In this exclusive interview with OneIndia, Prithviraj Sukumaran opens up about his upcoming projects, including Empuraan, his thoughts on Bollywood remakes, and a special mention of his close association with Mohanlal. Watch the full interview to get insights into his journey, favorite actors, and much more!
#PrithvirajSukumaran #Empuraan #Mohanlal #BollywoodRemakes #ExclusiveInterview #OneIndia #Mollywood #Prithviraj #Oneindia #MalayalamCinema #EmpuraanUpdates
~PR.274~HT.334~
#PrithvirajSukumaran #Empuraan #Mohanlal #BollywoodRemakes #ExclusiveInterview #OneIndia #Mollywood #Prithviraj #Oneindia #MalayalamCinema #EmpuraanUpdates
~PR.274~HT.334~
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Lucifer gets re-made in Bollywood, who do you think can play the character of Mohanlal sir?
00:04Shah Rukh Khan sir.
00:05Favourite actor in Bollywood?
00:06Sanatana Bachchan sir.
00:07Okay.
00:08Lucifer released in 2019, what took you six years to come up with the sequel?
00:13Any update on the Dharma movie you were doing alongside Kajol sir?
00:18So I think in fact about 30-35% of the film is in Hindi.
00:22How do you take failures?
00:23Like I take my successes.
00:25I walk away from successes and I walk away from failures.
00:28And what's the one thing you imbibed as an actor from Lal sir?
00:32Many things.
00:32Most of all how you should be with the director.
00:35What was the most challenging part for you as a director to direct a legend like Lal sir?
00:41So the legends are the ones who are the easiest to work with actually.
00:45Lucifer.
00:48This deal is with the devil.
00:49Today I'm sitting with superstar Prithviraj Sukumaran,
00:52who's gearing up with his new film L2 Empuran.
00:56Firstly, congratulations for the like thunderous teaser that we saw.
01:01And at the venue also the grand launch in presence of Mammootty sir.
01:05How was the whole experience?
01:06This is really, you know, this is a very special evening for me.
01:10Firstly, for the fact that the teaser has been so well received.
01:14Secondly, that you know we were able to have all our friends from media across the country
01:18fly in and attend the event.
01:20And of course the icing on the cake being Mammootty sir being there present
01:23in person to launch the teaser.
01:25And this is my third film as a director.
01:28And to have this journey within a course of three films,
01:32and to have the privilege of being able to direct Mohanlal sir for all three of my directorials
01:36is all a blessing.
01:37You know, I don't truly know if I deserve all this.
01:39I'm just trying my best to live up to the opportunity that has been presented.
01:43And I hope, you know, all the anticipation that the teaser has set
01:48is met on the 27th of March when people see the film in theaters.
01:51Absolutely.
01:52Lucifer released in 2019.
01:54What took you six years to come up with the sequel?
01:57Did the pandemic affect the production and everything?
01:59COVID was the reason.
02:01This was supposed to be my second directorial, actually.
02:03We were supposed to go on floors sometime beginning of 2020, you know, with this.
02:08That's when the pandemic happened and, you know, it just sort of completely derailed our plans.
02:14But in a way, the five-year wait, the sort of...
02:20The thing was, although this franchise was conceived in 2017,
02:24every time you make a film, you need to review it to the current
02:27socio-political circumstances around you and all that.
02:30So with all those reviews coming in,
02:32I think this is now a better film than it was originally conceived.
02:36But having said that, it still stays very honest and true
02:39to the narrative progression that we had in mind from the beginning.
02:43Good thing being that I just think that the nature of this film
02:48and what has happened with cinema as an industry in general
02:52has a pleasant coincidence because this particular part of the franchise,
02:57the story happens to have a very national kind of a scape
03:01and also an international plotline running.
03:04In fact, about 30-35% of the film is in Hindi.
03:08And that's because the characters and the terrain exist in that space.
03:13And I want to have that particular portion in all five versions in Hindi.
03:18So, we were very keen that this time we should have
03:22this film released simultaneously in all five languages,
03:26which we couldn't do with Lucifer.
03:27Yeah, yeah, yeah. My second question was this,
03:29that Lucifer wasn't released in theatres in Hindi.
03:32So this time you guys are going the pan-India way.
