Tovino Thomas who began his film career with the role of a shrewd politician in his Malayalam debut film, ABCD, has indeed come a long way. His prudent selection of roles subsequently took him ahead in the pursuit of his dreams, one step at a time.
With films such as Ennu Ninte Moideen, Guppy and Ezra, Thomas stayed long in the minds of viewers. And, with his last release, Oru Mexican Aparatha, a campus political drama, Thomas the star had arrived.
In an exclusive chat with Gulf News tabloid!, Thomas talks about preparing for the wrestler’s role in Godha, and his journey into filmdom.
Role play
“I play Anjaneya Das, son of a well-known wrestler, Captain Pehelwan. Renji Panicker plays my on-screen father. Das is a slacker who does nothing besides playing cricket with friends. He is sent to Punjab by his father to pursue M. Tech where he meets this woman keen on wrestling.”
Role preparation
“Although my wrestling sequences in the story are not long, I wanted to portray my character realistically so I trained under Minnal George, a noted wrestler from Kochi for a month. I am not new to physical training since I have been into it since the age of 14. I won the Mr Trichur prize and while in college at Coimbatore I won the Mr Anna University prize.
“It was a wonderful learning experience in different kinds of wrestling, freestyle wrestling and ghata kusthi, where the mud is prepared with ghee and milk to reduce bruises.
“I also understood that this sport not only involves stamina and strength training but also brains and presence of mind. There are times when you to be fast and understand the opponent’s weakness.”
Acting dreams
“Films have fascinated me from young. That grew further after I watched shootings and the magic of filmmaking kept me in awe. I made it a point to watch those films that I had observed during shooting and seeing the final product only fuelled my dreams further. I worked as a software professional for a while but was soon convinced that I was not cut out for it. I quit it for films. It has been a tough journey getting a break and doing roles that I liked. Initially, I was enamoured by fame and money that an actor’s career brings but soon realised that finally it is the satisfaction of doing a role well, fame and money are by-products. For someone coming from outside the industry to eventually working with icons I had grown up admiring, it was an unbelievable moment; a dream come true. The fanboy in me was overjoyed. I am now in a happy phase.”
Up next
I have completed a Tamil film, that is untitled yet. I am working on a Malayalam film, Tarangam, produced by Dhanush’s Wunderbar Films. My next film is Mayaanidhi with Aashiq Abu.
Don’t miss it
Godha releases in the UAE on May 25.
