Director Basil Joseph and actor Tovino Thomas have revealed some of the most explicit details of their current film, 'Minnal Murali.' The Netflix film has been well received by viewers all across the world, and it has effectively broken down the language barrier.
In an interview with The Indian Express, the duo discussed how the theme of mental illness, the societal stigma that accompanies it, and the lack of understanding about mental health in society inspired the fundamental narrative of 'Minnal Murali,' which premiered on the OTT platform on December 24, last year.
Despite the fact that there are analogues in Hollywood superhero movies about how society's apathy leads regular people into supervillains, Joseph's idea for it was indigenous, just like his heroic character, Minnal Murali.
“There is a movie called Thaniyavarthanam (1987), in which the hero’s uncle is mentally ill. And society thinks that the hero has inherited the illness of his uncle. And he’s treated like an outcast. But, eventually, he will turn out to be someone like… (Shibu). Shibu’s mother has an issue of mental illness and society thinks he might have inherited it. So they treat him like an outcast. Even when he’s asked to marry a girl, the girl’s brother refuses his proposal citing his mother’s mental illness,” Joseph said.
Sibhu's rage, according to Joseph, sprang from the suffering inflicted by years of persecution and humiliation, not from disease.
“At the beginning of the movie when Sibhu says that he lost his wallet, the police officer surprisingly asks, ‘even you have a wallet?’ As if he’s someone who was not supposed to have a wallet. And the tea shop owner slaps on the back of Sibhu’s head. After years of being mistreated by people, he becomes a loner and loses confidence in himself. But, with his superpower, he becomes more confident. He starts to comb his hair, cut his nails. Sibhu is not doing what he’s doing because he’s mentally ill. He acts that way because he’s treated like a mad person,” he added.
Tovino Thomas also mentioned that he wanted to portray Sibhu's part at first because he believed it had a deep emotional core. He relinquished his goal, however, as Joseph informed him of his plans to transform 'Minnal Murali' into a franchise. “I asked Basil if I could play Sibhu. And when the villain role is getting all the praise, I am so proud that my judgment was right,” he added.
And Thomas argues that, while Sibhu is not inherently bad, there are other nasty characters in the film who get away with it.
“I think he’s (Sibhu) not the villain of the movie until some point. I think the people around Sibhu are more villainous than him, including the guy who sets Sibhu’s house on fire. Whatever Sibhu is doing, he is doing out of his loss. He’s not doing it just to hurt people. He has been treated like sh**t since his childhood and that’s why he’s giving back to those people. But, a lot of innocent people come under Sibhu’s attack and that’s why Jaison had to intervene and do all these things. So I don’t consider him as an ugly villain we see in other movies,” he explained.
Joseph suggested that while no one can justify Sibhu going on a killing spree, the audience should also be aware of the reasons that prompted Sibhu’s actions.
“Sibhu’s actions can’t be justified and at the same time, the actions of people around Sibhu also can’t be justified. They make a villain out of Sibhu and then judge him. I don’t think that’s fair,” added Thomas.
