Chennai, Sep.2 (NR): He played the suave NRI guy, Arvind in 'Kanda naal mudhal.' As Cheenu, Dhanush's friend in 'Yaaradi nee mohini,' he made a mark. And in 'Poi solla porrom, 'as the young man Uppilinathan, nursing the US dream, he impresses.

Karthik Kumar, better known as Evam Karthik has indeed come a long way from his debut film, 'Vaanam Vasappadum.' In the soon to be released, 'Ninaithale innikkum,' he will be seen in a negative role, busting the NRI mappilai image that he seems to be carrying.

Excerpts from a conversation with Mythily Ramachandran.

From your debut film to the present, how has the journey been?

It has been as meaningful as possible. Although 2006-2007 was a lean phase for me and good roles were hard to come by, I enjoyed working with good people in small roles. Like Selvaraghavan's Yaaradi nee mohini and Priyadarshan production under Vijay in Poi solla porrom. Quite a many people from the industry were surprised that I stuck around this time. I am here to explore my potential as an actor and not to be a star or to become famous.

Tell us about your role in Ninaithale innikum.

This is a racy campus edge thriller. I play Jayasurya's character from the Malayalam film, Classmates. But director Kumaravel has given a twist to my role making my character significant. I expect big things from this role and I hope people will wake up and notice me as an actor. I trusted Kumar 150% for the risk he was taking in casting me in a negative role. He had a distinctly different vision for the film. Ninaithale innikkum is an ensemble of five friends and not a hero oriented film.

What about your other films?