This Friday, audiences will be introduced to a new face: Nithin George, who is starring in the Tovino Thomas-starrer Luca. The actor plays the film's second lead, a police officer named Akbar. His story runs parallel to Tovino's character Luca, and Nithin will have a significant presence in the film.

Though Luca is the actor's 'official' feature-length debut, it was a yet-unreleased independent Tamil film called Alayin Thisai (The Way of a Wave) -- also Luca director Arun Bose's debut directorial -- that can be counted as his first work outside short films and television dramas. Nithin, Arun and Luca's writer Mridul George are childhood friends.

Nithin has been trying to get a serious film role since 2006, the year in which he made a fleeting appearance in Lal Jose's Classmates. Luca, he says, is his most important film. "I had a clear idea about my character because I've been with this project and discussing it with Arun for years. However, it was only during the final stages, before the shoot began, that my role was finalised," he says.

Prior to Alayin Thisai, Nithin was part of a TV serial called Chakravakam nine years ago. "For that brief period, I was a known face, but then people slowly started to forget," he recalls. "So you could say that I've experienced both ends of the spectrum," he laughs. Nithin later decided to not sign any serials and focus exclusively on cinema. 

"The best thing about being part of serials is that I gained a thorough knowledge of the technical side, which helped me a lot when making the transition to cinema. But as far as acting is concerned, I had to unlearn whatever I learned during my stint in television." In the meantime, he got involved in a business venture as a backup plan and also worked as a music manager at Club FM. 

A die-hard Mohanlal fan since his childhood, Nithin caught the acting bug very early on. "I never missed any TV shows and movies I came across. I used to pray during my childhood that I want to be like Mohanlal when I grow up, but it was only after growing up I realised that I was actually looking for something else. I didn't have a fixed plan. I was willing to sacrifice my private life for this profession. For me, acting is not just about enjoying the work but also getting recognition," he says.

As both his and his wife's parents were very supportive of his endeavours, he didn't face any opposition. "They didn't look down on cinema. I've been showered with tremendous support from both friends and family members after I became part of Luca. I didn't expect this kind of love from my hometown. But they always knew that I've been working hard for this."

Nithin hopes to not become typecast after Luca, as he firmly believes he is capable of doing any role. Some of the award-winning short films he did are a testament to that. A notable example is the 16-min short Karinchanthan, in which he played a Christian priest. "Since I'm not an established actor yet, it's a drawback because it's hard to convince people that you can do something. For me, Luca gave me an opportunity to showcase my skills. I hope everyone will appreciate my performance in it."

Luca also features Ahaana Krishna, Vinitha Koshy, Neethu Bala, Sooraj S Kurup, and Srikanth Murali.