Tovino Thomas Interview on ‘Ajayante Random Motion’ (ARM): If an actor is unpredictable, it’s good for the audience

Watch: Tovino Thomas interview on ‘Ajayante Random Motion’: It’s good for the audience when an actor is unpredictable

Being a jack of all trades — in any field — is never easy. In the film industry, where a lead actor’s career span largely depends on their consistency in directing movies that racked up the box office, it’s risky to constantly experiment with roles to prove your versatility.

For actor Tovino Thomas, who has carved a niche for himself in Malayalam filmdom since debuting in the industry 12 years ago without a godfather, this seems to be no deterrent. He has never restricted himself to being a ‘safe zone’ actor who only plays certain roles. Unconditional lover from Apu in Ennu naite mueedin To the macho villain Shaji black To the eloquent and brilliant Wazi ThallumalaTovino has managed to pull off a range of different characters in his 49-film-old career.

Tovino Thomas in a still from ‘Ajayante Random Motion’

During a visit Hindu The title of his 50th film before its release at the office Ajayante randam moshanam aka A.R.MTovino says the diversity of his filmography marks him as an “unpredictable actor”. “It’s good for the audience if an actor is unpredictable. I don’t want people to think that Tovino is always the hero. I don’t want them to decide before watching a movie,” he said, about breaking the preconceived notions of moviegoers.

In ARMWhich according to him is a fusion of different genres, he tried to push his limits further and tested his acting skills to play three characters from three different eras. He says he approached the characters in three separate films because they are all unique; And she goes the extra mile to nail them.

“We designed how these three characters walk, smile, talk and even fight. I practiced Kalaripayattu About six months for this movie,” he says, indicating how important it is to explore the nuances of the characters to make them look unique. Elaborating on his process of internalizing the three characters, he says each character has a distinct basic emotion of their own. “For the first character, it is Veera (Courage), second it roudra (anger), and third it mercy (Sadness).”

Besides going through such an intense process to perfect her performance, Tovino says she doesn’t mind learning a little “magic trick” or two that adds more layers to her characters. Is it the closing shot in the teaser? A.R.Mwhere he swallows a bidi And takes it out — while it’s still burning — or the ‘ring toss game’ scene he did in the 2021 superhero film Minal MuraliHe says he finds joy in mastering practical effects that can enhance a scene.

Game changing roles

talking Minal MuraliTovino says his career can be divided into “before and after” films, thanks to its worldwide acceptance. “That film pushed the boundaries of what I was capable of. After that, I felt a greater sense of responsibility because my movies have now been seen by more people than before,” he notes about the film, which entered Netflix’s weekly Global Top 10 (Non-English) list after its release.

When asked the reason behind its success, Tovino said that it presented a superhero who was very grounded and rooted in the local culture. “Minal Murali is a superhero who wears a dhoti. Although the superhero element is unrealistic, Basil [director Basil Joseph] There was a realistic approach, which made the film believable,” he says.

Tovino Thomas with the team of ‘Ajayante Random Motion’ at The Hindu office in Chennai