Mammootty praises ‘Youth’ star Chinna Thamizha: 'I have the same amount of drive for acting as him'

Mammootty is all set for his most awaited upcoming film 'Patriot' which will release on May 1 and promotions are going in full swing for the action flick.Interestingly, during a recent promotional event for the film, Mammootty praised actor-comedian Chinna Thamizha, saying he also shares the same acting passion as the 'Youth' actor.Mammootty says he has many more characters to exploreMammootty made these remarks at a promotional event for his upcoming film Patriot as reported by Cinema Express. During the interaction, a reporter questioned whether he still had unexplored roles left.Mammootty responded instantly, showing complete confidence. “I have many more characters to explore. I have no doubts about it.”Reference to ‘Youth’ star’s journeyDuring the same conversation, Mammootty spoke about a recent success event he had watched. He referred to the emotional speech of Abison Thevarasa, known as Chinna Thamizha, without naming him directly.“Recently, I saw the success meet of a film called Youth. Many spoke during it. One of them delivered an emotional speech, expressing his happiness for the chance he finally got in cinema, although his father discouraged him from pursuing roles.”He used this moment to draw a comparison. He explained that his own passion for acting remains just as strong.Mammootty also opened up on how the industry has evolved. He pointed out that promotional events were not common when he began his journey.Despite those differences, his drive has remained unchanged. “I have the same amount of drive for acting as him,” he said.‘Youth’ team reacts with gratitudeFollowing the event, Chinna Thamizha responded to the mention. He took to social media to express his happiness. “This made my day. Thank you sir.”Meanwhile, Ken Karunaas, who directed and starred in Youth, also shared his reaction. “Can't believe this happened to us. Thank you sir.”Meanwhile, 'Youth' turned out to be a surprise hit from Tamil this year and ETimes review of the film noted, "To his credit, Ken Karunas has designed some comedic set pieces that draw laughs, and the boys around Praveen share a chemistry that keeps their scenes from feeling entirely disposable. Suraj Venjaramoodu lands a few dry comic moments of his own. Given how easy it is for this territory to collapse into unwatchable cliche, Youth stays on the right side of that line for most of its runtime. It could have used twenty fewer minutes, though, and nothing of value would have been lost."