Ashwin Kakumanu

Ashwin Kakumanu is an Indian actor who works in Tamil-language films and is known for his roles in Venkat Prabhu's Mankatha, Megha (2014) and Zero (2016).

Career Ashwin initially auditioned for a role in Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa. The director, Gautham Vasudev Menon, was close to giving him the role, but Ashwin was noticed by the assistant directors of the film who recommended him for the role of Arjun, the boyfriend of Sameera Reddy's character in Nadunisi Naaygal. Ashwin Kakumanu later featured in Venkat Prabhu's Mankatha alongside Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja and Vaibhav Reddy. Ashwin appeared as a local Dharavi police officer, replacing Ganesh Venkatraman who had pulled out of the film. Ashwin next played a young scientist in A. R. Murugadoss's 7 Aum Arivu, alongside Suriya and Shruti Haasan. He also appeared in a guest appearance in Gautham Menon's Ekk Deewana Tha featuring Prateik Babbar and Amy Jackson.

Ashwin had his first leading role in the 2013 comedy film Idharkuthane Aasaipattai Balakumara and went on to star in the Ilaiyaraaja musical Megha. Among his projects are Zero, a supernatural thriller that features Ashwin as a social worker, Thiri, directed by Ashok Amritraj, and Thollaikatchi, a "romantic comedy film with a social message" directed by M.Sadiq khan. In Mani Ratnam's Magnum Opus Ponniyin Selvan, he plays the role of Senthan Amuthan.

Filmography

Films All films are in Tamil, unless otherwise noted. Year Film Role Notes 2011 Nadunisi Naaygal Arjun Mankatha Ganesh 7 Aum Arivu Ashwin 2012 Ekk Deewana Tha Himself Hindi film 2013 Idharkuthane Aasaipattai Balakumara Balakrishnan Gopalsamy Biriyani Himself Special appearance 2014 Megha Mugilan 2015 Vedalam Arjun 2016 Zero Balaji 2017 Thiri Jeeva 2019 Neerthirai 2020 Naanga Romba Busy Karthik 2022 Ponniyin Selvan I Senthan Amuthan 2023 Ponniyin Selvan: II Pizza 3: The Mummy Nalan 2025 Thanal A former army soldier turned robber

Web series and short films Year Film Role Platform Language Notes 2018 Nila Nila Odi Vaa Om Prakash Viu Tamil 2019 Finger Tip Sanjay ZEE52020Mushroom Manithargal- The Seasonal PeopleDirector AlexBehindwoods TVShort Film 2021 Live Telecast Chinna (Ghost)Disney+ Hotstar Pitta Kathalu ShivaNetflix Telugu Anthology Series Segment: Meera