Tovino Thomas Recalls How He Was ‘Dead Broke’ While Working On 'Koothara'

Malayalam cinema superstar Tovino Thomas, in a new interview, recalled his struggle phase and said that it had become embarrassing to borrow money from his parents.

In an interview with Film Companion South, Tovino recalled his earliest interactions with director Ashiq Abu, whose new film Neelavelicham is on the cusp of release. He said, “I was working on Koothara, and we ADs were dead broke then. We would be given a small travel allowance when we reached the sets. That was the main source of income, and if I took a bus to the sets, I would even lose that amount.”

The actor says that even after making his acting debut with the 2013 film Prabhuvinte Makkal, he worked as an assistant director on Theevram. He was a part of Koothara’s cast, and he continued, “We used to eat with this TA amount. One day, while working on the Koothara dub, me and another AD did not have any money. Ashiq was finishing the final dub of Gangster. It was around the time he got married, and both of us saw him then. We were wondering what we would do for dinner, and Onais said, ‘These guys just donated Rs 10 lakh to charity for their wedding. How about we borrow Rs 200 from them?'”

Tovino laughed, “It’s not pride, but we’d reached the stage where it had become embarrassing to take money from home.” Tovino and Ashiq have previously collaborated on the films Mayaanadhi, and Virus.

Tovino's acting was highly appreciated in films like ABCD, Ennu Ninte Moideen, Kala, and more recently, the superhero film Minnal Murali. Last year, he starred in the acclaimed films Dear Friend and Thallumaala.