That accident brought us closer: Mathew Thomas on forming bonds with Sangeeth, Arjun on 'Bromance' set

Mathew Thomas was recently seen in the action-comedy 'Bromance', where he starred alongside Arjun Ashokan and Sangeeth Prathap. Directed by Arun D. Bose, the film follows Binto (played by Mathew) as he teams up with his brother Shinto’s friends to search for him, an adventure that leads to chaos, revelations, and unexpected bonding. Now that the film is streaming on OTT, Mathew caught up with Onmanorama to talk about the movie and his role.

Was there any reference point for playing Binto in Bromance?
There really wasn’t any reference point or inspiration for this role. 'Bromance' was very much shaped by the vision of director Arun D. Jose, who’s a close friend of mine. He had a very clear idea of what the character of Binto should be and how his journey would unfold. So I didn’t have to figure it out on my own. Arun and I sat together and explored how to play Binto; we tried different things, experimented a lot, and built the character together. If something didn’t work, we had the freedom to change it. That creative space made the process really comfortable and collaborative.

What instructions did you get from the director?
One key instruction was that Binto has high blood pressure, so he gets agitated very quickly. That’s why, in the film, his reactions are so hyper and over-the-top. He responds without thinking, which adds a layer of unpredictability to his behaviour. Especially when he realises his brother is missing, you see his panic take over, and all his reactions stem from that emotional and physical state.

Are you anything like Binto in real life?
(Laughs) Absolutely not. At least not in terms of personality! But I do have a brother in real life, and that was the only thing I could personally relate to. That connection helped me understand Binto’s emotional process, especially the bond and sense of panic when something happens to a sibling. I think that really elevated my performance.

You worked with a young cast — Arjun Ashokan, Sangeeth Prathap… how was the experience?
It was honestly a lot of fun. I’ve known Sangeeth for about six years now, since 'Thanneer Mathan Dinangal', so working with him felt very familiar and easy. This was the first time we shared this much screen space, and it was great.
As for Arjun chettan (Arjun Ashokan), I knew him but hadn’t worked with him before. He treated me like a real younger brother, and both of them made sure I felt comfortable on set since I was the youngest among the main cast.
There was actually an accident during the shoot that brought us all even closer. Our vehicle, with me, Arjun chettan, and Sangeeth chettan, tumbled while filming. Thankfully, nothing happened to me or Arjun, but Sangeeth was slightly injured. That incident bonded us even more.

What made you choose Bromance?
There wasn’t one specific reason. Like I said, Arun is a good friend, and I’ve known about this project since the scripting stage. He was the chief associate director on 'Prakasham Parakkatte', which I was part of, and I’ve also worked with him on 'Jo & Jo' and '18+'. So for me, this film was less about choosing a script and more about getting to work with friends again, not just Arun, but also the technicians like editor Chaman Chacko. That familiarity and comfort mattered a lot to me.

There’s a hilarious scene where Binto is furiously cursing over the phone. How did you pull that off?
Yeah, that’s one of the scenes in the first half where Binto really loses it. There were a lot of cuss words, and I think the humour came from the intensity of that. We tried multiple versions of that scene before landing on what worked. Of course, not everyone liked it, some felt the performance was “too much".

Was there any particular scene that stayed with you?
Among my scenes, there’s one hospital scene with Mahima Nambiar that I really enjoyed filming. In terms of comedy, I loved Sangeeth’s scenes; he had some genuinely fun moments, and I enjoyed watching him perform.

Do you have any genre preferences while picking scripts? And is there healthy competition among your peers like Naslen, Sandeep Pradeep, etc.?
I don’t really have a genre preference. I mostly do commercial films, so I look for stories that would appeal to a mass audience, something that offers entertainment but also leaves a takeaway.
And yes, there’s definitely healthy competition among all of us. But there’s no pressure or jealousy. If anything, I’m just happy to see everyone doing well. It’s motivating rather than intimidating.
Bromance is streaming on SonyLIV from May 1.