‘Minnal Murali’, which came out as the first superhero film in Malayalam, had a lot of surprises in store for the audience. One of them is the heroine Bruce Lee Biji. Biji, who leaves her boyfriend for the sole reason of not agreeing to teach karate after marriage … Super cool karate master who is stylishly lined up and smiling coolly even when he unexpectedly gets kicked and falls down!
The only travel agent cum karate master in the fox corner who solves a problem on his own despite having a superhero friend … that’s Brucely BG. Femina George, a native of Kochi, won the applause of the audience as Bruce Lee Biji of Minnal Murali. For Femina, who had been dreaming of cinema since her youth, Minnal Murali was waiting for her entry ticket to Malayalam cinema. When Femina George opened her mind to Manorama Online about that journey that faced many crises and challenges.
The first challenge is ‘weight loss’.
I came to Minnal Murali through an audition. I saw a post on Instagram. It was an audition call to the superhero movie looking for a girl who knew martial arts. I applied for the audition with the courage to go to karate class for two weeks. They called. The audition consisted of two rounds. In the second round of the audition, Sneha Babu’s character Bincy was cast in the film. They called again after the audition. Asked if he could lose weight in a month. I weighed about 62 pounds[62 kg]at the time. My double chin could be seen taking everything. When she said that if she loses a little weight, she can be considered as a character in the movie, then she did not look at anything. Essentially suffered in a good way. The food was adjusted. Went to the gym. I lost about six or seven kilos in a month.
Karate training
After losing weight, Minnal Murali called the team again. When seen in person, they said OK. That’s when I was first told about the character of Bruce Lee BG. At a grooming session, Basileton explained in detail who Biji was, what he was, and how he was involved in the story. Although Biggie is a karate master, he does not show all his skills in movies. Therefore no detailed karate training was required. It was that kick that compelled me to learn. That said, it should be practiced well. When I put on a trainer I was told to kick and stretch accurately. It was after that training that I became Brucely busy mentally and physically.
Waiting at the lockdown
I will be joining this film in 2019. At that time everything was practiced. But, everything was actually shot in 2021. Meanwhile, Kovid came. As a lockdown. Jim closed. The training could not continue exactly. While I was at home, I started gaining weight again. It began to affect the stretches. Doing everything at home without a trainer was a big challenge. However, the training continued at home. The fight sequence with Tovino was shot in April 2021.
My part was choreographed by Action Director Vlad Rimberg. We met in person a week before the shoot. He told me how BG’s fight with Jason should be. Karate Punches do more than that. Then, a small kick. He showed me the exact poster and so on. I did not have that much speed. It was achieved through that one week of training. The set was supposed to take a lot of take but not much came.
That scene that won the applause
After getting a thunderbolt from Murali, Chammal said that many people liked the scene where he lay with his hands on his head without showing his coolness. Of course, director Basil Joseph deserves a round of applause for that scene workout. Fight was shot first. The laughter from the fall was then picked up. Not only this reaction shot, Basiletton will tell you what to do with every shot. And will act and show. He had shown this reaction shot like this. Then he said, how can you do this … do the same! That’s the shot that did that. I did not think so many people would like it. Its humor is a workout for everyone. That was the part that was the most tense for me. Because, if not taken care of, it can go muddy. But nothing happened as feared. That humor reached everyone.
Exciting climax
If you ask me, my favorite scene in the movie is the climax. The climax was what I was most fascinated by when I first heard the character Bruce Lee’s description of BG. It’s a climax where Brucely BG has the opportunity to perform well! Lots of people took it up and applauded. Usually in movies the heroine is the shadow of the hero or someone who depends on him. Not so in Lightning Murali. They do not wait for the lightning to strike when a problem arises. Busy enough for busy. She has a conviction that there is only one problem she can solve. So glad to be able to play such a character. Many thanks to the writers Arun and Justin for creating it. They are the ones who wrote this character. Basilettan also helped to present it well.
Everything it says is not true
Many of the things that come up on social media about me are wrong. I did not take the degree from St. Teresa’s. He did his degree in Rajagiri. M.Com was done at St. Teresa’s. I was born in Saudi Arabia. Later he reached Kochi. After completing BCom, he worked at Infopark for a year. After that he went to study PG. MCom completed in 2021. It was at the time of joining that course that Minnal went to audition for Murali and was selected. I loved cinema from a young age. When you open a newspaper, you read movie news. When I was young, I used to look in the mirror and try different things.
As an adult, I had a passion for cinema but was afraid to talk at home. It was while studying for a degree in Rajagiri that I got the courage to openly express my desire at home. It was very difficult to trust the parents but they were eventually persuaded. By the time it was time for Minnal Murali’s audition, they were almost OK. Now they are happy. They now proudly say to me, ‘Acting is her passion … let her do it’! K.P. His father’s name was Varkey. Everyone calls it Joy, though. Is business. His mother was a nurse. Now back to business. The original name was Rajinamma. At home it is called Zina. I have a sister. Fabian George. If you see it, you will say it is my brother! He’s not me, he’s afraid of me.
The goal is good movies
When I said I wanted the movie, no one could immediately accept it. Especially to Daddy! Because I’m not from a family that sees cinema as a safe career. But now they have changed their minds. After the degree, I worked for a while. But today I am happiest in life. I am now going through the moments I dreamed of. The desire is to survive in the film itself. I am willing to adjust body weight for one character or gain other training. Good movies … good characters …
This is my goal. I have good accuracy in that regard. Ignore what the rest of us say. Two years ago, when I said I was going to act in a movie, many people were skeptical, is it a movie? Is it risky? Do you have any other work to do? Many of those who asked that question after the release of the film asked what the next film would be! Not everyone has changed like this. There are still people who ask if the movie is necessary. But I have good faith. I want the movie itself.
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