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00:00Good afternoon. This is Manjusha Radhakrishnan. I'm the entertainment editor for Gulf News.
00:09I'm here with Malayalam superstar and I would say man of the moment. He's come here to promote
00:14the movie called A.R.M., right? Is that or do we say it as A.R.M.? What do we call it?
00:19A.R.M.
00:20A.R.M.
00:21It's basically Ajay and the random motion, which can be translated to Ajay's second robbery
00:27or theft.
00:28Theft, yeah.
00:30That will be appealing only for Malayalis. The movie, when you watch the movie, you'll
00:36see Ajay's first robbery and second robbery, or second theft.
00:40Theft, okay.
00:41You'll see both.
00:42Right.
00:43And it'll be written on screen also when you see it. That pun won't be working for people
00:50outside Kerala.
00:51Okay.
00:52People who don't know Malayalam, that pun won't work for them.
00:57We thought we'll give a name which is appealing for everyone.
01:02Right.
01:03A.R.M.
01:04Yes.
01:05So I'm facing this problem. People come and talk to me. Of late I've been getting so much
01:11of that. On Netflix, we watched your cop movie. What was its name?
01:16Yes.
01:17Yes.
01:18Yes, that one.
01:20Yeah.
01:21So same happens for me also.
01:24Right.
01:26When the movie's name is a tough word from a different language, it'll be hard for me
01:31also to spell it.
01:33Exactly.
01:34Pronounce it or memorize it.
01:35Very true.
01:36It'll be hard.
01:37Right.
01:38So we thought this movie has a universal appeal. I think even though it's happening in a fictional
01:44village in Kerala, northern most part of Kerala, we thought the whole idea can be universal.
01:52Malayalam cinema has transcending boundaries. I had a Himachali girl talking about your
01:55movie, the same thing. She said, oh, the movie, name I can't remember, but it was brilliant,
01:59it was a cop drama. I said, yes, it's a crime procedural. Do you think this is like a fantastic
02:04time to be an actor today? Just because people are just watching all kinds of contents, K-pop,
02:10Hollywood, Bollywood.
02:11I had the same thought after Minnal Murali. Until Minnal Murali, few movies of mine was
02:18dubbed into other languages and I think Forensic was one of them. I think I was the first one
02:24which people received when it was dubbed into other languages. I remember it was dubbed
02:31into Telugu. It came on Aha Video and I started getting a lot of messages about that movie
02:36and it was dubbed into Hindi and it was very popular in that circle also. Certain movies,
02:44we know that cinema is visual, the language is visual language, but still when it's dubbed
02:51into their own language, there are people who doesn't like watching movies with subtitles.
02:55So it will be a great help for them if we are dubbing it into other languages. So Forensic
03:00was one of the first among them and then Kala. So Kala was dubbed into other languages and
03:08it was talked about. I started getting a lot of messages. And by the time Minnal Murali
03:13released, I realized that we are catering our movies not just to Malayalis, catering
03:21our movies to people all over the world.
03:24Right.
03:25Most interesting thing was Minnal Murali was trending top 10 in Netflix chart in 30 different
03:32countries. And I have a list of countries, Bahamas, Honduras. So no Malayalam movie can
03:40get a proper theatrical release in Honduras or Bahamas.
03:43Very true, for sure.
03:44But that's the magic that OTT did.
03:46Yes.
03:47It reached that.
03:48The access, the access to movies.
03:50So that's when I understood, okay, we have this possibility. So I thought, let's use
03:59it. So I also started becoming more responsible about my craft. I mean, I have to put a lot
04:07more effort on it.
04:08Right.
04:09Malayalam. I've been talking in Malayalam since I started speaking.
04:14Yeah, that's your natural language, first language.
04:19And even before I went to school, I was speaking in Malayalam. So that's same like acting.
04:26So I've been acting without an acting training.
04:28Yes.
04:29Until Minnal Murali. But after Minnal Murali, so when you want to go give a TED talk or
04:36a speech, it will be better if your grammar is right. And if you know much more about
04:43that language, your vocabulary.
04:45Very true, very true. Makes a difference.
04:47That's when I decided, okay, I should work on my, I'm not talking about language, actually.
04:53It's a metaphor I'm using for acting.
04:54Yes, yes.
04:56So I wanted to work more and I wanted to learn the theory and grammar of acting.
05:01Right.
05:02So that I can fulfill my responsibility because a lot more people are watching my movies.
05:07Earlier, it was just watched by people in Kerala. Now people outside Kerala are watching.
