Tovino: I found it tough to carry the Cane Corso in one of the scenes

This year, especially the time away from work during the lockdown, has probably brought Tovino Thomas closer to animals than ever before. It is also why a Cane Corso, an Italian breed of mastiff, features prominently in his ‘man vs wild’ thriller titled Kala, which has Divya Pillai as the female lead.Its director Rohith VS tells us, “The Cane Corso that is named Bazigar in the film, looks like a panther and can be very intimidating. But within two days, it became friendly with all of us. The mastiff is the pet of Tovino’s character Shaji in Kala and so, he was the one who handled it completely on the sets. In fact, he was the one who selected the breed for the movie.”It wasn’t a random suggestion by the actor either as he was introduced to the mastiff during the lockdown when he was training his beagle Pablo. Tovino says, “My friend Christo runs a dog-training academy and hostel, which is near my place. During the lockdown, he connected me to the owners of Pablo, which is in fact my first pet. So, after the lockdown rules were relaxed, I used to take Pablo to his hostel, where he also trains in animal behavioural correction. I have always been interested in animals and these techniques.”Talking about how he became at ease with dogs, he says, “The Italian mastiff has an even temperament, but it is massively powerful and can be ferocious. Christo chettan says that animals can sense our intentions and so, if we are friendly with them, they too will reciprocate. Now, after the initial assessment of any animal’s mood, I feel I can handle them.”On how a foreign breed like Cane Corso fits into the story of Kala, Tovino says, “The movie is set in the ‘90s and we have conceived my character as one of the first Malayalis to have imported a Cane Corso with the intention of owning an expensive foreign breed. However, we don’t reveal all these details in the movie. In life, I am someone who loves dogs, but my character Shaji is more of a dog enthusiast.”So, what were the challenges of working with the large mastiff that can weigh 40-50kg? “I had to carry it in one scene and I had to cross a wooden bridge with it in another; those were the difficult scenes,” says the actor. “Dogs react to external stimuli; like to make it bark, you tie a goat nearby. But sometimes, it’s hard to control them. The leash that I normally use for my dog is easy for me to grip, but for the movie, we had to use a different one that I had to curl around my hands. So, whenever Bazigar decided to bolt, it would bruise my hands. But it was an interesting experience.”Meanwhile, Divya, who plays Shaji’s wife Vidya in the film, tells us about her experience working with the mastiff. “She looks very fierce, but after a while she becomes friendly and is just a lap dog you want to cuddle. It was nice to work with her.” Elaborating further on the film, Tovino says, “It’s got a simple story, but has a lot of layers. It’s about how people behave with others. For instance, how you react with your parents wouldn’t be how you are with your children or friends, workers or a dog.”The film’s shoot, which was halted after Tovino’s injury during its action scenes, is set to resume once the actor completes his portions of his current project Kaanekkaane. “We have about 16 more days of shoot left and for now we have finished editing whatever we have shot till now,” concludes Rohith.