PremiumPrithviraj Sukumaran reveals not getting exciting scripts in Hindi before Bade Miyan Chote Miyan – ‘Now there is nothing aspirational per say about doing a Hindi film...’ | Exclusive
Prithviraj Sukumaran is right now promoting his magnum opus The Goat Life, and in a conversation with Shubham Kulkarni, he spoke about not doing a lot of Hindi films.
Last Updated: 05.45 PM, Mar 24, 2024
Much before the import and export of talent became a trend between the Hindi film industry and the South film industries, there was an actor from the current generation who made the cut and starred in a Yash Raj Films movie where he was the leading man alongside Rani Mukerji in an experimental movie that has a niche fan base and a brilliant Amit Trivedi album. Yes, we are indeed talking about Prithviraj Sukumaran and his Hindi film debut Aiyyaa which starred him alongside Rani and soon became a Pan-India thirst trap even before those two terms were trendy. The actor now talks about why he did not do many Hindi films and why the gap between the two movies has been so long in the Hindi circle.
Prithviraj Sukumaran is coming to his audience with an ambitious magnum opus that has been in the making for 16 long years, The Goat Life. The actor in an exclusive conversation with OTTplay spoke about the movie, waiting for 16 years. But in the course of the conversation, we also asked him about his limited time in the Hindi space and whether this is by choice or the lack of good scripts being offered to him.
The actor was quick to add how exciting things come to his plate rarely and he takes them. But rather than that there is nothing so exciting that would make him leave what he is doing in the Malayalam industry and come here. Prithviraj made his Hindi debut with Aiyyaa, and then went on to star in Hindi films like Naam Shabana, Selfiee, and a couple more.
Talking about how it took so long for him to find scripts like Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (where he plays the antagonist against Tiger Shroff and Akshay Kumar) and Sarzameen (alongside Ibrahim Ali Khan and Kajol), Prithviraj Sukumaran said, “No, it’s because I have not, at least till Sarzameen and Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, for the longest time, in between I did a cameo in a film called Naam Shabana. I mean, make no mistake, I have read multiple scripts in Hindi, and many filmmakers have reached out to me. But I have not really read something that made me want to stop what I was doing in Malayalam and come and do a film here. One because what I read wasn’t that exciting, and two what was happening there was that exciting. Because Malayalam cinema is going through one of the most wonderful phases.”
The actor also added how doing a Hindi film or venturing into any other is not aspirational anymore. The intent is to make good cinema no matter in what industry one makes it. “We are in a time and age where it is not even that now you think okay, maybe if I do Hindi cinema I get a bigger stage, more people will see my work. No. You can do a Malayalam film today and if that film is great, and if that film is like a Manjummel Boys, the entire country is talking about it today.”
Prithviraj Sukumaran added, “We are in a time and age where there is nothing aspirational per se about doing a Hindi film or a Tamil film or a Telugu film. The aspiration is always to be able to do great cinema. Wherever great cinema will take me next, that is where I will go. If the next great script comes to me from Assamese cinema, I would love to do it.”
Stay tuned to OTTplay for more information on this and everything else from the world of streaming and films.