05:13So that's definitely that's a challenge. At the same time, it's a responsibility. So I
05:18and that keeps me going. And it keeps my life interesting.
05:23Very true.
05:24I'm trying to learn something new. Every single day, I'm trying to learn something new.
05:28Small tricks, like the one with BD I did in A.R.M.'s teaser.
05:33I see.
05:34And in Minnal Murali also, Basil made me do a lot of tricks, which are practical.
05:41We loved it.
05:42We depend on practical effects more than CGI.
05:44Yes.
05:45So I think as an actor, it helps. A director cannot dictate when you do this and immediately
05:52they cannot do it. So I can tell my director, I have this one particular item with me.
05:57Do you want it in our movie? We'll use it in that scene.
06:00Right.
06:01So I started learning small such tricks and like since Minnal Murali.
06:08Right.
06:09For Minnal Murali, I started and I'm still continuing it.
06:11You have, I think, made such tremendous progress as an actor because every article I write,
06:16I say you're a self-made actor and that gives me great pride.
06:20Just to know without Godfathers in the industry, it's not easy to make it, right?
06:23Everybody knows.
06:24If my dad is a doctor, it's easier to get an internship in a great hospital.
06:28For you, how difficult has the journey been?
06:30When you look back, you're like, do you feel proud every day that I've met a place,
06:34I can command a certain audience?
06:36Now, a movie like this is a fantasy.
06:38It's got mythology.
06:39It's like Kalki and it's on the lines, right?
06:41Maybe not in budget, but at least in scale.
06:43So what do you think?
06:44Do you feel like a sense of accomplishment?
06:47Acting in movies was a dream for me.
06:49And when I came into the industry, I didn't even know if I can act.
06:53I just wanted to be an actor.
06:55And right now, I believe I'm living my dream.
07:00Now, one thing about Oveena, I think, is you have an immense sense of goodwill among your fans, okay?
07:05People think you're a good guy.
07:06I think that works in your favor a lot.
07:08You're a good guy.
07:09Like, he won't, let's say so.
07:11Do you think that works in your favor?
07:13All your movies, like Maya Nadi for Martin, for instance.
07:15I mean, I look at that character.
07:17He was a complex guy.
07:19That depends on everyone's perspective.
07:22And I wouldn't call myself a perfect gentleman or a perfect good guy.
07:28I have my own flaws.
07:30I'm a human being.
07:32So do my characters.
07:33Even when you look at Maya Nadi, in society's norms, he's not an ideal.
07:39He's not an ideal guy too.
07:40You wouldn't want your daughter to date him.
07:42Let me put it that way.
07:44Isn't it?
07:45I try to be nice to everyone.
07:47I don't intend harm to anyone.
07:49Right.
07:50Because I don't think of harming anyone.
07:53Because I don't have so much time to think about harming anyone else.
07:59So I, wherever I am present, I try to be nice to everyone.
08:04And when people around me are happy, I share that happiness.
08:09And I have a lot of very good friends.
08:14And beautiful family.
08:17Maybe that helps me be rooted.
08:22Right.
08:23Be nice to everyone.
08:24But I also lose my temper at times.
08:27That happens.
08:28Right.
08:29Because I'm a human being.
08:30Right.
08:31I'm not perfect.
08:32I know that.
08:33Should you separate the art from the artist?
08:35People always ask.
08:36I ask the directors all the time.
08:37And they're like, often the baggage that the star comes with is a problem for us.
08:41How do we break that image?
08:43Does that happen with you?
08:45I've seen villain actors whom we see as villains.
08:48Terrible guys.
08:49They'll be ferocious.
08:51They'll be with this angry face in every movie.
08:55Yes.
08:56For instance, Harish Uthaman.
08:57He's a gentle guy, huh?
09:00He's a gem.
09:04When you look at him, when you talk to him in person, he's very soft spoken, very sweet
09:11to everyone around him.
09:13Very sensible.
09:14But look at the characters he does.
09:16Yes.
09:17So art and artist is definitely different.
09:19It should be different.
09:20It should be ideally different.
09:21How do you handle fame, Tovino?
09:24Do you like the pitfalls of it also?
09:26See, it's great to be famous, I'm sure.
09:28It's great to have...
09:29Like yesterday, I saw videos of people accosting you in London.
09:33Was it Manchester?
09:34Yeah.
09:35Yeah, you were in Manchester promoting this movie.
09:37And it's going a bit global, right?
09:39Do you love that?
09:41Do you want that kind of validation from fans?
