Tovino Thomas reveals he was initially set to play the antagonist in Ajith’s Valimai

Tovino Thomas seems to have had to reject a lot of big projects from Bollywood and Tamil, to do his superhero film Minnal Murali. After revealing that he had to decline Aamir Khan’s Laal Singh Chaddha , which would have marked the Naaradhan star’s Bollywood debut, Tovino recently divulged that he was also approached to play the antagonist in Ajith’s big-budget Tamil action-thriller Valimai.

In an interview ahead of Naaradhan’s release, Tovino told a Malayalam radio channel that he was initially approached by the makers of the film to essay the role that Kartikeya Gummakonda had eventually played.

Revealing that Ajith is an actor that he has a lot of respect and admiration for, the Kala actor said, “I was offered the role of the villain in Valimai. But I had to prioritise Minnal Murali and I still believe it was the right decision.”

The actor also said that he had to decline the role in Aamir Khan’s film because of the scheduling conflicts with Minnal Murali, which was shot over two years due to the breaks during the pandemic. “I was cast in a South Indian role. I also wanted to do the character, but the situation was such that Minnal Murali’s shooting resume any day and that’s why I had to drop it,” the Malayalam star said.

Minnal Murali, which is directed by Basil Joseph and is currently streaming on Netflix, catapulted Tovino to national fame. The film, which had Tovino play a tailor-turned-superhero after being struck by lightning, became the most-watched Malayalam film on Netflix after its release.

Meanwhile, Tovino will next be seen in Aashiq Abu’s Naaradhan, in which he plays a journalist along with Kumbalangi Nights and Helen actor Anna Ben. The movie, scripted by Unni R, is slated to hit theatres worldwide on March 3.

Also read: Exclusive! Tovino: Minnal Murali introduced me to a wider audience and with that comes great responsibility