PremiumTovino Thomas on Prithviraj Sukumaran’s L2 Empuraan: 'It gave me a chance to do things I rarely get to' | Exclusive
Malayalam star Tovino Thomas, who reprises his role as Jathin Ramdas in Prithviraj Sukumaran and Mohanlal’s L2: Empuraan, talks about working in the film and his takeaways from it.
Last Updated: 11.18 AM, Jan 21, 2025
Even as a lot of fans from Malayalam cinema are eagerly awaiting the teaser of Prithviraj Sukumaran and Mohanlal’s L2: Empuraan, which is speculated to be out later this week, the makers revealed the first look of Tovino Thomas’ character Jathin Ramdas on the latter’s birthday on January 21.
In a recent exclusive interview with OTTplay, the Identity and Ajayante Randam Moshanam actor talked to us about why he was glad to reprise his role in the second instalment of the Lucifer franchise that is set to release in theatres on March 27 and how the collaboration with Prithviraj has given him further motivation as an actor.
Tovino Thomas on reprising Jathin Ramdas in L2 Empuraan
On reprising his role as Jatin, a political scion and chief minister of Kerala in Empuraan, Tovino says, “That’s the main reason I am part of L2 Empuraan. No one else in the world can play Jathin Ramdas, apart from me (laughs). Jokes aside, “Lucifer is one of those sets where I was the happiest as well as relaxed. I didn’t have any tension while shooting for the movie. It was the same for Empuraan, apart from minor hassles like arranging my schedules so that it didn’t clash with my other commitments.”
Further on working with Prithviraj as a director, the actor said he felt “safe” shooting for Empuraan because “he is a director I could trust”. “Also, I am just a character artiste in the film; so, my only job was to ensure that I did my part well. And that was what its director too wanted. Him being an actor also meant that he understood the pressures of actors and ensured that he set up an atmosphere that we were all the most comfortable in,” Tovino explains.
Tovino Thomas on working with Prithviraj Sukumaran in Empuraan
Tovino also lavishes praise on Prithviraj’s “confidence and clarity” while directing. “I remember during the promotions of Lucifer, we had conversations where he would say that I am getting the behavourial aspects of a character right, but as an actor there are other facets I needed to explore – including playing roles that I am not familiar with. That’s how I started doing roles such as those in Ajayante Randam Moshanam, which is set in time periods I didn’t have any idea about,” says Tovino. “So, this time while shooting for a scene, he complimented me, saying that there’s a huge improvement in certain aspects.”
On what the role of Jathin Ramdas means to him, he says, “The reach that Lucifer got me as an actor is nothing small. I got so much visibility because of the movie and the other great people who were involved in it. So, being part of Empuraan was something that I gladly did. It also gives me a chance to share screen space with actors that I usually don’t get a chance to.”