Can’t compare Godha with Bollywood movies: Tovino Thomas

Sports drama is currently the hot favourites of filmmakers in Bollywood. Two of the country’s biggest blockbusters Sultan and Dangal, both were sports dramas based on kushti or wrestling. Mollywood is also having a wrestling based movie to hit screens this year. We are talking about Kunjiramayanam fame Basil Joseph’s upcoming movie Godha.

Promising young actor, Tovino Thomas is playing the role of Anjaneya Das, a wrestler in the movie. The movie’s official teaser was released few days back to great response in social medias. However, a section of social media users have started to compare Godha with the Bollywood biggies Sultan and Dangal. Tovino was asked about this in a recent interview with Times Of India.

He said, “Malayalam industry has already seen movies based on wrestling like Mutharamkunnu P O and Oridathoru Phayalvaan. No one said Sultan and Dangal was copied from our movies. But when Godha’s first look posters were released, people started asking whether Godha was inspired from Sultan. Our filmmakers are not short of ideas. Most often we have come up with movies that are better than Bollywood films, in terms of quality, craft and performance. There should be no comparison between Malayalam films with the ones in Hindi, which are made with such big budgets.”

Earlier, director of the movie Basil Joseph also said the same in a chat session with Onlookers Media. Works for Godha started even before Sultan and Dangal were announced. So there is no similarities with those movies. Also, the budget at which the Bollywood movies are made is incomparable with ours. Tovino had to train in between shoots and during night time to get in shape whereas Bollywood actors start preparing six months prior to the shoot. Our budget constraints doesn’t give actors the liberty to do that.

Godha apart from a sports drama, is also a mix of comedy, romance and emotions. The movie stars Renji Panicker and Punjabi actress Wamiqa Gabbi in other major roles.

Thira fame Rakesh Mandoti has written the movie. Music department is handled by Shaan Rahman while Vishnu Sarma has wielded the camera. Aanandam fame Abhinav Sunder Nayak is the editor.

Godha is funded by Mukesh R Mehta under the banner of E4Entertainment. The movie is scheduled to hit screens in May this year.