09:44The thing is, if I'm going to a place, if there are some 5,000 people, if everyone wants
09:53a selfie, I'll not be able to give it.
09:56Because if I stand and take selfies with 5,000 people, if one person takes one minute, 5,000
10:05minutes, how many days is it?
10:08Then I'll feel, oh my God, what will I do?
10:11Will they hate me for not giving a selfie?
10:13This thing is there.
10:15But at the same time, I completely understand that they are coming or they are waiting to
10:23see me.
10:24For hours.
10:25Because of this unconditional love that they are giving me, just because I'm an actor.
10:30And I have been there also.
10:33I can think from their perspective and my perspective.
10:37Probably they cannot think from my perspective.
10:39But I can think from their perspective also.
10:41Because 12 years back, I was in that crowd.
10:44I think I learned to think from two different perspectives and understand.
10:52But there are things which are not even practical, like the selfies with 5,000 people.
10:59But I understand that it's love that they are showing.
11:03Only thing is, when I'm with my family, I can understand both perspectives.
11:09But for my family, for my wife, I'm her husband.
11:14Not a film actor.
11:16It doesn't matter if I'm a film actor or an engineer or a driver.
11:20It doesn't matter.
11:21For my children, I'm just their dad.
11:24Even if I'm an actor or if I'm not an actor.
11:28So when I go out with my family and when the place is crowded and when my family is pushed away...
11:35That's when you have a problem.
11:37I'm not an actor. I'm a father. I'm a husband.
11:39Very protective then.
11:40I'll be protective.
11:41Fair enough.
11:42Ideally. Of course. Always.
11:44That's the only time I feel okay.
11:47Because of me, my family is not able to enjoy walking in a mall.
11:55But it's a small price to pay, right?
11:57Like if you look at it, the privileges that they get.
11:59Your kids are very privileged, right?
12:01No, I don't want them to get privileges.
12:03Oh, okay. You keep it normal?
12:05They have to earn whatever they have in their life.
12:12They need to earn it.
12:14I don't want to spoil them by giving them so much privilege.
12:17I will never do that.
12:18That's the most cruel thing to do.
12:21Because when I came into the industry, I didn't have much privileges.
12:24That's a fire that kept me...
12:26There was a fire in your belly.
12:28I want that fire to be there in my children's minds.
12:33They need to earn everything.
12:35Even if I have money to buy something for them, I'll tell them, earn this.
12:40When I was in school, when I go to my father asking for pocket money,
12:46he'll say, no, you haven't grown up enough to handle money.
12:53I'll give you money when you grow up and you learn how to handle money.
12:56Now you tell me what you want.
12:58If that thing is necessary, if I think that's necessary too,
13:03I'll buy it for you.
13:05You don't have to go buy it yourself.
13:08So until some point I was frustrated.
13:10Why can't I handle money?
13:11That's what I thought.
13:12But now I understand why.
13:15Okay, so you are kind of like passing on the legacy. I love that.
13:18Also, you know, my parents were so adamant that
13:24if there is a birthday celebration,
13:27on birthdays, our friends, they'll bring chocolates.
13:33There's probably one rupee.
13:35Yeah, yeah, the chocolates.
13:37Sixteen chocolates and every one of us will get one.
13:41So there was a rule in my home which said,
13:45if I get a chocolate, I have to bring it.
13:48I should not eat it.
13:49I have to bring it home and cut it into three.
13:52Give one piece to my brother, one piece to my sister.
13:56I thought it's not fair. That's my chocolate.
13:59So all of my other friends, they are putting it into their mouth immediately.
14:03And I have to keep it in my bag and wait.
14:05Resist the temptation of eating it.
14:08As kids, we have this tendency to eat chocolates.
14:11And I have this chocolate in my bag.
14:12I'm not even touching it.
14:13I'll bring this.
14:14That's awesome.
14:15But later I realized, my friends, they get one chocolate per month.
14:19But I get three chocolates per month.
14:21Because my brother and my sister were also...
14:23Do you still share your income?
14:25All your fat...
14:26I was in a joint family.
14:28Even now?
14:29So you still... Oh, I didn't realize.
14:31I thought you guys had a nuclear family.
14:33That's why I'm appreciating the parenting that my father and mother did.
14:37In Calcutta, yeah.
14:39With those small, very small things,
14:42the lessons we learned,
14:44we didn't understand it back then.
14:46Now we understand.
14:48When I fell in love with my wife,
14:51then girlfriend,
14:53my brother and sister were the first ones to know.