03:34So was it your decision?
03:37Yes, it was.
03:38Because one, the business of cinema has evolved to a point
03:42over the last six years where now you can now legitimately do that.
03:46Secondly, the quality of this particular film is such,
03:49when I say quality, I mean the nature of this film is such
03:52that I think it will find resonance much more than the part one
03:56of the franchise with people around the country and around the world.
03:59And the greatest thing about the film, I believe,
04:02is that it perfectly works as a standalone film.
04:06So for people who have not seen part one,
04:08it is not like you are not going to understand what the film is.
04:11Yeah, for people who have seen part one,
04:12maybe a few dialogues and a few characters
04:15might hold more throwback value.
04:17But even without that, I think the film works well.
04:19Yeah. Lucifer was the first Malayalam film
04:23to cross the 200 crore mark, you know.
04:26I don't know.
04:27The box office.
04:28It was a massive hit.
04:30Yeah.
04:30More than being a...
04:31It shattered a lot of records.
04:32More than being a hit, it went on to achieve a cult kind of a status
04:37with audiences and, you know, with so many of the scenes
04:40and dialogues being replayed and reels and all that.
04:43So I'm really flattered.
04:45So do you feel pressure this time?
04:47Because the stakes are really high and, you know, the bar has been set.
04:50No, I understand there is pressure.
04:52I understand there is expectation.
04:54I know for a fact that pretty much everyone who's seen Lucifer 1
04:58would have imagined their own version of a Lucifer 2.
05:01But unfortunately, I cannot let that dictate what I'm making.
05:05You know, I will have to stay true to my vision.
05:07I have to stay true to the actual plot that we had originally in mind.
05:12Just because part one was a big hit,
05:14I cannot suddenly come and change part two.
05:16Yeah.
05:17And I can just hope that people like what they see.
05:21This has always been the part two that we wanted to make
05:24with, of course, a few things being reviewed for the times that we live in.
05:29Other than that, you know, the pressure exists outside of the film.
05:32Yeah.
05:34Yesterday at the teaser launch event,
05:36Lalsa said that you're going to be the best director this country has ever produced.
05:41I'm just really, really flattered and blessed for a legend like that.
05:47Yes.
05:47To have such high expectations upon me.
05:50I don't know.
05:51I'll just continue doing my craft and my work with
05:57all the commitment and diligence that I can muster.
05:59And I'll continue learning cinema and I'll continue hoping that I
06:03get the opportunity to work with legends like himself.
06:05And as a part of the statement that he made,
06:08what was the most challenging part for you as a director to direct a legend like Lalsa?
06:16You know, the thing is when there are legends for a reason.
06:21Yeah.
06:22And the reason is that they are immensely gifted and they're fantastically professional.
06:28So the legends are the ones who are the easiest to work with.
06:31Actually, you know, you once you understand their process as an actor,
06:36they suddenly make a lot of sense to you because they're very consistent with their process.
06:40That's why they are doing it for so long.
06:42Yeah.
06:43So with Lalsa, I've had the privilege of directing so many actors.
06:46One of the easiest actors I could direct is Lalsa.
06:49Yeah.
06:50Because I understand the process now.
06:52He will come and he'll ask you, what do you want me to do, sir?
06:55And he expects you to give him a brief.
06:57And once you give him a brief,
06:58he then imbibes it and he does this really magical version that he's interpreted out of it.
07:03And we have this really nice synergy happening now over the three films that,
07:07you know, he's just very, very easy to direct.
07:11I'm not saying others are tough, but with him, I think I have a relationship.
07:15But this is the third film.
07:16So when you first directed him,
07:18was there any kind of hesitation when you wanted to change something in him while directing?
07:23Or he was very receptive of...
07:24So when I did my first film, I was thinking I am going to direct one film in my life.
07:29Okay.
07:30So I was very clear about the fact that, okay,
07:33this might be just that one film that I ever direct.
07:36So I'm going to make sure, even if the film turns out good, bad or whatever,
07:40I'm going to make sure that I'm going to make the film that I have in my mind.
07:43Because I might get to do this only once.
07:46So whatever happens, whoever I have to piss off,
07:49I'm going to go tell them this is what I want.
07:51And I'm going to do the film that I have in mind.
