Think of Tovino Thomas, a variety of roles would rush to our minds — that of a young politician, police officer, wrestler and true lover. He has always enthralled us with his beautiful makeovers, both subtle and loud, for his characters. Look at the engineer Thejus Varkey of Guppy. He had little resemblance to the Akhilesh Varma of ABCD, Kochaniyan of Oru Mexican Aparatha or Appu of Ennu Ninte Moideen. Within these years, Tovino has carved a niche in the audience’s mind through his different portrayals.
As his latest flick Tharangam, written and directed by Dominic Arun is all set to hit the theatres on September 29, the actor sounds confident. “All processes of the movie are over and I have seen the final product. I am confident about the movie. A good team has worked behind this project,” says Tovino during shot break, on the sets of Maradona. We have received a few glimpses of his character from the trailers. Tovino says, “Balu Varghese and I play traffic police in Tharangam. We are in suspension. The film has some fantasy elements and follows a different making style.”
Tovino says that one can feel that difference in the theatres. “You would be able to feel the difference in departments like cinematography,” he says. Besides the exciting story, what attracted Tovino to Tharangam is the crew. “Dominic Arun is my friend. I have seen two of his short films, which were taken by exerting the same amount of effort required for a movie. Those short films were screened at various festivals and had won awards. So, I know his making style. He neatly does that,” says Tovino. “What we needed was a good producer. Fortunately, we got that too. Tharangam is a pure entertainer that will keep the audience engaged,” he adds. It is produced by actor Dhanush.
Everyone in the Tharangam team knew each other for years and Tovino says that has helped the making of the movie. “That rapport has been there. When friends make a cinema, there would be a comfort level,” he says. Besides Tovino and Balu, Tharangam, which was shot mainly in Ernakulam, features other actors like Neha, Vijaraghavan, Manoj K. Jayan, Alencier and Sijoy in prominent roles. Each character is revealed through Facebook updates. “These are all important characters. The audience may be familiar with their names and hence they can easily relate to them. We had a feeling that it would be great if people come to know about the characters before the release of the movie and hence these character revealing posts on Facebook! They would help the characters create a connection with the audience,” explains Tovino, who is making his Tamil debut with Abi and Anu. In Malayalam, it is titled as Abhiyude Kadha Anuvinteyum.
“I didn’t choose Abi and Anu just to fulfill my wish to act in Tamil. The movie has an exciting content,” says Tovino. As the tagline suggests, it is a fearless love story. “It is a bold movie. But, don’t expect big stunt sequences. The fearless factor comes in mind. Abi and Anu is not a peppy romance. It is an intense romantic drama, which will make the audience think. What I look for in Abi and Anu is the critical acclaim,” he adds. Not just this, he will be donning the role of a villain in Balaji Mohan’s Maari 2, produced by Dhanush’s Wunderbar Films. “It is my third movie with that production house. It was Vinod, production head of Wunderbar Films, who first told me about the project. He said director Balaji wanted to narrate this story to me. I was happy to associate with them. I am a fan of Dhanush’s performance, his way of thinking and the kind of films he has taken. I also like Balaji’s films. He knows the pulse of the audience. So, I was happy to work with them. I was excited when I listened to the script.”
Back in Malayalam, he has completed Aashiq Abu’s Mayanadhi, which is expected to hit theatres during Christmas. Quiz him about the experience of working with the team and he says, “That was a very good experience. First of all, they are experienced hands and their making is different. They are quite relaxed during the shooting. They extract the output, keeping us comfortable. I have enjoyed that process, which helps us get deep into the skin of the character.” Check Tovino’s filmography and you can see that he is careful about choosing projects. What is his criterion while choosing movies? “In all these years, I have done only less than 20 movies, including guest appearances. It is not that I didn’t get offers. I think of the mark I leave behind. I wanted to do cinema that I would like to watch in theatres. There is always a constant effort to bring in novelty. Cinema is a medium that will remain even after our time. I want to leave a good mark in the industry,” signs off people’s Appu ettan.
