PALAKKAD: Basil Joseph’s Minnal Murali hit the internet like a thunderbolt. Featuring a charming Tovino Thomas as an ordinary villager who gains superpowers after being struck by lightning, the film that released on Netflix on Christmas eve has taken the internet by storm.The talk of the town, however, is superhero Minnal Murali’s bespectacled confidant — his schoolgoing nephew Josemon. Played by C Vasisht, a Class 6 student of AUP School, Shoranur, the titular character’s young ally in the film is winning hearts world over.
“My character’s task in the film was to convince the hero, Tovino maama (uncle), of his superpowers,” says Vasisht, 10, who has been garnering appreciation from multiple quarters ever since the film came out.
Minnal Murali is Vasisht’s third film. He first appeared in a Sanskrit film titled Madhurasmitham, which received lukewarm response. His second outing was the Nivin Pauly-starrer Love Action Drama, in which he was featured in the song Kudukku as the childhood version of Aju Varghese’s character. The song, however, became a chartbuster. “It was on seeing the song that Basil Joseph contacted us,” said Vasisht’s father P Umesh, who is a chemistry teacher at the TRK HSS, Vaniamkulam.
The 10-year-old, whose ambition is to become a computer professional while simultaneously juggling his acting career, says his parents and teachers have supported him to the hilt to encourage his interests. Besides, his classes being held online helped him manage his busy schedule better. “I was in Class 4 when the shooting began in 2019. But most of the portions in the syllabus were completed by then,” he says.
As he had a rather meaty role in the film, Vasisht had to be present for 80 out of the 120 days of shooting. He had also travelled to Mumbai for promotional sketches featuring wrestler The Great Khali and cricketer Yuvraj Singh.“Everyone in the set including Tovino maama, Basil maama and Guru maama (Guru Somasundaram) who plays the super villain were cool and cooperative with me,” says Vasisht, whose favourite actor is — not surprisingly — Tovino.
“My wife C Jyothi, who was a teacher at an unaided school in Shoranur, had resigned to accompany my son to shooting locations,” says Umesh, a native of Kayiliyad.However, Vasisht is still first in his class, his father says with pride. “He even received the LSS scholarship in Class 4. We have received three more enquiries for films. But as we do not want his studies to be affected, we have only accepted one film offer as of now. It is an unnamed film directed by Shamal Chacko,” Umesh adds.Vasisht, meanwhile, is elated that people now recognise him everywhere he goes.