Maranamass’ Luke is subversive and a nuisance; he has even tried to sell the local police station. He is a peroxide blond ‘sigma’ who wears loud clothes and speaks Gen Z. But hidden underneath that bravado, which borders on foolishness, is the boy-next-door that we have all come to love — actor-director Basil Joseph.
Maranamass is a mad caper, with a motley crew of eccentric characters, which the director Sivaprasad calls ‘a story told from an experimental perspective’. But for Basil, in the case of this movie, it was the relationships that led him to the film. Actor Tovino Thomas is the film’s producer while the film’s director was an associate (Minnal Murali) and Basil has acted in a television commercial directed by Sivaprasad.
“This movie happened mainly because of the relationships and familiarity I have with the team. Then there is the story and the setting with the serial killer which I found interesting. Luke’s character who puts up the police station for sale, is an eccentric story and how it was tackled was fascinating. The one line of the story was the hook for me,” says Basil, explaining why he chose to be Luke in Maranamass.
Having worked with Sivaprasad and being familiar with his ‘loud, experimental, eccentricity metre’, he says he trusted his director and everyone else, including his co-actors, on the team to deliver. And deliver, Maranamass has.
Basil Joseph
On whether the team is important when choosing a film, Basil says, “No, I look at the story and my character before I commit. Relationships come later; it was only in the case of Maranamass that being familiar with the team came first. My way of looking at it is, if I do a film based purely on that one factor, it may not be beneficial for either parties involved if the story and character don’t hold and the film does not work.” Right now Basil is busy with pre-production of his directorial, which goes on the floors in 2026.
He confesses that he did not intend to be an actor when he came to the film industry. “I did not think about it in my ‘wildest dreams’. I thought I did not have the ‘hero’ kind of looks or the physique for it. I had a bunch of complexes but not any more. I am confident now, these complexes have no value, I have realised one has to just go ahead and do it. There are no limitations, one should not be held back!”
This is the ne’er-say-die attitude that his friends and associates admire him for. The confidence borne out of the attitude led him to make a film like Minnal Murali, a superhero film in Malayalam and rake in the moolah.
Basil has come a long way from someone who came to the film industry with no connections. This engineer from Wayanad quit his job to chase his cinema dream, assisting Vineeth Sreenivasan in Thira after which he made his directorial debut with Kunjiramayanam. His story is the stuff of movies. Godha and the pathbreaking Minnal Murali came next even as he was forging a path as an actor.
Basil Joseph and with director Sivaprasad and Rajesh Madhavan on the sets of the film
Although he had been appearing in smaller but memorable roles, those were mostly with an accent on the comic. His breakout role or the one that stayed with the audience was perhaps Father Kevin in Joji, where, we saw a side of the actor that we had not seen before. As the young priest, unimpressed by the family or the goings on therein, his was among the standout portrayals in a film packed with acting powerhouses.
He played the lead as the male nurse from Canada, Joymon, in Jan.E.Man, helmed by Manjummel Boys’ director, Chidambaram. Films such as Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya Hey, Falimy, Kadina Kadoramee Andakadaham, Guruvayoor Ambalanadayil, and Nunakuzhi, followed with Basil as the lead or one of the main actors. He came in for praise for his take as the chauvinistic Rajesh opposite Darshana Rajendran in Jaya Jaya Jaya Jaya Hey.
While some of the recent films he has been part of like Nna Thaan Case Kodu, Guruvayoor Ambalanadayil, Varshangalku Shesham, Ajayante Randam Moshanam, Vazha (in a cameo) among others have been done well at the box office, he has been on a roll with Sookshmadarshini, Ponman and Maranamass.
With these films, his recent releases, including Praavinkoodu Shappu, Basil has mixed it up, consciously, moving out of his comfort zone as an actor. Most of his roles have been iterations of the common man/boy-next-door characters. Getting typecast was a problem, he admits. However with films which rely on visual comedy, he explains, the characters are written to be lighter with the accent on humour.
Basil Joseph and with director Sivaprasad and actor Suresh Krishna on the sets of Maranamass
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“I was conscious about it (the being typical). When the right time came, the choices roles-wise got streamlined and the different types of parts started coming in. The cop, SI Santhosh CJ in Praavinkoodu Shappu, is a layered character, he is not your regular policeman. Ajesh in Ponman is very different and now Maranamass… even within the comedy space, the characters are different.” Sookshmadarshini’s Manuel showed the audience that Basil could be creepy and scary.
Right now he is back doing what he loves most — directing a film. “It feels so good, it is like being back home. There is no pressure of acting, everything is routine. All I have to do is think about the film…there is so much excitement. This will be my life for the next couple of years!” He does, however, have a couple of films in between.
When asked what makes him appealing to the seven-to-70 plus demographic, he says, “Perhaps because the characters I essay are relatable, common man-like. More than being worshipped by fans, I am in the ‘likeable’ person space… maybe it is that!”
Maranamass is streaming on SonyLiv.
Published – May 16, 2025 01:18 pm IST