Tovino Thomas is currently seen as the main lead of the Malayalam film 2018. It also stars Asif Ali, Aparna Balamurali, Tanvi Ram and is directed by Jude Anthany Joseph. The Free Press Journal caught up with him for an exclusive chat. Excerpts:
You enjoy a massive female fan following. How do you feel about it?
I will have to ask my wife and my kids. I enjoy being called the crush of female fans indeed being loved is what all of us want and like. When I was 16 I wanted to be a superhero as everyone loves superheroes so I wanted to be Superman. I couldn’t be one. Therefore, I became an actor. Actors get unconditional love from everybody for our characters. So, I am very happy that it was my dream and I am living my dream.
You get special love from Dubai. What do you have to say?
I am a small town boy who wants love from everyone. I get love as I am working in the movies. I want to go beyond that. Though I cannot complain. My dreams got fulfilled as soon as I debuted in my first film. Once our dreams are fulfilled, our dreams start growing bigger and bigger but at the same time I feel content as I am already living my dream. I can stop dreaming but I don’t want to. Sky’s the limit.
What more do you have to achieve from different spheres of filmmaking?
I want to make movies that get critical acclaim. I also want to act in movies which will bring commercial acclaim to me. I’m trying to spread my wings. When I did Kala I could impress one section of audiences and with Minnal Murali I could impress another section of audiences. The taste of the audience varies, while some prefer commercial films and the others serious viewers prefer watching festival films.
Go on…
I have seen people from government jobs come and watch films shown in film festivals. They take 10 days off and they just watch movies. They are not critics but enjoy their holidays watching films. They want to watch good movies, so I consider them as a very valuable section of the audience. I want to do movies for them. They are serious viewers. Sexy Durga, an indie horror Malayalam film directed by Sanal Kumar Sasidharan, was made for festival circles solely. I want to be associated with different parts of films. It’s like I am studying in different schools like Dr Biju’s films. As an actor, I am learning different facts of cinema.
You don’t like remakes but you did one remake. Can you elaborate why?
A Malayalam film of 1964 Neelavelicham was titled Bhargavi Nilayam as they couldn’t show it in blue but in black and white. After many years, I have starred in the same title film called Neelavelicham in which I play the pivotal role of a writer. We showed it in blue. It is not a remake, we call it re-imagination. I definitely don’t want to do remakes. Bhargavi Nilayam was made in 1964 in black and white so we consider it a tribute. 2018, which was released recently, has received both critical and box office success. I am making money from commercially successful films by acting, hence, I can invest my money so the other kinds of movies don’t get extinct.
What do you like doing in art films? What interests you to remain connected to such films?
I love watching slow movies without any gimmicks and love watching movies with long takes. We don’t get to do that in commercial movies. In long takes, we can perform for 20 minutes. The camera will roll for 20 minutes and we have to perform for it.That is a learning experience for maybe one shot a day. Just imagine we shot a movie for 60 days which is 120 minutes. If we take long shots just for 20 minutes we complete the film fast. We will be able to wrap the film in 20 days only. When we go for long shots, we go for rehearsals and even during the final shot we go for improvisation. We need to reciprocate to the actors. It’s a great learning experience. After these movies, I have understood cinema more.
As a producer/ actor how do you slash out your remuneration so you can take away a territory?
For Dear Friend, I got basic remuneration that I got five years back. I don’t want the producer to go bankrupt. I don’t take money if movies don’t fare well at the box office. I have never had a financial setback as I live a minimal life.
How do you look at success? Whose shoulders do you lean on when you face a low phase?
I have a lot of shoulders to put my head on and cry… my wife, parents, siblings and friends. I am a very sensitive emotional person when I am happy, sad or angry you can see it on my face. It’s just because I always speak my heart out. I act while acting.
