Exclusive: Rohman Shawl would love to share screen with Sushmita Sen

Rohman Shawl who was in the limelight till now for his association with Sushmita Sen has made his big-screen debut with Tamil film Amaran. Though his modelling career and relationship have shaped his past, he is now making waves for his acting talent. He speaks candidly about his transition from modelling to acting and the notion people carry about models not being good actors. He hopes to break the idea with his performance in Amaran. Excerpts:

I got excited when I was offered Amaran because this was the first time somebody saw me as an antagonist. All the actors want to try different characters. I had this list that I wanted to be a kick-ass villain, a lover boy, lead in a horror film, do a comedy, be an athlete in a film and many more. With Amaran, I could see one thing getting ticked off. I was never scared of taking on this role because I knew that this was a special one and it would help me build up my career as an actor. I’ve always been known for having a pretty face. I knew Amaran would change that for me and thankfully it has.

What was the most challenging part about playing this role?

I was asked to grow my hair as my director felt I looked too sweet. One thing that I have not told many people about is that I would sit in the sun to get sunburns before shoots. It looked more authentic. We also joined Mr. Atul Mongia’s workshop for mental preparation.

When I shifted to Mumbai in 2016, I had a mindset that it’s hard for models to get into acting. So I joined an acting workshop with Mr. Prashant Singh. Maybe because it was set into my mind that models can’t be actors so I started running away from it. In 2021 I did my first film – a short film called Azadi. It helped me break that notion and I found my love for acting. Now with Amaran, people are only talking about my acting and how they could relate to the ferocity that I got into the role. That’s a victory, not just for me, but for people like me who’ve come from a modelling background and want to try acting. I just want to tell you guys that maybe after this, people will stop saying that models can’t be actors. Maybe I can be that example for them.

After Azadi, I found my love for acting. Then I did my second short film – My Father’s Doctor. After that, I was approached for Amaran. It took a long time for Amaran to happen because the shoot started in 2023 and ended in 2024. I had to wait with this look. I could not take on other work. After a point, I realised that I should wait on this film, let it be released and people see my work.  And thankfully, that has started happening. 

I do not come from a rich background. Money never drove me but you need money to survive. When I joined this film, I did not know that it was going to take so many years to make. Since you’ve committed to a film, you can’t just go back out from it. I knew this was going to change the game for me. Up till a point, because I wasn’t doing anything else, I didn’t have so much money. Thankfully, I have some amazing friends and cousins who were there for me to support me. I could pull this off because of their support otherwise I couldn’t have. It was a difficult call for me. All these projects that were being offered, came with a lot of money attached. Saying no to that was the most difficult part. But as they say, what happens is for the best. 

Kamal Haasan praised you for the role. How did that feel?

We were at the last skit and my director Mr. Raj Kumar Piriyasamy said that the film had come out well. Kamal sir had seen your work and he has liked it. I haven’t personally heard it from him. But my director told me and it would be lovely to hear from him. I haven’t been able to meet him, but hopefully in future, whenever I do, hearing this from such a big legend would be amazing. Probably if I get a hug from him, that will just make my day.

I’m not somebody who will run away from reality. Now that I am into films, I would like people to talk about it, which is happening already. Since Amaran was released, the only thing that people are connecting me with is my work. Before this, I wasn’t doing much work-wise, so people didn’t have anything else to say. Which is okay. I do not run from my reality. I will always be proud of who I have been and what I’ve done. And yes, when you work so hard on something, you want people to see that and talk about it. And thankfully, I see that change coming in. I hope I can do much better things work-wise in future. 

Of course, she’s a legend and she’s an amazing actor. I would love to share the screen with her. And so, I would like to share with a lot of people. There are so many good actors out there that you can learn from. Salman Khan sir, Shah Rukh Khan sir, all these legends I would love to work with. I think every actor has that list. And why not? I would also like to work with Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor, Hrithik Roshan sir, Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone. 

I have always maintained that they are my family, we may not always be in touch but whenever they need me I’m going to be there for them.