2019 will always be special for Prithviraj Sukumaran. It is the year in which he made his début as a director with Lucifer. The spectacular success of the movie perhaps prompted him to announce the sequel, Empuraan , which will also be his next directorial venture.
As the year comes to a close, Prithviraj is on a three-month break, something he has never done during his nearly 18-year-old acting career. But that is also the time he is planning to mould himself into Najeeb, his character in Aadujeevitham .
He has wrapped up the shoot of his scenes in Ayyappanum Koshiyum . His second home production, Driving Licence , hit the screens last week. Ayalvaashi , in which he teams up with his elder brother Indrajith, is in the pipeline.
Prithviraj, who is known for his candid speak, opens up about achieving his dreams and aiming for more, in an interview with Friday Review. Edited excerpts:
How do you look back at 2019?
Making my own film has always been a dream. This is the year I could manage to take time off to fulfil that dream. The entire focus was on making Lucifer a commercial success. Being able to achieve that was gratifying. The year was also special as I launched my own production house, starting off with Nine , which was a very off-the-beaten-path kind of a movie and now, Driving Licence.
And Lucifer?
I am happy with how Lucifer fared at the box office. We had a set of parameters within which we had to work. Everything about Lucifer was focused on taking it to the masses. The numbers that the movie raked in at the box office makes it evident that we succeeded in our endeavour.
Next is Blessy’s Aadujeevitham ?
We are aware that everyone who has read the book would have imagined their own version of Aadujeevitham in their mind. What we are making is what Blessy has imagined.
We have only shot about 25% of the film and we are getting ready to shoot the major portions. Yes, Aadujeevitham is an ambitious project and I hope the movie turns out the way we hope it will.
You have played a superstar in Lal Jr.’s Driving Licence . How much did you model the character on yourself?
I am sure a lot of viewers will draw similarities between my character, Hareendran, and me in real life.
My love for cars is pretty well known and Hareendran is car-crazy. Like Hareendran, I also love driving my cars. I am perceived to have a short temper and Hareendran has a bit of that as well. But, having said that, this is another character that scriptwriter Sachy conceived.
Which one is easier to perform: Najeeb or Hareendran?
You cannot say all stars have similar lives. Though they are all actors, their personalities and preferences will be totally different.
The whole exercise of understanding what the writer has written and bringing your interpretations to the character are, for me, the same whether it be Hareendran in Driving Licence or Najeeb in Aadujeevitham .
What is your role in Ayyappanum Koshiyum ?
I had a lot of fun doing the role of Koshi. It’s after a while that I am getting my hands on a raw and realistic premise, where somewhere down the line, the animal in the man comes out.
You are known to speak up on political or social issues. Aren’t you worried about ruffling feathers in the process?
In fact, my biggest problem is that, especially within the virtual world, people have forgotten to deal with dissent. If a fellow human being does not agree with you on something, that won’t automatically make him or her your enemy.
At least, the younger population need to understand the fact that dissent, discussion and debate are integral to a healthy democracy.
What keeps you passionate about acting?
After a point, what is generally perceived to be the attractions about the job, like fame or money, will cease to matter. Then it all boils down to the love for the medium and passion for the craft. What I love is being involved with the process of making a film. And that too, as an actor. It’s true that I enjoy directing movies but I see it as something that I do in between a break in my acting career.
Is there a kind of pressure to maintain the success that you have achieved?
As you grow in your career and become successful, the pressure increases. The more successful you are, the more the money riding on you. Whether you let those pressures dictate your decision-making is up to you.
Do you have a bucket list of new challenges or goals?
Now, I am in a position in my career where if I like a subject, I can pretty much facilitate that process by myself.
I have the influence and the means to make that happen. My wish is that this remains the same as long as I am in the industry.
After the splendid success of Lucifer, will the great expectations bog you down during the making of Empuraan ?
I know that people will walk into a theatre to watch Empuraan from where Lucifer had stopped. The excuse of being a debutant will no longer be there for me. And I also need to tell myself that I can’t let any such thoughts be the architect of how Empuraan is made.
Published - December 26, 2019 03:33 pm IST