Tovino Thomas says he ‘called off a few movies’ after working with ‘confused’ director, almost quit acting

Tovino Thomas said that he is scared of ‘confused’ directors and recalled how he almost quit acting after working with one such person. He was speaking at the Netflix Actors’ Roundtable 2021.

During the session, Raveena Tandon and Taapsee Pannu said that they get thrown off when a director does not stick to his/her vision and the character graph discussed during the narration of the film. They said that the lack of clarity in the director’s mind reflects badly on them because actors are the ones blamed in reviews. Tovino concurred with them.

“I worked with such directors. I generally don’t take many breaks. That’s how the Malayalam industry works, we work back to back. But after this one movie, I called off a few movies. I took a three-month break. I travelled. That’s when I asked myself – should I come back to the industry or not?” he said.

“Certain things are not in our hands. We trust some directors. While narrating the stories, they are excellent. But when it comes to filmmaking, it is very different. If the director is confused, we will come to know within three-four days. We cannot call off the shooting because a lot of people are involved. And most of the time, the lead actors will be blamed, not the director,” he added.

Also see | Minnal Murali movie review: Kerala delivers India’s first great superhero film

Tovino is known for his roles in films such as ABCD: American-Born Confused Desi, 7th Day, Mayanadi and Uyare. Recently, he was seen in the Malayalam superhero film Minnal Murali, in which he plays a man who gets superpowers after being struck by lightning. The film, directed by Basil Joseph, released on Netflix last week to largely positive reviews.

Tovino’s upcoming projects include Naaradan, Thallumala and Anweshippin Kandethum.