Many trained talented artists are usually unrecognised. It happened to Mr. Ashokan hailing from Alappuzha in the state of Kerala that while painting a house as a construction work when the clocks striked noon and he was declared Kerala State Award for Best Costume Designer after working for 25 years in a row.
Ashokan did the costumes for all three of Manoj Kana’s films, a man in the habit of making award winning films. Chayilyam, his first on a woman forced to play ‘goddess’, won the state award for best story, and Amoeba, his second film on endosulfan victims, won another state award.In some of the films that he worked in, Ashokan also played small roles. He fondly remembers a part he did in one of the CBI movies that Mammootty has famously played detective Sethurama Iyer for. He also played a small role in Kenjira.
Ashokan need not be bogged down by the pandemic any longer. His next work, again for Manoj Kana, will begin next month.He lives in Paravoor with his wife Usha, sons Aswin and Ananthakrishnan. Daughter Aswathy lives in her marital home. Ashokan is a grandfather to two of her kids.
