR – S. A.