If you slice and dice Tovino Thomas’ filmography year-wise, his career graph shows a steady upward trajectory. With back-to-back releases, it’s no surprise that the heartthrob from Irinjalakuda has been one of the busiest actors in Mollywood. Whether as a hero or an anti-hero or a sidekick or a downright villain, the range of contrasting roles he has essayed over the years lends credence to his versatility as an actor. Tovino doesn’t mind transgressing the contours of a conventional hero, pin-pointing that “there are shades of grey” in everyone.
It is one such character that he portrays in the female-centric Uyare , set to hit the marquee today. “It’s kind of a motivational film and I play Vishal Rajashekharan, an aviation officer,” says Tovino over phone from Thenkasi where he’s busy shooting for Praveen Prabharam-directed Kalki in which he dons the role of a police officer.
“Vishal is a prodigal son who struggles to keep afloat an aviation firm once kept flying high by his father. We see how he influences Pallavi (Parvathy Thiruvoth as an acid attack survivor),” he lets on in brief, leaving the rest for the audience to find out for themselves.
In the latest Mohanlal-starrer Lucifer , Tovino made an instant impact with his rather brief but impressive role as Jathin Ramdas, pitch-forked into the murky world of politics to keep up his dynastic grip on a political party at a time of crisis. His rousing speech as an NRI who initially seemed to struggle with his mother tongue turned out to be one of the high points of the blockbuster. Tovino, however, remembers the role as being “tricky”. “Jathin did not have much similarities with the characters I have essayed before,” he says, promptly crediting the movie’s writer (Murali Gopy) and director (Prithviraj Sukumaran) for making him appear so convincing.
Tovino Thomas
With a jam-packed schedule and a number of projects at hand, Tovino says he always looks in the forward direction. “But I always finish one (movie) before moving on to the next. So, quite often, there are hardly any breaks. But that’s fine with me as, at one point of time, I had stayed home for months without work. I have taken all the rest I needed then,” he says with self-deprecating humour.
He describes Kalki , slated for an August release, as a “mass entertainer but not lacking in sensibilities” with a bucolic setting. However, one work Tovino has certainly been enthused about is Minnal Murali , where he once again teams up with director Basil Joseph, who made the former his main man in the 2017 sports comedy Godha . Touted to be a ‘superhero’ film, Tovino drives home the point that there’s “nothing incredible” about such an idea in Malayalam. “We see aliens and super-villains coming to the United States, superheroes protecting America. So, we (the makers) thought why shouldn’t Kerala too have its own superhero? That’s the fun premise MinnalMurali revolves around,” he says, while pointing out that the key challenge is in packaging such a movie to not make it appear “alien” to the Malayali audience.
- And the Oscar Goes To (Director: Salim Ahamed)
- It revolves around the struggles of a filmmaker
- Kilometres and Kilometres (Jeo Baby)
- It’s going to be a laugh riot. It’s also a road movie shot in plenty of scenic locations across the country
- Luca (Arun Bose)
- The seed of idea for Luca was developed back in 2014. The film will have a poetic touch with a blend of elements of romance and thriller.
- Edakkad Battalion 06 (Swapnesh K Nair)
- I play a military personnel. It has a rustic setting.
- Aaravam (Jithu Ashraf)
- Will be based on snake boat races in Alappuzha
- Forensic (Sujith Vaassudev)
- An investigative thriller
Describing himself as a fan of DC and Marvel superhero movies, Tovino underscores the comfort level he shares with Basil. “We crack jokes and pull each other’s legs all the time. That rapport will be reflected in Minnal Murali as well,” says the self-confessed Superman fan. So, doesn’t he plan to watch Avengers: Endgame , which incidentally has a release in India on the same day as Uyare ? “Yes, of course,” pat comes the reply.
Another significant flick awaiting release is Virus directed by Aashiq Abu where Tovino forms a pivotal part of a star-studded ensemble cast. Based on the Nipah virus outbreak in the State last year, he says that “with a deep connect with the resilience Kerala showed, it’s not just a movie.” Tovino plays a district collector in the medical thriller and he prefers to dwell more on the film than his character. “The Nipah virus outbreak is something all of us know about but, I feel, the way the film has been shot is poignant. It attempts to portray the real impact of such an incident in society, in a State like Kerala,” says the 30-year-old.
- Cuisine: Keeps changing. However, currently I’m fixated on Kerala cuisine. For a while earlier, it was continental.. before that Chinese...
- Holiday destination: Again, keeps changing.. but the constant is solitude, whether it’s hills or beaches...
- Sport: I used to be a handball player.. I still love to play and watch the sport
- Hollywood star: Many in fact. Still, Robert Downey Jr. And Leonardo Dicaprio
- Your favourite role so far: That’s tricky. It’s very hard to pick one. The films may have been hits or flops but the roles are all mine
He has made a mark in Kollywood too, with the bilingual romantic drama Abhiyum Anuvum and Maari 2 alongside Dhanush where the former played a freakish villain, Gangadhar Beeja, who calls himself Thanatos, or the God of Death. Though he admits to receiving more offers in Tamil, Tovino wants to stick to Mollywood as much as possible, while also stressing that “I have no qualms about doing a character who may be below the lead in the pecking order, whether it’s a hero or a villain or a comedian.”
Tovino Thomas in a still from ‘Uyare’
A fitness enthusiast, Tovino, who has bulked up over the years, says “as an actor, being fit is paramount.” But he doesn’t want to develop “big muscles just for the sake of it.” “Also, from a professional point of view, such a body language may not fit all roles coming my way.”
When asked if he fancies a role behind the camera some day, his candour is unmistakable. “(Laughs) Yes, sometimes I think about it. But it may or may not happen. But definitely not for the time being. Also, I have a truckload of commitments to fulfil first.”
For Tovino, the sky is the limit.
