Quotes from Tovino Thomas

For me, Malayalam films remain the most important. I don't want to do more Tamil films just for the sake of it.

I was passionate about films, but was scared to tell that to my parents. Soon after my engineering, I got a job and was earning well. But I wanted to chase my dreams and get into movies.

It is my dream to get international acclaim. In the current scheme of things you need not go anywhere else because great films are being made in Malayalam.

As an actor, I am looking for diverse roles.

I was never carried away by success and have learnt from the failures. Satisfaction is what I crave for; fame and wealth are just by-products.

My fan base is in Malayalam cinema, and that's where I want it to be.

All I have tried to do as an actor is push good story telling.

I'm emotionally attached to my movies and crew. Maybe that's why my wife calls me 'workaholic' at times. I love doing my job.

In fact, most of the roles that I did came to me after being rejected by others. I chose them because of the potential. Every film that I have chosen has been crucial in my career, be it a hit or a flop.

2019 is proving to be a golden year of Malayalam cinema... As an actor, I have always classified films as either good ones or bad ones... I had five films that released this year in the cinemas and our audiences liked every one of them.

When you work too much, it affects your health. Then you start working out and dieting. And, more importantly, you miss your family.

There is a lot of discrimination between artistes from Kerala and from other states. Artistes from other states are paid more here. Once I told the ad guy that you won't be able to afford me next time. After that, I have neither done any ads nor has anyone approached me.

So, quite often, there are hardly any breaks. But that's fine with me as, at one point of time, I had stayed home for months without work. I have taken all the rest I needed then.

I want to be a part of good stories. It's not about my role, but the overall story that counts.

I love direction. I met Roopesh Peethambaran and assisted him in his maiden venture, 'Theevram'.

I have only two conditions to choose a project - content with substance and space to perform.

Movie, being an art form, should have artistic value and should do justice to the artistes.

When we are part of mainstream cinema, we want our movies to be seen by maximum viewers.

I have no qualms about doing a character who may be below the lead in the pecking order, whether it's a hero or a villain or a comedian.