Dasara star Shine Tom Chacko: There are only few who haven’t seen Thallumaala or Kurup in Telugu industry | Exclusive

Malayalam actor Shine Tom Chacko’s efforts in the past few years have paid off, with the actor, who is gearing up for the release of his debut Telugu movie Dasara, already signing his second film in the industry.

Shine, in an exclusive chat with OTTplay, attributes this to the reach that Malayalam films have got during the pandemic with the proliferation of OTT platforms, enabling audiences across the country to watch content from Mollywood.

Shine will be making his Telugu debut with Nani-starrer Dasara, which is set to hit theatres on March 30. The actor grabbed a plum role in the Srikanth Odela directorial, which also has Samuthirakani and Keerthy Suresh as part of the cast.

Also read: Dasara: Nani-starrer is rooted in logic and still has consistent ‘mass’ moments, says Shine Tom Chacko | Exclusive 

On Malayalam actors such as Fahadh Faasil, Dulquer Salmaan and him being cast in major Telugu tentpoles now, Shine says, “All of them are looking at talents from the Malayalam film industry. With OTTs, our films got a wide reach because earlier there weren’t too many platforms for people in other languages to watch our movies. Even on the sets of Dasara, there were only a few people who hadn't seen Thallumaala or Kurup.”

Shine’s roles in Tovino Thomas’ Thallumaala and Dulquer’s Kurup were lauded by the audience and critics alike. The actor also said that his role in Dasara didn’t warrant him to over-emote to “suit the meter of a ‘mass’ film” as the film’s story was rooted in logic and the director wanted “subtle performances” from all the actors.

Shine, whose latest release Boomerang that also has Samyuktha, Chemban Vinod Jose and Dain Davis has hit theatres, has also signed up his second Telugu film, which will also be bankrolled by Dasara producers. “I have also started shooting for the film, which has Naga Shaurya in the lead and is directed by a debutant (Pawan Basamsetti),” says the actor, who will next be seen in Maharani, co-starring Roshan Mathew.