Don't want to come to Bollywood as an outsider: Malayalam superstar Tovino Thomas

MUMBAI: Malayalam cinema star Tovino Thomas says every industry has its own set of skilled actors and he has no desire to foray into Bollywood for the sake of it.

The actor was offered the Aamir Khan-starrer “Laal Singh Chaddha” but he couldn’t do the 2022 comedy-drama due to prior work commitments.

"Every industry is blessed with a lot of great actors so I don’t want to come here as an outsider and steal roles from them. I would love to work in any industry as long as the character is Malayali, and is living in Mumbai or Hyderabad. Otherwise, I don’t find any point," Thomas told PTI.

"I watch all language films like Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, English, Spanish or Japanese,” said the actor, who currently stars in "ARM".

The film, which will have a pan-India release in theatres on September 12 in Malayalam, Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada.

The "2018" star, whose other noteworthy performances in Malayalam industry are “7th Day”, “Ennu Ninte Moideen”, “Charlie”, “Guppy”, “Minnal Murali”, and “Anweshippin Kandethum”, said every film, regardless of whether it was a hit or flop, has been a turning point and a "learning experience" for him.

"I started with small and supporting roles, comedic and villain roles, and then played lead, and again did supporting roles, I love switching between roles. I wanted to be an actor and when I completed my first movie, I achieved my dream and since then I’ve been living my dream. So, whatever I’ve achieved after that, I consider it as a bonus,” said the actor, who made his debut in 2012 with “Praabhuvinte Makkal”.

His “ARM” co-star, Harish Uthaman, said Thomas has gradually made a mark. "When you say it's a Tovino film, they will know that there’s a good story and content in it,” Uthaman, who has worked with Thomas on films “Maayanadhi”, and “Kalki”, said.

Set in northern Kerala across three timelines of 1900, 1950 and 1990, “ARM” will see Thomas play the characters of Maniyan, Kunjikkelu, and Ajayan, each trying to protect a treasure of land through different generations.

The actor said he collaborated with an acting trainer to meticulously design each character's nuances, from mannerisms to voice.

“I’m a worrisome kid in general, I’ll be worried about the smallest problem on the sets. This was one of the biggest challenges as I’m playing three distinct characters. I wanted each character to be distinct, it shouldn’t have any similarities. There’s already one similarity, in which one actor is playing three characters.

"I wanted to complete one character and then move to another and my director and writer were also on the same page. We had many setups and it was not easy to switch between these timelines.”

Billed as a visual spectacle with a compelling story, “ARM” is directed by debutant Jithin Lal and written by Sujith Nambiar.

Uthaman, known for his villainous roles in films like “Gouravam”, “Pandiya Naadu”, “Meagamann”, and “Srimanthudu”, shared his struggle with being typecast and said he consciously avoided accepting roles in 2018 that seemed similar.

He said he isn’t playing a negative part in “ARM” but his character of Sudev Verma has an agenda.

"As an actor, who wants to perform and do different roles, live different journeys, they don’t want to do the same thing, because it kills the fire and interest in you. One day, I realised about being boxed and since then I’ve been careful. Getting into the box is very easy, and getting out of the box is very tough, it might take double or triple the time, but it’s not impossible.”

Thomas heaped praise on the actor and said his “potential is yet to be explored”.

Asked about “ARM” being turned into a potential franchise, the actor said it all depends on how the viewers respond to the movie.

Thomas is equally excited about his other film, “L2 Empuraan”. Helmed by Prithviraj, the movie, starring Mohanlal, is a sequel to the 2019 blockbuster “Lucifer”.

"I've shot for a few days and I’ll shoot for the remaining part,” he said, adding that a sequel to “Minnal Murali” has not happened yet because the director Basil Joseph is caught up with other commitments.