Maranamass director Sivaprasad on how Tovino Thomas came on board as producer: 'It wasn’t a formal...'

Sivaprasad made his directorial debut with Basil Joseph-starrer Maranamass, which is co-produced by Tovino Thomas. The quirky Malayalam film, which also features Rajesh Madhavan, Anishma Anilkumar, Suresh Krishna and Siju Sunny, made its digital debut on SonyLiv and OTTplay Premium recently. Sivaprasad now talks about how the Malayalam star Tovino Thomas, known for films such as Minnal Murali and Mayaanadhi, came on board as the producer.

Sivaprasad on Tovino Thomas backing Maranamass

Debutant director Sivaprasad recently opened up about his film Maranamass, which was backed by Tovino Thomas Productions, among others. Sivaprasad, who has previously worked on short films and ad films, said that it all began as a casual conversation.

“It wasn’t a formal meeting or pitch,” Sivaprasad said, adding that he told Tovino about his idea for Maranamass, and the world he wanted to create - a strange yet interesting mix of suspense, satire, and comedy.

“After listening to him, Tovino remarked, ‘Let’s do it. I’ll support this,” Sivaprasad remarked. And that’s how Tovino came into the picture and the project got kicked off.

Maranamass cast and plot

Basil Joseph, who was last seen as cop Santhosh in the thriller Pravinkoodu Shappu, turns Luke PP, who calls himself a sigma male in Maranamass. Luke is portrayed as being a brazen youth, who proves to be a constant headache to his town’s folks.

But when a serial killer begins to target old people in the town, Luke comes under the radar of suspicion. Even his girlfriend Jessy (Anishma Anilkumar) has had enough of him and breaks up with him. But in a bizarre turn of events, Luke boards a bus which has the serial killer (Rajesh Madhavan), a corpse, and Jessy. The bus conductor and the driver, too, inevitably become part of this quirky ride as they try to get rid of the body.

Tovino also made a cameo appearance in the movie. Maranamass hit theatres on Apr 10, 2025, along with Mammootty's Bazooka and Alappuzha Gymkhana, starring Naslen, Lukman Avaran, and Ganapathi. Maranamass opened to mixed reviews, with some finding the film's narrative over the top. However, the film did win appreciation for the cast's performances and the humorous moments.