Will Minnal Murali have a second part? Has Tovino gained superstar status after Minnal Murali? How did they find Guru Somasundaram? More such questions get answered by Tovino Thomas, Basil Joseph, and Guru Somasundaram in this interview to Manorama online.
It was when we posed the question of why they removed that scintillating BGM that was present in the Minnal Murali teaser in the movie was when Basil gave the first hint of a second part. “That BGM will come. There is no need to include everything in a film. If there is a second part, we are planning to read all the stories predicted during Minnal Murali and then come up with a tale that has none of these predictions. Or else people will say that Minnal Murali 2 is predictable.”
Says Basil about Guru’s villain role— “We already knew that it will be the villain who will receive the maximum appreciation. That’s the kind of role written for Guru sir. When we approached him, we were sure that he would make it 10 times better than what was there on paper. After the shooting, that became clear. Guru sir is someone who has not only acted in several languages but has also trained many well-known actors. I think he has finally got his due.”
“There were many risky shots and scenes in the film. I really enjoyed doing those scenes. Full thanks to director Basil Joseph and Samir Tahir who captured it all so beautifully,” observes Guru Somasundaram.
With the success of Minnal Murali has Tovino Thomas also become a superstar? “More than a superstar I think my responsibilities have grown manifold. My duties remain the same as an actor—do more films, celebrate the success, mull over the failures, and then keep doing more films. Having said that, there is a special joy in this victory. Am happy to know that the success of Minnal Murali will hopefully run on my future projects. But I take it as a responsibility. I need to be more careful when I take up films now. Now, every film has to be good,” says Tovino Thomas.
After Minnal Murali, Basil was inundated with calls from industry people and those from outside. But he was quite moved by the video of a group of children in a foreign country enjoying the film. “It was captured without their knowledge. It somehow reached us. It was heartening to know that the film connected all over the world. A special joy when children love it.”
When the film was trending in 30 countries, Tovino checked to see the nationalities. “We had hope that Malayalees all over the world will watch the film. But we weren’t sure about whether it was only Malayalees who watched it in the Bahamas and Honduras. That gave us so much happiness. When it travelled across languages, the success became sweeter and our dreams took flight,” admits Tovino.
Minnal Murali was done with the intention of connecting it to people of all age groups. "I wanted to make sure if my parents watch the film, they should be able to enjoy it. Even during the shoot, that was the foremost in our minds. If Minnal Murali was a mere superhero film, it is not necessary that it should connect them. Such a film will only connect to those who are familiar with the superhero film genre. That’s why we made such a plan.”
Basil had this to say about the home theatre his father installed at home. “He wanted to make sure my film won't be watched on a mobile or small screen. So he thought of installing a home theatre with great sound systems at home. All our neighbours saw the film at our home theatre. Now my dad sees news in that home theatre,” chuckles Basil.
“From Kunjiramayanam, he aspired to make Godha, from Godha to Minnal Murali. I am eager to watch what he has in mind next,” says Tovino Thomas, not concealing his pride for his friend's growth. A sentiment shared by the audience for sure.