Malayalam Cinema’s prominent entertainer Aju Varghese has given us some blockbuster films to relish for years.
This versatile actor has not only experimented with various roles in films but has also had a rocky road path to success. He deeply respects his mentors who guided him, worships SRK interviews, and has always loved sharing memories on his Facebook account.
Every Family’s Regime: Graduation in Engineering
Aju pursued his Bachelors in Electronics and Communication Engineering from KCG College of Technology. Since Aju’s parents were engineers they encouraged him to get an engineering degree and then set him free to pursue whatever he wishes to. At engineering college, Aju mingled with friends from all walks of life who exposed him to various cultures and one common interest his friend circle shared was: cinema. They watched movies in all languages and would enjoy analyzing films. Aju says ‘movie was a passion, not a plan’ highlighting that he was taking life as it comes and was never keen on pursuing films as a career.
First Mentor!
Surprisingly, even after years, Aju remembers every contributing member of his life. We believe that it is his down to earth nature as well as networking skills that have always helped him get a lead in life. Aju recalls his first job at Southern Land where he was hired by Mahesh to serve in the department of Human Resources intrigued him because he gets to take interviews rather than getting interviewed, he laughs and shares this reasoning. This job was further followed by a Human Resource officer role at HSBC. Aju then realized that he needed an MBA degree to further grow in this field but didn’t want to study further. Hence, he happily ended this chapter of life and took a vacation break. This job profile taught him time management and discipline even though he earned just ₹6700 per month at that time.
A Natural Actor
In 2010, Aju’s college friend director Vineeth Sreenivasan offered him an audition in his upcoming and debut film ‘Malarvadi Arts Club’. Aju says that Vineeth had made this role keeping in mind Aju’s personality during college days and therefore wanted Aju to enact the role. The role clicked; the movie was a hit! But what next? Aju found himself stuck in the same circle of life not knowing how to go ahead in this career path. He decided and considered that he was among the rare actors who first did feature films and then short films. He sharpened his acting skills by doing roles in short films and realized that ‘comedy’ roles were his niche. This notion was surpassed 9 years later when Vineeth hired him to play the role of a cop in his production venture “Helen”.
The Career
Aju has been associated primarily with 4 of the most prominent directors in the industry namely Vineeth Sreenivasan, Basil Joseph, Ranjith Shankar and, Midhun Manuel Thomas and the majority of his titles are a result of their direction.
Here are some of the most popular hits and blockbuster movies that Aju has been part of:
Malarvadi arts club
Thattathin marayathu
Oh Shanthi Oshaana
Punyalan Agarbhathis
Su Su Sudhi Valmeekam
Oru Vadakkan Selfie
Njaan Marykutty
Love Action Drama
Vellimonga
Pretham
Adi Kapyare koottamani
Kunjiramayanam
Godha
Kili poyi ( India’s first stoner genre film)
Helen
Kamala
Zachariyayude Garbhinikal
Aadu
Urumbukal urangaarilla
Two countries
Ann Mariya Kalippilanu
Oopam
Rakshadhikari oppu
Aravindhante adithikal
Aju always wanted his art to be like clay and take any shape or role effortlessly. Aju moulded his craft with time, and worked on sharpening himself to be flexible enough to act in any role offered to him. Alarming times were when he was challenged to lose weight before his first audition as well as constantly figuring out his career path. His first production film was a blockbuster and his mantra for achieving success constantly is to go to the sets with high power energy every day. Aju adds that self motivation will take oneself to success and self-satisfaction that they never imagined of.
