Nivin Pauly reveals Ajith Kumar's advice that helped him endure career setbacks: 'He told me every actor...'

"Malayalee From India" star Nivin Pauly recalled an interesting conversation with Tamil superstar Ajith Kumar that gave him the right mindset to embrace the ups and downs in his career.

Malayalam star Nivin Pauly has revealed an interesting conversation he had with Tamil superstar Ajith Kumar a long time ago while promoting his latest release, "Malayalee From India". It seems that conversation prepared Nivin well to face challenges in his professional life, knowing it was only a phase.

To set some context, Nivin's career has been on shaky ground for the last few years. Even though his movies in the last five years have achieved a lot of critical acclaim, they have failed to work commercially. Many have raised questions about Nivin's choices and his potential to be a crowd-puller that he was, say, a decade ago.

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Nivin, however, seems unfazed by the volatile period in his career. Instead of worrying too much, he seems to be using the time to fully understand his strengths and weaknesses while plotting his comeback.

Nivin seems to be following the advice that Ajith gave him at a time when his career was going very well. "After the release of Premam, Ajith sir invited me to dinner. He then told me that all your films that come out now will be a hit, but there will be a phase in your career, and every actor will go through that. You should overcome that phase. Your career will face a dip and it will go up again. He told me that he also experienced that phase in his career," recalled Nivin.

Ajith solidified his position in the Tamil film industry in the late '90s and early 2000s. However, his career faced a major setback when a series of his movies failed to make any dent at the box office. Many even wrote off Ajith and his ability to entertain mass audiences. But, he reinvented himself as a star with "Billa" (2007) and continues to be a force to reckon with in Tamil cinema.

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"During that phase, he (Ajith) told me, you will know who picks your phone call, and who's ready to make and produce films with you. You will understand plenty of such things. But when your career recovers from the slump, you will know who are our true allies. And he asked me to wish that phase come in my career very soon," Nivin said.

Nivin recently tasted success for his performance in "Varshangalkku Shesham", which has raked in more than Rs 80 crore from its worldwide ticket sales. Even though he played only an extended cameo in the movie, his character was a big hit.

In the meantime, "Malayalee From India" garnered mixed reactions, but it's said to be doing well at the box office.