South star Prithviraj Sukumaran who also goes by the name of Prithviraj is new to the big bad world of Bollywood. Though he’s a huge name down south, he started his Bollywood Career with Aiyya (with Rani Mukherjee) in 2012. This year, he was seen in Aurangzeb and has been signed on to play one of the leads in Farah Khan’s Happy New Year.
In an interview with Vaalee Supreet, Prithviraj gets candid on his Bollywood experiences and on working with Kajol.
How do you feel about your Bollywood journey, so far?
PS: I think it’s too early to feel anything. But more than anything else I think – like I started out in South – it has been a very reluctant beginning. Anurag Kashyap called me and offered me Aiyya and I did it because I loved that crazy, wacky idea. The film didn’t do well but I was satisfied as the film came out exactly the way it was narrated to me.
How did you take Aiyya’s failure?
PS: As I said, the film didn’t do well is fine by me. The people here seemed to have liked me in the film. I immediately got a call for an audition from a big production house – Yash Raj Films. I went and auditioned for the part and I was selected for Aurangzeb.
What differences do you find in the Malayalam and Bollywood film industry?
PS: The only difference that I found was the language. Apart from that, I know about the theory going around about South Indian film people are ‘so professional’ and blah blah. But the fact is Bollywood is going more professional nowadays. In short, the process of film-making is all the same. But when the film releases, you realize that you are playing on a much bigger scale in Bollywood. As a performer, you always crave for a bigger audience. And Bollywood is India’s biggest stage.
Back home, you are also a producer and a distributor?
PS: As a producer, I made my first Malayalam film called Urumi on the budget of 18 Crores with huge star cast such as Vidya Balan, Tabu, Prabhudeva, Genelia D’Souza. But my company earned huge money in a film called Indian Rupee which I made on a very small budget of 2.5 Crores.
Any favorite Bollywood director you want to work with?
PS: (Laughs) I want all the directors to work with me. I am a very selfish guy. I want all the directors to make movies only with me as a lead. But as an actor, I would love to do a film with Kajol. I am a big fan of Kajol. I am also a big fan of Rani Mukherji and my wish granted when I got a chance to work with her in Aiyyaa. And yes i would love to do a film with Amitabh Bachchan.