Prithviraj: Jana Gana Mana is a pan-Indian film in the sense that people from anywhere can relate to it

Prithviraj Sukumaran has always been vocal about his aim of getting Malayalam cinema noticed by people across the world and not just the country. In the past week, Prithviraj, whose production company is also distributing the much-anticipated KGF: Chapter 2, talked about how SS Rajamouli’s Baahubali movies taught filmmakers to dream while Prashant Neel’s KGF allowed them to believe in that dream.

In a recent promotional event in Kochi ahead of the release of his first theatrical film since the pandemic, Jana Gana Mana, the actor talked about how the movie compares to other ‘pan-Indian’ ventures from South industries.

“I think the pan-Indian film is often a wrongly used term. When you say that, unfortunately people immediately think of a big actor from one industry, a renowned actress from another and a cast list featuring artistes of different industries coming together for a big budget film or an action extravaganza,” he says. “In truth, a pan-Indian film is a movie that has pan-Indian content; a movie that people from anywhere can watch and relate to. In that regard, I truly believe Jana Gana Mana is a pan-Indian film.”

Prithviraj, who is also co-producing the Dijo Jose Antony directorial that also has Suraj Venjaramoodu and Mamta Mohandas, also recalled how its scriptwriter Sharis Muhammed had pitched the story of Jana Gana Mana to him.

“When Sharis first told me the story, he said if someone from Gurgaon or Orissa watches this film, they would feel it’s a story that is happening in their neck of woods. This story has that quality. It’s a story that can happen anywhere,” he said. “Also, when the audience watched the film, they should keep in mind that it’s a story that happens in a fictional place at a time that isn’t defined. The reason is that the story could happen anywhere at any time. So, in that sense, Jana Gana Mana a has a pan-Indian content.” Jana Gana Mana is set to hit theatres worldwide on April 28.

Also read: Prithviraj Sukumaran explains why he wanted Dijo Jose Antony’s Jana Gana Mana to release only in theatres