Aashish Chowdhry, "Qayamat is going to be an acid test for me"
By Parag Desai
Top-notch model-turned-actor Aashish Chowdhry is eagerly awaiting the release of his debut film 'Qayamat' which will hit the marquee on July 11. Directed by Harry Baweja.
This mega action thriller  starring Ajay Devgan, Neha Dhupia, Sunil Shetty, Raveena Tandon, Sanjay Kapoor, Isha Kopikar, Riya Sen, Aashish Chowdhry and Arbaz Khan among others is a high-voltage action-thrill drama about Mumbai city under the threat of an imminent nuclear blast. The two men who go on a mission to save the city from nuclear holocaust are Ajay Devgan and Aashish Chowdhry who fight Molotov cocktail of warring arm dealers, international terrorists and a deadly virus. "Qayamat is going to be an acid test for me," says Aashish. "I am the junior most actor among the seniors in the film. I have done my job pretty well and hopefully Qayamat will be a platform for me to take my career further on the big screen." Even before the release of 'Qayamat' Aashish was flooded with offers. Among the host of offers he had, he has chosen three films of which 'Enjoy', an English film produced by Rajiv Shah and Javed Jaffrey, is getting ready for an early release.
Aashish is indeed a versatile personality who has worn many hats. He has done many things. Be it ramp walk, anchoring, modeling, ad films, print ads, music videos, serials, offbeat film, telefilms, event management and even making ad films, Aashish Chowdhry has done them all. Starting his career at the age of 19 when he was in college and the pimples on his sweet and attractive face had not even disappeared, Aashish had a roller-coaster ride in every field he dabbled into. A top model with more than 40 major brands under his belt, a sought after actor for major television shows, Aashish's journey as an actor and model has been as eventful as he could dream of. But his eyes were focused on the big screen. What he needed and was waiting for was the right break on the big screen: right banner, right director, right film, right role and right co-stars. It happened and his dream came true when well-known producer-director Harry Baweja signed him for 'Qayamat'.
"It's the right film to make my debut on the silver screen," gushes Aashish who is paired with Riya Sen in 'Qayamat'. "What makes it feel great is also the fact that for the role I am playing in the film, Harry Baweja had considered actors like Fardeen Khan, Aftaab Shivdasani, Rahul Khanna and Saif Ali Khan. But eventually he approached me," smiles the actor who has been around on the acting and modeling scene for the last seven years. "The role runs parallel with that of Ajay Devgan." Needless to say, it's a very important role with ample and as much footage and importance as that of Ajay Devgan. "It's an action role with a touch of light comedy," smiles Aashish adding that there is romance too for him.
Though 'Qayamat' is his first major commercial break on the cinema screen, he didn't have butterflies in his tummy while working with senior actors and stars. "It was easy and cool because acting comes easy to me," says Aashish who is definitely not a newcomer as far as film acting goes. For, while he was modeling for major brands he had done well-known filmmaker Yash Chopra's full-length satellite television film with all the commercial elements. The film was 'Hum Ko Ishq Ne Mara', directed by Arjun Sablok, which was telecast on Star Plus. And while modeling was still going on, he played the lead in NFDC's Piyush Jha-directed off-beat film 'Chalo America'. The film was featured in the Indian Panorama and was a toast of festival regulars and film critics in the International Film Festival of India in 1990, which earned Aashish a lot of appreciation and accolades.
The ramp walker who first faced camera as an anchor for Disney Club Show  along with Sameeta did his first acting assignment for television when well-known Bollywood director Vikram Bhatt made 'Apne Jaise Types' for Sony Entertainment Television. Modeling took him further and made him a top model with several popular campaigns for leading brands such as Kit-Kat, Aristocrat Whiskey, Toyata Qualis, Limca, Solo Mint, Vicks, Kawasaki Bajaj, Liril, Ponds, Hero Honda etc. etc. Among the few television shows that he has done he is best remembered for 'Hum Pardesi Ho Gaye', which he did because Sony Entertainment Television insisted. After that the sluice gates opened. "I was offered all the Balaji serials, 'Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki', 'Kusum', 'Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi', 'Kasauti Zindagi Ki'," he reveals. "They were willing to offer me Rs. 30,000 per episode but I said no." Though the offers never dried and the best of shows came his way Ashish had focused his eyes on the big screen. He had to wait for about six months after the last episode of 'Hum Pardesi Ho Gaye', which was telecast in February last year. And 'Qayamat' happened.
Now there is no looking back for him as his plate is full with offers. Among the several offers he had in his kitty, he chose to do an English film. 'Enjoy' is a comic-romantic one evening story set in a party with 18 characters in which Aashish is the host and plays his age. The film revolves around him. His romantic angle in 'Enjoy' is Aarzoo Gowitrikar. "It's a nice film, which has lot of stage actors where I am the senior most," he says. "It was a totally different experience doing it." Ideally Aashish would want to do one proper mainstream Bollywood film followed by an English film. So after 'Enjoy' he is playing the romantic lead in the Raj Kaushal directed romantic musical, which will be shot in a start-to-finish schedule in London from August. Once he returns he is committed to do Anubhav's Sinha's next film. "Everyday I am hearing and reading scripts," he reveals adding that he is also in the process of choosing his next English film.
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