OTTplay Awards 2022: Guru Somasundaram: After Minnal Murali dropped on Netflix, I have become a pan-world actor

It took 10 years for Tamil actor Guru Somasundaram to get his due recognition. With his role as the antagonist and supervillain Shibu in Basil Joseph’s Minnal Murali, the veteran actor has now become one of the most-talked about artistes. It’s no wonder then that the jury of OTTplay Awards this year picked his portrayal in the Netflix release as the Breakthrough Performance of the year (Male).

Guru, who received that award from Malayalam director Mahesh Narayanan, Bollywood producer Siddharth Roy Kapur and actress Rachel David, at the event in Mumbai on September 10 that this was his first ever recognition on a national stage.

“I am from Tamil Nadu and I got an award for working in the Malayalam film industry. It’s a huge honour for me,” he said. On the impact of OTTs in his career, the actor, who was also part of films such as Jai Bhim and Maara, said, “When the technology evolves, artistes also have to adapt to that, especially in cinema. I came from a theatre background and I am now appearing in mainstream cinema. I am born and brought up in Madurai, where there were almost 90 functioning theatres when I growing up. Nowadays, theatre has come to our very homes through OTT.”

He explained that streaming services have definitely given a push to his career. “After Minnal Murali dropped on Netflix, I have become a pan-Indian and in fact, even a pan-world actor. It released all over the world and wad dubbed in close to 60 languages,” he said.

The actor’s speech during the awards also won a lot of hearts. He drew parallels of the massive Meenakshi temple and Minnal Murali to explain how he fit into big projects. “I grew up in Madurai; it’s an ancient city known for the fragrance of jasmine, supple idlis and the prominent Meenakshi temple. It’s a massive structure with a huge tower. Inside the temple, there’s a one-acre pond, which is small compared to its entire structure. My house was near the temple and if I stepped out, I could see the glorious structure. The temple was a perfect place for us to play hide and seek. I would always wonder about these massive constructs. So, when I signed Minnal Murali, I felt the same. I knew it was going to be huge but I knew how to play within in,” Guru said.

The actor also explained that he was more than happy to take up the role when Basil Joseph offered the character in Minnal Murali to him. “It was a dream role for someone from a theatre background. It’s a superhero story and from my childhood, I used to read comic books,” he said, adding that he was a fan of Revolver Rita and Irumbukai Mayavi, whose body becomes invisible when he touches electricity.

Guru also thanked the film’s producer Sophia Paul, director Basil, cinematographer Sameer Thahir and writers Arun Anirudhan and Justin Mathew.