07:54And that's what I did with part one.
07:55Even with Lalsa, with whoever it is, I used to go and say, no,
07:58this is not what I have in mind.
07:59What I want is this.
08:00And I'd like you to do that.
08:02But what has happened, thankfully for me,
08:04is that through the course of making my first film,
08:07I think the actors, the wonderful, wonderful actors who worked with me,
08:11they realized and understood my process.
08:14And they started trusting it.
08:16They started trusting, okay, this is how Prithvi would like us.
08:20That is how Prithvi makes films.
08:22And we trust his process.
08:24Once that trust forms, then it becomes very, very easy.
08:27So now it's no longer a challenge.
08:30Now I can go up to anybody and I can say, this is not what I want.
08:34And they can come and tell me, you know,
08:36we think we would be better off doing it this way.
08:38So we have that synergy happening.
08:39And that's how a film should be made.
08:41That's the actual process.
08:43Cinema is always a team sport.
08:44And what's the one thing you imbibed as an actor from Lalsa?
08:48Many things.
08:49Most of all, how you should be with the director.
08:52Because he is a standing lesson for me
08:56on how I should be with my directors.
08:58Every time I feel irritated on a set when I'm acting.
09:01Every time I feel like, you know, I want to tell someone off.
09:05I can easily draw a reference over the course of three films where,
09:09okay, this is very similar, but you remember how he dealt with it.
09:12Yeah, so.
09:13It's been more than two decades for you in this industry.
09:17You've been an actor, now a director.
09:19Very soon, the best director like Lalsa said in India.
09:23What was more challenging, being an actor or being a director?
09:26Direction is more challenging.
09:27Direction is more challenging because it just involves a lot more work.
09:31A lot constant decision making.
09:33And any given day, there are about 200 to 300 people on set
09:38waiting for your instructions.
09:40Money is being spent on decisions that you make.
09:43And you're constantly involved with that process that is going on non-stop.
09:47Direction is more challenging.
09:49That's not to say that acting is not challenging at all.
09:52And me now being a director, it will sound a little immodest, me saying it,
09:57but actors are limited by their directors.
10:00You know, a great performance can be shot badly
10:04and it will come across as a mediocre performance.
10:07A mediocre performance can be shot flatteringly
10:10and it could just pass the test, so.
10:13Well, I'm getting a cue to wrap up, so I'll just ask two questions.
10:17So success and failures go hand in hand.
10:19Last year, you did Bade Miya, Chhote Miya.
10:20It did perform well at T-Box.
10:22How do you take failures?
10:23Like I take my success.
10:26I'm detached with it.
10:27I walk away from successes and I walk away from failures.
10:33Whatever happens on 27th of March, 28th of March, I still have to live my life.
10:37You know, I still have to.
10:38So I keep saying this.
10:39Sometimes my wife asks me like,
10:41why don't you celebrate your successes more?
10:44I'm like, maybe because I enjoy the process more than the result.
10:49You know, I enjoyed the most gratifying thing for me
10:53was not that the goat life was a smash hit.
10:56The most gratifying thing for me was that I could do it the way it deserved to be done.
11:01Same thing with this film.
11:02You know, I'm really thankful that I was able to do the film the way it got done eventually.
11:08The result is then secondary.
11:10Yeah, my producers making money and the investment coming back would be great.
11:15And the success of this film paving way for us being able to do
11:19part three of the franchise would be wonderful.
11:21But other than that, you know, it's not much.
11:24A lot of South cinemas are being remade in Bollywood.
11:27So if Lucifer gets remade in Bollywood,
11:29who do you think can, you know, play the character of Mohanlal sir?
11:32Shah Rukh Khan, sir.
11:34And that would be safe to say he's your favorite actor in Bollywood?
11:37My favorite actor in Bollywood is Amitabh Bachchan, sir.
11:39Okay.
11:40Okay.
11:41Lastly, any update on the Dharma movie you were doing alongside Kajol, sir?
11:47So I think till the makers make an official statement or an announcement,
11:53it's better for me to not talk about it.
11:56Okay, so there's a saying in Hindi,
12:01After seeing the teaser, we all are waiting for the movie that is releasing on 27th of March.
12:07Wishing you all the best, sir.
12:08Thank you so much.