I was not so keen on acting in films: Guru Somasundaram in Netflix's promo video for Minnal Murali

Minnal Murali, which is billed as the first super hero film of Malayalam, released directly on Netflix a couple of days ago. Tovino Thomas plays the lead in the film which has Guru Somasundaram essaying the antagonist's role. The latter, who was a theatre actor, has been receiving praises from several quarters for his performance in the film.

Now, the streaming giant has come up with a 10-minute promo video in which the Kollywood actor, who pulled off notables roles in Jigarthanda and Joker, opens up about his experiences working for the project, how he was bitten by the acting bug and the one thing he was impressed with Malayalam movie industry.

He reveals that he was not so keen on acting in films during his younger days, though he used to love watching movies at his hometown Madurai, in Tamil Nadu. He recalled those days where he watched many films with his mother. But he says it was his stint with Koothu-P-Pattarai, the Chennai-based theatre group, which made him believe that he can be a professional actor.  

When asked to compare between theatre acting and cinema acting, he said that the latter is difficult as one should be able to keep the character's traits in mind for several months, or sometimes for an year or two. 

Guru considers himself lucky for having bagged the opportunity to work in Minnal Murali, and says that it took him back to the old days where he used to love watching superhero movies. He recollects that the first thing he did to play the role was learning to write, read and speak Malayalam. 

He says, "I asked the director about the requirements from my character. He just asked me to learn to row a round boat and insisted not to exaggerate while emoting. One interesting aspect about Malayalam movie industry is that everyone in the crew is aware of shot details and continuity."