14:55Okay. So you guys are really close.
14:57My sister used to keep...
14:59So me and my brother are just one year...
15:01Difference. Almost twins.
15:03My sister is five years older to me.
15:04Right.
15:05So when I get a love letter,
15:07I cannot keep it with myself.
15:09Because what if my father sees it?
15:11So the safest place to keep it was my sister's cupboard.
15:14So you guys are partners in crime in love.
15:16I love it.
15:17I love that.
15:18No, siblings are.
15:19They have your back.
15:20See, all those beautiful memories
15:23helps me...
15:25I mean,
15:27they are nowhere related to film industry.
15:29The only relation is me.
15:31When I come back home,
15:33I'm not an actor there.
15:35It's the same to me.
15:37You still have to make your bed, is it?
15:39I don't have to pretend in front of them.
15:41Because they know what I am.
15:43So even if I pretend,
15:45it won't work there.
15:47They are going to call you out.
15:49And we go for vacations together.
15:51As in 15 of us.
15:53My father, my mother,
15:55my brother,
15:57his wife and two kids,
15:59my sister, her husband...
16:01Yeah, I see all those pictures.
16:03It's a happy family.
16:05It reminded me of Midhunam.
16:07And ARM is actually releasing during Onam.
16:09Very interesting time for you to release the movie.
16:11Are you worried about it at all?
16:13Is it a festive period?
16:15Would people come back to theatres?
16:17It's always a question.
16:19Even with Kalki, it was a big question.
16:21I remember that was a big movie.
16:23With Goat, greatest of all time.
16:25People are wondering, will people come?
16:27I think it's all about
16:29the content.
16:32If people are impressed by the content,
16:34they will definitely come.
16:36And it's a triple role, right?
16:38It's a massive one.
16:40Why is that?
16:42Is this your career-defining movie?
16:44You think?
16:46When they first offered me
16:48three different roles in a movie,
16:50the first question I asked them,
16:52why three roles?
16:54I'll do one character,
16:56let's cast two other actors
16:58as other two characters.
17:00Then it becomes a multi-starrer
17:02and we can pull off the budget
17:04for whatever this movie demands.
17:06But they convinced me,
17:08when you watch the movie,
17:10there is a reason,
17:12there is a connection.
17:14First character begins something,
17:16second character finishes half of it.
17:18And then you take on.
17:20It's like a marathon.
17:22It's like a relay race.
17:24It happens in a span of 300 years.
17:26It's like a destiny.
17:28I'm a person living in three different eras.
17:30But you know,
17:32the three different eras,
17:34first, 17th century, there is no India,
17:36there is no Kerala.
17:38In 1950s, there is India, but no Kerala.
17:40Kerala is not formed yet.
17:42In 1990s, there is India, there is Kerala.
17:44All these things
17:46will not be spoken about
17:48in the movie.
17:50But this is what I had in my mind.
17:52So even if it's the same person
17:54living in three different,
17:57same person with same mindset
17:59but same skill set,
18:01if living in three different eras,
18:03like this,
18:05he will be completely different.
18:07Even if it's the same person.
18:09So it's like having three different roles,
18:11doing three movies actually.
18:13We approached it like
18:15playing three different characters
18:17in three different movies.
18:19I wanted to take an acting workshop.
18:21Because I was not confident.
18:23This is something that Kamal Haasan,
18:25it's like Kamal Haasan does
18:27three different characters.
18:29It's ambitious.
18:31It's very ambitious.
18:33I'm not even a trained actor.
18:35So that's why I wanted to train,
18:37to learn more.
18:39There is a lot of hard work.
18:41A lot of brilliant technicians
18:43and brilliant writers and directors.
18:45So movie is not just about
18:47the star you think.
18:49It shouldn't be.
18:51When people accept it or reject it.
18:53Acting or actor is just
18:55one art or one part of it.
18:57There is direction.
18:59It's a different art.
19:01Cinematography.
19:03Art direction.
19:07The lighting department.
19:09Everything.
19:11Makeup, costumes.
19:13All these art forms come together
19:15to create a cinema.
19:17But usually
19:19people see our faces.
19:21Actor's faces.
19:23For sure. You guys are the ones who sell it.
19:25You get the seats.
19:27But I think
19:29blame, okay, we'll take it.
19:31But the credit,
19:33I think people behind the camera
19:35also need to get that credit.
19:37I would never take that credit to myself.
19:39Brilliant.
19:41On that note, thank you for being so giving as well.