PremiumPrithviraj Sukumaran on his masked villain role in Bade Miyan Chote Miyan - It's a very humane arc
Unveiling the mystery behind Bade Miyan Chote Miyan's masked antagonist, Prithviraj Sukumaran unmasks his character.
Last Updated: 03.15 PM, Apr 06, 2024
After leaving an impressive mark with his performance in Blessy's survival drama Aadujeevitham (The Goat Life), Prithviraj Sukumaran is gearing up to show the audience his dark side as the main antagonist in Bade Miyan Chote Miyan. The actor portrays Kabir in Ali Abbas Zafar's film, which stars Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff in the lead roles. During a recent interview, Prithviraj spoke at length about how he bagged the role, whether he was the man behind the mask, and more.
Prithviraj Sukumaran's transition to Hindi cinema
The actor said on the Bombay Journey show that he has not done Hindi cinema for quite some time. He had perused the screenplays, but he couldn't find anything that piqued his interest enough to divert his attention away from Malayalam cinema and try his hand at something here. When he returned to Hindi cinema, Prithviraj went on to do two films at the same time; the sets were so close, and he was hopping.
While thanking Ali, the actor went on to say, "With Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, complete thanks to Ali because when he initially brought the film to me, I was in a position where I thought I wouldn't be able to do the film because I couldn't match my dates, and it's a very star-studded, heavy film. It was impossible to sort of manage everyone's dates to accommodate me. Then Ali changed a lot of things around, and thanks in no small part to Akshay, who was actually very kind to sort of change a few things around, I was finally able to do it, and I'm so thankful because I've had so much fun in that film."
Embracing the villainous role
Prithviraj revealed that he rarely gets the opportunity to play the villain. For some reason, he has always thought villains have more fun; therefore, he jumped at the chance to play one in this film. The actor believes the movie is a great popcorn masala entertainer, and the character was awesome.
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Eloborating on his character, the Lucifer helmer revealed, "My character is something that I think any actor would die to do. I think I have all the cool bits. It is very kind of Bane, Joker, but I think when you see the film and the backstory of this guy, you'll know that it's a very humane arc. See, that's the cool thing about franchise films. Bade Miyan Chote Miyan is very much designed to be a franchise. The good thing about franchise films is that in every instalment the story is always the villain's, and the heroes just come and save the world. The crux of the Bade Miyan Chote Miyan is Kabir's, but these two guys have really cool parts as well, and I think both of them have really killed it."
Clarification on the masked character
Moreover, Prithviraj assured people that he was indeed the one behind the mask, stating, "Firstly, I have to tell you that every single shot of that person wearing the mask is me. It is not somebody else wearing the mask and acting like Prithviraj; it is me."
Explaining an incident, the actor-filmmaker said, "Ali was so particular that I was shooting in Manali, and he wanted to shoot my introduction sequence in the film, which was to be shot in Scotland, and got permission to shoot that on one particular day, and that entire sequence has me in a mask. I drove from Manali to Kulu, took a flight from Kulu to Delhi, Delhi to Bombay, Bombay to Dubai, Dubai to Edinburh, drove to Glen Nevis, shot for six hours fully in the mask, and took the entire route back to Manali."
Prithviraj said that Ali was so picky that every frame with him had to be him and no one else.
Crafting the character behind the mask
Talking about having fun behind the mask, the actor went on to share, "I am so glad because I thought it was a challenge as an actor. It's a stoic mask; there's no expression; all you can see carefully are the eyes, and then there's the body language and how you use your voice. In that way, how do you instill fear? How do you instill a sense of doom? The interval of the film is when this guy takes his mask off, and then you know what happened in the second half. It's just a really nice story."
Bade Miyan Chote Miyan is hitting the big screen on April 10, 2024.