it wasn't easy for Prithviraj to make a mark in Malayalam cinema that has been ruled by superstars for the last 25 years, but he has and aspires to turn director some day, nottoo far away. Vijay in conversation with thesuperstar in the making... prithviraj has long been regarded as the heir apparent, or in simpler terms, the next superstar of Malayalam films. The journey to the top for him has been some kind of a roller coaster until now, with some successes and quite a few failures. But his latest release puthiya Mugham has set the cash registers ringing big time and catapulted this handsome youngster to newer heights of stardom in the process.
the advantage of puthiya Mugham was that it was a simple story which could be moulded into any pattern, explains Prithviraj. "We had deliberately made the story into a high voltage adrenaline pumper that transpires energy into the viewers as they watch it. Now our judgment has been proved right. puthiya Mugham is a complete package where the protagonist can portray every dimension and among my successful films, this is probably the first actor-based script," he shares.
Such prudent thinking has perhaps made his list of forthcoming films looks incredibly impressive. The Tamil version of the Malayalam hit Classmates, Ninaithale inikkum has just been released and he is currently shooting for Mani Ratnam's Raavan. prithviraj considers it a privilege to be a part of Raavan, with its brilliant cast and crew, besides many other factors. In Malayalam, he has completed Joshiy's Robin Hood and has started shooting for Shaji Kailas' Raghupathi Raghava Rajaram.
Films like Anwar, thanthonni, Pathiramanal, pokkiri Raja and Veettilekkulla Vazhi are in the pipeline.
Acting has been in his genes, since his parents Sukumaran and Mallika were noted actors. "Money and fame were not really my inspirations to take up acting.
I had other career options to choose from" he says. He was studying in Australia when director Ranjith chose him for the role of the hero in nandanam, which came out in 2002. The rest, as they say, is history. Malayalam cinema saw the birth of a new hero. His brother Indrajith, who was earlier working as a software engineer, also an actor around the same time and has been doing pretty well ever since.
With hits like swapnakoodu, Ananthabhadram, Classmates and Chocolate, prithviraj cemented his position as the hottest young star of Malayalam. In an industry where the mighty two- Mammootty and Mohanlal- are still having a phenomenal rule at the box office with huge initials, that too even after more than 25 years at the top, things have never been easy for him.
prithviraj's foray into serious cinema happened with films like Akale, Thalappavu and Daivanamathil. he has won the best actor award in the Kerala State film awards for his role as a manipulative bureaucrat in Vaasthavam.
In the meanwhile, his Tamil films like Kana Kandein, Mozhi and Abhiyum Naanum and others did reasonably well. He has been getting some Bollywood offers as well.
Ask him which role he'd loved to have made his debut in Bollywood with and he says Kaminey almost instantly.
Of course, he is an ardent movie buff and watches films quite religiously.
He is also fascinated with the technical aspects of filmmaking. "I have always been interested in knowing about cameras, the equipments, stock and anything technical. In fact, when I enquired about these things with a few people in the industry during my initial days, they didn't take it in the right spirit and I lost films in the bargain. I still ask about those aspects but I don't lose films because of that, anymore. Maybe, I have reached that stage only now," he smiles.
No real surprise that he is keen about these technical details, as he dreams to turn director sometime in the near future. Remember, as the dictum in our films go, anything is possible for the hero. And Prithviraj is truly a hero in every sense.
oct 09 39
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