Exclusive! Guru Somasundaram: My social media following grew 8 times within 3 days of Minnal Murali’s release

A week ago, few Malayalis would have heard of Guru Somasundaram, despite his brilliant performances in movies such as Joker and Aaranya Kaandam. But since the release of Tovino Thomas’ superhero movie Minnal Murali, which is streaming on Netflix, Guru and his supervillain character of Shibu is all the rage. From debates about how his love is portrayed in the movie to praise for his character arc and performance, the social media is flooded with posts hailing the Tamil actor.

Much like his character Shibu, Guru comes across as a soft-spoken person but someone intensely passionate about his love – the craft of acting. In an exclusive interview with OTTplay, the actor talks about why he loved the villainous side of Shibu more than his emotional phase, how he gelled with director Basil Joseph and Tovino Thomas, and his upcoming movie Barroz with Mohanlal.

You have been part of some great movies like Aaranya Kaandam and Joker over the years. Compared to all of them, how important was the success of Minnal Murali to you?

It’s crucial for every actor who is coming from a theatre background. When Aaranya Kaandam released, everyone praised the character of Kaalayan. At that time, I said that earlier I used to display whatever I have learnt from theatre in front of a live audience and now I am showcasing my learning in front of the camera. I still have that same answer when people give me their positive feedback for my performance in Minnal Murali.

Superhero genre requires exaggerated performances. Being from a theatre background where the body language takes precedence over expressions, how much did that help while playing the supervillain in Minnal Murali?

It helped me a lot. While we were doing the film, Basil Joseph, Tovino and I used to talk about the postures during the final fight sequence. That was important because this isn’t a film belonging to the usual action genre; it’s a superhero movie. For that you have to show the hero and villain would pose and this also had to be convincing for the audience. Basil said that we could achieve all of that. An important reason for that was because I came from theatre. I learnt a lot of martial arts during my theatre days. I am not a martial artiste but I know a bit of kalaripayattu, silambattam and tai-chi. All of that helped in the climax sequence.

Did Basil ever tell you why he thought you were the ideal person to play Shibu?

(Laughs) I have asked him this far too many times – during the shoot and even after that. Basil said there’s no one else. Even after the premiere in Mumbai, I asked him again and Tovino too was there. Both of them said, ‘Who else can do this role? Tell us.’ My friends keep asking me why I doubt myself, but I am such a person.

Basil usually works with people who he is comfortable with. Be it Tovino or Aju, these are actors who have worked with him earlier. As someone from a different industry, how did you strike up a chemistry with them?

Firstly, I learnt Malayalam, to be confident while conversing with them. Before entering a new industry, I wanted to know more about the language – its structure and modulations. I also wanted to read the script and that helped me a lot.

Tovino is part of the young generation of actors, and I am sort of in the middle, a bridge between the old and young generation. But we were both thinking the same – about working on a next-gen movie. When we are on that page, we become friends, brothers and each other’s well-wishers.

As a supervillain, Shibu has the same set of powers as the superhero Minnal Murali and his character arc is probably even better than that of Jaison’s. Is there a particular aspect of Shibu that you enjoyed the most?

As an actor, I enjoyed the villainous phase of Shibu, where he kills Usha’s brother. That’s where you see the craft. That’s what I liked more than the emotional side of him.

It’s never easy for an actor to create a fanbase in another industry and that too by playing a villain. What do you attribute to that?

I didn’t try too much to create this level of fandom. I think it’s because of social media and the film’s release on Netflix that helped my performance reach to the masses within a few days. In social media, my followers have increased from 10k to 80k in three days. So, it has increased by eight times. As an actor, I have learnt more about my craft and put it into use, and the feedback says that it has come out well.

From one big budget film to another. Is it true that you have been approached for Mohanlal’s directorial debut Barroz?

Yes.

In an earlier interview, you had said how you had watched his movies in theatres in Madurai during the 80s and 90s. How much did the call from Mohanlal inviting you to be part of his movie mean to you?

It’s a proud moment for me. It’s like all the stars have aligned. I am a huge fan of Mohanlal and now all I am thinking about is hearing him say, ‘action’, during the filming of Barroz. I am extremely happy.

Also read: From Tovino Thomas to Joju George: Mollywood actors who broke new grounds with their OTT releases in 2021