Tovino

Tovino Thomas (born 21 January 1989) is an Indian actor and film producer who predominantly works in Malayalam films. He made his debut in 2012 with the film ''Prabhuvinte Makkal''. His breakthrough roles were in the films ''ABCD'' (2013), '' 7th Day'' (2014), ''Ennu Ninte Moideen'' (2015). He starred as the titular character in the Netflix superhero film ''Minnal Murali'' (2021).

He won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in ''Ennu Ninte Moideen'' (2015). He also won the Kerala Film Critics Association Award and the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor – Malayalam for his performance in ''Mayanadhi'' (2017). In 2022, Tovino won the SIIMA Award for Best Actor for ''Minnal Murali'' and ''Kala''.

Tovino has co-produced the film ''Kilometers and Kilometers''. On 21 January 2021, he launched his own production house, Tovino Thomas Productions. '' Kala'' is the first venture by his own production house.

Early life and education

Tovino Thomas was born on 21 January 1989 in Irinjalakuda, Thrissur, to Sheela and Adv. E. Thomas of the Ellikkal house as the youngest Child. His siblings are Tingston Thomas and Dhanya Thomas. He completed primary schooling from Don Bosco Higher Secondary School, Irinjalakuda and Secondary (Plus Two) schooling from St Mary's Higher Secondary School Irinjalakuda and graduated with bachelor's degree in electronics and communication engineering from Tamil Nadu College of Engineering, Coimbatore,. He was a part of the handball Team of Don Bosco High School and also helmed as the school leader. He later worked in Cognizant Technologies as a software engineer. He was active in sports, fitness and modeling.

Career

Debut and early work (2012-2014)

Tovino Thomas made his acting debut in ''Prabhuvinte Makkal'' (2012) directed by Sajeev Anthikkad. Subsequently, he worked as an assistant director in Roopesh Peethambaran's ''Theevram''. In '' ABCD: American-Born Confused Desi'' (2013) he portrayed the role of the antagonist. Tovino played the lead in the film ''Koothara'' which also featured Mohanlal. He played the lead role in Roopesh Peethambaran's second directorial venture '' You Too Brutus''.

He has played major roles in the films including '' 7th Day'' (2014) and '' Charlie (2015).''

Breakthrough and recognition (2015-2019)

In 2015, he portrayed the role of Perumparambil Appu in the film ''Ennu Ninte Moideen'' which was widely appreciated and received critical acclaim for his performance. He won his first Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in ''Ennu Ninte Moideen''.

He played the role of Engineer Thejus Varky in ''Guppy'' (2016) which was well received by audiences upon the DVD and digital release. He won the New Sensational Hero Award at the NAFA 2017 for his performance in the film.

He played the lead role in ''Oru Mexican Aparatha'', ''Godha'', and ''Mayanadi'' in 2017. He won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor – Malayalam and Behindwoods Critics Award for Best Actor for ''Mayanadi''. The film was praised for the way it tackled with sexuality and was included in ''The Hindu'''s top 25 Malayalam films of the decade. The same year he appeared in ''Ezra'' in a major supporting role.

In 2018, Tovino Thomas was cast in a major role in ''Maari 2'' with Dhanush which was his Tamil debut. His major Malayalam releases for the year includes ''Theevandi'', '' Ente Ummante Peru'', and ''Oru Kuprasidha Payyan''. Tovino had major roles in ''Lucifer, Uyare'' and ''Virus'' in 2019. His film ''Uyare'' was released in South Korea, becoming the first Malayalam film to do so. His other releases in the year were '' And the Oscar Goes To...'', ''Luca'', ''Kalki'', and '' Edakkad Battalion 06''.

Established actor (2020–present)

In 2020, he played the lead role in the crime thriller ''Forensic'' with Mamta Mohandas, which received a good response from the audience and was a major box office success.

In 2021, his first release was '' Kala'' which was his second venture as a producer. The film received critical acclaim for its narrative. ''Kaanekkaane'' released in 2021, received a positive response and critical acclaim for its narrative and performance by its cast. He starred as the titular character in ''Minnal Murali'', which is the first Malayalam superhero action film, released by Netflix on 24 December. He received immense praise for his work in the film and the movie was also declared as 'Streaming success' and surpassed the records of most viewed Malayalam Film on OTT previously held by ''Drishyam 2''.

In 2022, Tovino appeared in '' Naaradan'', '' Dear Friend'', '' Vaashi'' and ''Thallumaala'' and became commercial success.

In 2023 he starred in '' Neelavelicham'', in which he portrayed the role of Vaikom Muhammad Basheer and in ''2018'' which collected 176 crore and became the 4th Highest grossing Malayalam film ever.

In 2024, he starred in films like Anweshippin Kandethum, Nadikar and A.R.M.. The latter became Tovino's first solo 100 crore grosser.

Media image

Tovino is considered among the highest-paid actors of Malayalam cinema. He stood at the 21st place on ''Forbes Indias most influential stars on Instagram in South cinema for the year 2021. Tovino was named the Kochi Times Most Desirable Men in 2016 and 2018. He was also placed 2nd in 2019 and 5th in 2020. In 2022, ''Forbes India'' included him in its first ever "Showstoppers – India's Top 50 Outperformers" list.

Filmography

*''All films are in Malayalam language unless otherwise noted''.

As actor

;Film

;Music Videos

As playback singer

As producer

Awards and nominations

Personal life

Tovino married his longtime girlfriend, Lidiya at St. Thomas Cathedral, Irinjalakuda, on 25 October 2014. The duo had met during their school days and married after nine years. The couple has a daughter and a son born in 2016 and 2020 respectively.

Philanthropy

In 2021, Tovino is announced as the ambassador of the Samoohika Sannadhasena, the community volunteer program launched by the Government of Kerala. The community volunteer program was launched to tackle natural disasters by imparting training to volunteers and provide aid to the public in times of crisis. Pinarayi Vijayan, Chief Minister of Kerala appreciated Tovino's involvement in flood relief activities and noted that his presence will influence the youth to join in the community volunteer program.

Tovino had volunteered during 2018 Kerala floods to lead rescue and rehabilitation missions. In 2021, Tovino received golden visa from the Government of UAE.

After Mammootty and Mohanlal, Tovino became the third Malayalam film actor to receive the Golden Visa issued by the United Arab Emirates.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Tovino
1989 births
21st-century Indian male actors
Don Bosco schools alumni
Living people
Male actors in Malayalam cinema
People from Irinjalakuda
Actors from Thrissur district
Male actors from Thrissur
Syro-Malabar Catholics
Kerala Film Critics Awards winners
IIFA Utsavam winners