RDX producer's Minnal Murali reveal: Vijay Sethupathi wanted to play the villain

Minnal Murali is a Malayalam superhero film that got global attention during the 2020 pandemic. The film's protagonist, Murali (Tovino Thomas), and antagonist, Shibu (Guru Somasundaram), both received praise for their strong characters. Some viewers even sympathised with Shibu because of the situation that forced him to become a villain.

In a recent interview, Minnal Murali producer Sophia Paul, who is also the producer of the recently released Malayalam film RDX, revealed that Vijay Sethupathi had expressed an interest in being the villain in Minnal Murali.

Sophia added that Vijay Sethupathi and Rana Daggubati were considered for Tovino's father. After being approached, Vijay expressed his interest in playing the character of Shibu. However, by then, the makers had already cast Guru Somasundaram for the villain's role.

Also Read: After Project K, Tovino Thomas’ Minnal Murali heads to Comic Con; all you need to know about the superhero's new avatar 

'Guru Somasundaram is very hardworking and dedicated'

In the same interview with The New Indian Express, Sophia praised the hard work and dedication of Guru Somasundaram during the Minnal Murali shoot. She said that Guru had put in a lot of effort, including studying Malayalam. "I was surprised to hear Guru speak Malayalam on the first day of shooting. I couldn't even recognise him," she said.

Minnal Murali's OTT release

The producer also spoke about the release of Minnal Murali on OTT instead of in theatres. She said that Basil Joseph (the director) and Tovino had no issues with the film being released directly on OTT. Although every actor and director wants their film to be watched in theatres, the pandemic forced them to release the film on OTT. However, Sophia thinks that the decision to release it on OTT gave the film a world-class treatment. She also attributed Basil's win at the Asian Academy Awards to the OTT release of Minnal Murali.

Also Read: OTTplay Awards 2022: Guru Somasundaram wins Breakthrough Performance of the Year (Male) award for Minnal Murali 

RDX box office collections

The latest film backed by Sophia is RDX, which is currently playing to packed theatres. Like Minnal Murali, RDX is an action movie that has been receiving a positive response from audiences. And according to reports, Sophia's production company is all set to collaborate with RDX director Nahas Hidayath for a big project.