3 times Ravichandran Ashwin brought out the movie buff within him

Star off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is regarded among the best bowlers of all time, especially in the Test format. With over 700 international wickets in a career spanning 13 years, the Tamil Nadu bowler is ninth all-time in Test scalps, only 11 short of the incredible 500-wicket landmark.

While his love for the game and its finer nuances is well-known, Ashwin is also a big movie buff. The champion cricketer has often rendered dialogues from several Rajinikanth movies on his Youtube channel.

The 36-year-old has also stated his admiration and fandom of the superstar on many occasions and recently posted his excitement on watching Rajinikanth's new release 'Jailer' on the first day after several years.

On his Twitter account, Ashwin posted:

"On a completely different note, I am home for thailavars release after 2 decades nearly. #JAILER #thailavar #excited"

The movie will be the 169th for one of India's most decorated actors in his illustrious career and is slated to release worldwide on Thursday, August 10.

Apart from Thalaivar Rajinikanth, the veteran cricketer has also been notorious for talking about other movies and stars over time.

So, let us look back on the three times Ravichandran Ashwin brought out the movie buff in him.

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#1 Ravichandran Ashwin envisioned himself as a character from Ponniyin Selvan I

Ravichandran Ashwin dreams of himself as a character in Ponniyin Selvan I

Ravichandran Ashwin shared several tweets after watching Ponniyin Selvan I, the magnum opus directed by Mani Ratnam, last year. The star cricketer happened to watch the movie a couple of days after its release and posted a positive review of the historical feature film.

Ashwin also shared a video envisioning himself as one of the characters from the movie. In his first Tweet, he said:

"I don’t know how many more times I will fall in love with this epic story. #ponniyinselvan. Movies can’t replace a good novel, however the legend #maniratnam has made #ps1 a compelling watch."

The bowling all-rounder then shared another tweet praising the cast and crew of the movie. He added:

"There are plenty of stars who have acted in this movie and added depth to some amazing characters that lived in my head who were brought to life by @Karthi_Offl (vandiyathevan), @trishtrashers (kundavai), Aishwarya Rai(Nandini) and @actor_jayamravi (arunmozhi) with grace and elan."

Ponniyin Selvan I was the first of a two-part historical drama set in the Chola Empire, highlighting the battle for power between the Cholas and the Pandyas. The second part was released a few months back and was equally well-received by critics and fans.

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#2 Deep conversation in an interview on movies with a film-critic

Ravichandran Ashwin was interviewed by renowned Indian film-critic Bharadwaj Rangan extensively on movies, music, and other cinema-related aspects in 2020.

The star cricketer did a deep dive into his love for character artists like Vishnu Vishal and Madhavan (he has interviewed both on his Youtube channel) and the differences between legendary music directors Illayaraja and AR Rehman.

Ashwin also stated his love for listening to Rehman's music before a game and Ilayaraja's after finishing a game. He also named Baasha as his favorite Rajinikanth movie and Michael Madana Kama Rajan as his favorite Kamal Haasan film.

Apart from the above, the 36-year-old also spoke about the Shankar-directed Indian as the movie that gave him the most hope. He also touched on how the positive messages from movies like Tare Zameen Par should be replicated in real life.

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#3 Interview with BCCI on movies in 2016

Ravichandran Ashwin reveals his all-time favorite movie and other film-related topics.

In an interview with BCCI back in 2016, Team India superstar Ravichandran Ashwin revealed his favorites in the cine industry, be it movies or personalities.

The champion bowler spoke about his favorite musicians, movies, and comic characters in an exciting interaction.

"Honestly I don’t listen to lot of English music. I listen to lot of Bollywood music and my favourite singer is Shoaib Bhushan and my favourite musician is from down south is AR Rahman," said Ashwin.

"My favourite movie is 3 Idiots. It’s a Hindi movie and I also have a great collection of Hollywood movies and my favourite movie is Vertical Limit. Always had a big… big thing for the Batman and I would like to take batman dress along with the entire powers," added Ashwin.

It is quite a revelation and admirable to see a cricketer as accomplished and decorated as the Tamil Nadu bowler be so deeply invested in the cinema ecosystem.

With tremendous passion and interest in movies, Ashwin has often dissected their nuances in-depth on several platforms throughout his cricketing career.