Malayalam actor Tovino Thomas is an adrenaline junkie. His latest feat was bungee jumping over the Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe last month. The 34-year-old channels this urge to conquer fear into his craft as well. He did it with the 2021 Netflix film Minnal Murali, where he plays the titular superhero.
He has done it again in his latest film, 2018, where he went underwater diving. Named after the year catastrophic floods hit Kerala, Tovino cranked up the wow factor as a gutless army deserter, who becomes a hero by rescuing flood victims. Released on May 5, the large-scale multi-starrer by Jude Anthany Joseph, has taken the box office by storm.
The 150-minute-long film was shot on a 12-acre land, over which a tank-like structure was constructed to recreate the flood-hit segments. While certain sequences like a nighttime helicopter rescue used visual effects, the underwater scenes were done by the actor himself. Being trained in scuba diving came in handy, particularly in shots where he had to act while holding his breath.
“There’s no CGI there,” he says, adding, “First, they had to get the lights in, then the camera guy, and then someone had to hold a nitrogen cylinder beneath me. We received instructions through waterproof speakers.” Tovino’s role in 2018, in a way, is a prelude to an underwater treasure hunt in his upcoming film Ajayante Randam Moshanam (ARM).
The big-budget 3D fantasy adventure, directed by debutant Jithin Laal, will span across multiple time periods, and see the actor play three characters. Originally supposed to be shot over four days, the three-and-a-half-minutelong sequence had to be wrapped up in a single day.
Explaining the challenge of the task, the actor says, “Ideally, when we film something on land, 120 days of shoot give you a 120-minute movie––so, on average, a minute of edited footage per day. When you shrink the number of days, the daily hours automatically become longer. So, can you imagine the duration for which we had to shoot for the segment? My experience in 2018 helped me get through ARM.”
Expected to have a pan-Indian release in Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi, Kannada and Telugu, it will also feature Krithi Shetty, Aishwarya Rajesh and Kantara-fame Pramod Shetty among others. The engineer turned-actor, who debuted with a supporting character in Prabhuvinte Makkal in 2012, and has starred in over 40 films, seems to be making a leap for big-budget entertainers.
Tovino, however, dismisses the conclusion. “My role models are Mammootty and Mohanlal, who have dabbled in all genres. I wouldn’t be content with commercial films alone. I like slow-paced films, and have even produced a few. The upcoming Vazhakku (by Sanal Kumar Sasidharan) and Adrishya Jalakangal (by Bijukumar Damodaran) are examples. Commercial films help my market value, allowing me to support independent filmmakers,” the actor says. Also lined up is an investigative thriller, Anveshippin Kandethum, in which Tovino will don khaki. As for a Minnal Murali sequel, it will be a while. “But when we make it, it will be a big-screen release,” he says.