Varisu actor Ganesh Venkatram says he wants to play a role like Ajith in Mankatha

Model-turned-actor Ganesh Venkatram, who was hitherto seen in 'goody' avatars in films, recently stunned everyone as financier Mukesh in his last outing, Thalapathy Vijay's Varisu. The actor played financier Mukesh in the Vamsi Paidipally film, a character with shades of grey. He also reunited with Prakash Raj, with whom he had made his acting debut in Abhiyum Naanum (2008). And now the actor has done a photo shoot displaying  his 'bad side' which is doing the rounds on the internet. The actor is seen with kohl-lined eyes and puffing away a cigarette in the same.

Talking about the photo shoot, Ganesh tells OTTplay that he always wanted to break that stereotype of being a gentleman. "One feedback that I got for my character in Varisu is that they couldn't accept me as a villain after seeing me in positive characters. But as an actor, I want to experiment with all kinds of roles. I want to understand what a 'bad' person's approach and outlook towards life is. I always felt that characters with shades of grey or the antagonists are well written in the commercial format of cinema. I, too, want to enjoy a variety of roles and play something like what Ajith sir did in Mankatha. I wanted to experiment organically."

The actor says that the photo shoot was sort of an extension of the same. "I wanted to take the game a notch higher and experimented with kohl-based looks. They were received pretty well by the audience. I hope to do more films in negative roles as well."

In the meantime, Ganesh has begun working on his upcoming project with Bhavana. The film, helmed by Jaidev, marks Bhavana's comeback to Tamil cinema. The team recently wrapped up a schedule in Kodaikanal. Ganesh stated that Bhavana was a very spontaneous actor and he thoroughly enjoyed working with her. The actor also has Un Paarvaiyil, Red Sandalwood and Sabari lined up for release.