Narivetta writer on watching Tovino Thomas' performance from a close range, both as a star and actor

Narivetta writer Abin Joseph talks about collaborating with the Malayalam star Tovino Thomas, highlighting the sheer effort he has put into the gritty film.

Malayalam actor Tovino Thomas delivered a compelling performance in the latest Malayalam film Narivetta. Both the film and the performances of the lead actors are winning appreciation, especially after Narivetta landed on SonyLiv and OTTplay Premium recently. Now, Narivetta writer Abin Joseph talks about collaborating with the Malayalam star and watching him perform at a close range, highlighting the sheer effort he has put into the hard-hitting film.

Tovino Thomas stars in Narivetta

Tovino Thomas in Narivetta

The 2025 Malayalam film Narivetta, helmed by Anuraj Manohar and penned by Abin Joseph, stars Tovino Thomas as reluctant cop Varghese, who finds himself amidst a tense tribal protest. Though initially he is callous about the tribals, an incident forces him to fight for their cause.

Talking about Varghese, Abin Joseph said, “There are different shades of Tovino’s character and its graph is also a bit complicated. I think it is also one of the two or three complicated roles Tovino has done. It was a beautiful performance from Tovino. Tovino was able to pull off the complicated graph of the character quite effortlessly. When you watch Tovino Thomas, the actor, from a close range, we will get a better understanding of the intensity of the performance. ”

The film featured several tense moments as the protesting tribals and the police faced off, and the final climax as the cops used brute force to evict them from the forest land. From the careless romantic in the initial scenes, Tovino transformed into a saviour of the downtrodden, and the actor maintained the intensity even when he was not shooting, Abin tells us.

“There was a marked difference while shooting the romantic sequences in Kuttanad, and the intense sequences. I don’t know if even Tovino is aware of that. During the song shoot, he is pretty chilled out and joking around. But for the intense shoot, he would remain silent and sit apart after the shot. Both as a star and artiste, there was huge involvement from his side,” remarked Abin, who made his screenwriting debut with Narivetta.

Apart from Narivetta, you can watch Tovino Thomas' action-packed thriller Identity, the realistic movie 2018, and the romantic thriller Mayaanadhi and more on OTTplay Premium.