Exclusive! People know Kaduva is not a Kannada film; there is no attempt in its design to make it universal: Prithviraj Sukumaran

Prithviraj Sukumaran was in Bengaluru last Friday. The Malayalam superstar is releasing his next film, Kaduva, in Kannada too, and was here to promote the same. The Shaji Kailas directorial, according to Prithviraj, is his third film, after Ayyappanum Koshiyum and Driving Licence, that centres on male ego and focuses on the testosterone-driven clash between two men, one played by the actor and the other by Viveik Oberoi. The actor-producer-director was his eloquent best during his visit, obliging media for one-on-one interviews, which, in turn, delayed the official press conference by a bit.

We also caught up with Prithviraj, who is now the unofficial brand ambassador of Kannada cinema in Kerala, having distributed KGF: Chapter 2 and 777 Charlie under his home banner, for a quick chat about Kaduva, dubbing Malayalam films into Kannada and other languages, etc.

You mentioned multiple times that Kaduva is a film that is very rooted in its setting – Pala. Even the character’s name – Kaduvakunnel Kuruvachan - will not resonate with audiences anywhere but in Kerala. How then does he think that Kaduva will work if dubbed in other languages, including Kannada?

There are two things to this – first, I am under no pretext that people are going to think this is a Kannada film and watch it. I am fully aware that the people who will come and watch the Kannada version of Kaduva, will only see it and feel it is a Malayalam film dubbed into Kannada. We are aware of that. There is no attempt within the design of Kaduva to make it universal. It is completely rooted and set in the early 90s in Pala. But what I am hoping for is that people will like the Malayalam film they see and have an option of not having to look down at the subtitles. That’s what I am hoping for.

Second, dubbing into other languages is not a Kaduva exclusive or a one-film process in my mind. This is something that you will see most actors now do consistently. To put it into perspective, any big-ticket A-list film that we do in Malayalam, at least (I can’t talk authoritatively about other industries), we anyway have dubbed versions ready, because when we sell the streaming rights, we get a larger amount if we give them the dubbed versions also, so that they have the liberty of giving the end user the option of selecting the audio track that they would like to listen to. Dubbing expenses compared to the extra money that we get from a streaming service for having the dubbed versions ready makes absolutely no sense to not dub the film. So, we are anyway doing that exercise. Now, we are beginning to think should we also give the end user the option on the big screen of either seeing the original Malayalam film, the Malayalam film with subtitles or the Malayalam film with an optional audio track in their native language. That is the thought process behind this exercise and I hope that as we consistently keep doing this, that it becomes a common phenomenon that film users, at least, get used to watching Malayalam films dubbed into Kannada.

It's just like we no longer have a problem listening to Yash or Tarak speak Malayalam. We don’t find it odd anymore. But yes, in terms of design or styling, there is not even an attempt within Kaduva to try and make it a Kannada film.

So, you will be in Bengaluru more often to promote your films…

I definitely intend to. It had to start at some point. I would have ideally started it with Jana Gana Mana. One year ago, when we sat down with the three films that Prithviraj Productions and Magic Frames are putting together, all three were big projects – Jana Gana Mana, Kaduva, and the next, Alphonse Puthren’s comeback film, Gold – and we’d discussed that we’d be doing this for all of them. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, it came about that Jana Gana Mana could only be released at a time when I was not here. I was in Algeria shooting for Aadujeevitham, else, I would have done this from Jana Gana Mana onwards. I intend to do this for all my theatrical releases and promote it across cities, at least in the south. Going ahead, I will do Mumbai promotions also. I am not doing this thinking that one interview or one press meet is suddenly going to make my film explode in the native language. I am just saying that I would like to start this process and I hope that other people follow this. This is the way that we can slowly assimilate into multiple viewing cross-sections of society.

Anyway, we are dubbing our films for streaming or satellite rights, so why not legitimately do it and give it an outside chance for film lovers who want to watch it on the big screen. The money, by today’s standards, is actually nothing. When you are talking about a R30-35 crore film, what is the extra amount spent on dubbing in an extra language?

Let’s be honest here, is there really a market for dubbed versions of these films? Often, there is a lot of hue and cry in favour of dubbing, but eventually, it is the original version that rakes in better business. Like, for instance, in the case of RRR, where Ram Charan and NTR Jr dubbed for their roles in Kannada, and yet, it is the Telugu original that made money.

That’s exactly what I meant - how do you gauge the market? What I am saying is that your Kannada version is anyway there. So, you speak to multiplexes and other exhibitors and ask them whether they want, say, one show per day of the dubbed version, we can upload that for them. Try for one day; if you think it is not worth it, we will switch back and give them the original version. But I am saying we should start. Make no mistake, it’s not going to be like one film does well and everybody does this and finds success. It is not going to be that, but it’s a start that we need to have.

Okay, so what is the vision for Prithviraj Productions in terms of the kind of cinema that you want to produce, direct or act in? What is the mix going to be like?

The broader perspective about cinema is that there are only two kinds – good and bad – and I hoping to stick to the former. I would like my banner to make every kind of film. The first film I ever produced was one that pretty much every producer refused. It was a sci-fi film called Nine; I’d heard the script and loved it. There were many producers waiting for my dates at that time and I called each one of them and said, ‘Listen, you want to do a film with me, let’s do this one’. They all listened to the script, said ‘Wow’ and then they’d call me back about other scripts. Finally, I thought, I have the means to make it myself and if I am telling a producer that I like and believe in it, why can’t I put my money where my mouth is? That is how Prithviraj Productions came to be. So, look at what I have done – there’s Nine, Driving License, Kuruthi, Jana Gana Mana, Kaduva, Gold – it’s a mixed bag of everything. I don’t want audiences to see the red ‘P’ on a film poster and immediately know what kind of a film it is. But I would love it if you see the symbol on a poster and you know deep down that this is not going to be low-quality product.

And what can we expect next from Prithviraj the actor?

My next release is going to be Gold, which is the comeback film of Premam maker Alphonse Puthren, in which I am joined by Nayanthara and some 3,000 other actors. What is special is that it is Alphonse’s comeback and I think it is one of my finest achievements as a producer to convince him to do another film. The next film that I am going to start shooting for is Kapa (based on the Kerala Anti-Social Prevention Act), which is again with Shaji Kailas and which we are doing to raise funds for the writers’ union in India. Following this, I will begin work on a very emotional subject, Vilayath Buddha. This was supposed to be Sachy’s next after Ayyappanum Koshiyum, but he passed away, so his associate, who also happens to be my associate director, will take on the mantle of making it.

Meanwhile, Aadujeevitham, which I had been shooting for in Algeria and Jordan has about three days-worth of work left. It will then have an extensive post-production schedule, because it is quite VFX heavy, in terms of creating elements like sand storm, etc. We hope to make it to Cannes next year!