Prithviraj made his directorial debut in 2019 with Mohanlal's 'Lucifer', the first Malayalam movie to enter the ₹200-crore club.
Prithviraj Sukumaran. (Instagram)
Prithviraj Sukumaran carved a niche for himself in the Malayalam film industry in his 20 years of journey as an actor, producer, and director.
He is well-known for predicting the future of Indian cinema. For example, much before the world was hit by the coronavirus, the actor, in his interviews, spoke about the possibility of OTT space in future.
As he predicted, during the COVID-19 lockdowns, digital streaming platforms caught the fancy of the Indian audience.
As Prithviraj Sukumaran celebrates his 41st birthday on Monday, 16 October, South First gives a sneak peek into the actor’s journey in the glam world.
Malayalam director Vinayan defined Prithviraj as a brave actor who is never afraid to express his views.
He acted in Vinayan’s films like Athbutha Dweepu (2005) and Sathyam (2004) by taking huge risks. There was an unofficial ban against the director from other Malayalam filmmakers due to an issue related to organisational matters.
Prithviraj is known as an actor who can deliver English dialogues with ease, thanks to his studies abroad.
But after his marriage, an interview on a Malayalam TV channel didn’t go down well with the audience. Soon, the actor and his wife his wife Supriya Menon were trolled on social media.
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The actor was also trolled for naming his daughter Alankritha Menon Prithviraj. Netizens criticised him for giving the caste title of Menon (Menon is an upper caste in Kerala) to his daugther.
Prithviraj soon gave a clarification by saying that he always took a strong stand against the caste system and for him, “Menon was just a name and had no significance with respect to whatsoever castes or beliefs”.
Prithviraj debuted in acting with director Renjith’s Nandanam (2002), a hit.
Some of his successful films include Classmates (2006), Puthiya Mukham (2009), Ayalum Njanum Thammil (2012), and Driving License (2019).
Mohanlal and Prithviraj in ‘Bro Daddy’. (Supplied)
He was the youngest recipient of the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor for Vaasthavam (2006). He was only 24 then.
He bagged his second Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor for the medical drama Ayalum Njanum Thammil (2012) and biographical film Celluloid (2012).
Prithviraj Sukumaran debuted in Tamil films by playing the role of a musician in Mozhi (2007). This was followed by Mani Ratnam’s Raavan (2010) where he played the role of a police officer.
It was a good role where he paired up with Aishwarya Rai.
His 2009 movie Puthiya Mukham, a superhit, marked his debut as a playback singer.
Prithviraj, son of yesteryear actor Sukumaran is one of the first young actors who acted in non-Malayalam languages such as Hindi and Tamil.
He made his Bollywood debut opposite Rani Mukerji in the comedy entertainer Aiyyaa in 2012. He also appeared in the Bollywood films Aurangzeb (2012) and Naam Shabana (2017).
To date, he acted in more than 100 films.
Prithviraj Sukumaran is now directing his third movie. (Supplied)
Prithviraj Sukumaran joined the production house August Cinema which also has many stakeholders like Santosh Sivan and Shaji Nadesan. They produced the period drama Urumi and Indian Rupee in 2011.
But the actor left August Cinema in 2017 and launched his own production house named Prithviraj Productions.
9 was the first movie to be produced in 2019 under this banner. It was headlined by Prithviraj.
Later, the Malayalam actor joined hands with Listin Stephen, a leading producer, to co-produce films like Driving License (2019), Ayyappanum Koshiyum (2020), Jana Gana Mana (2022), Kaduva (2022), and Gold (2023).
Most of their films were successful and their camaraderie is well known during the promotional events of their ventures.
Prithviraj made his directorial debut with Mohanlal-starrer Lucifer in 2019. It turned out to be the first Malayalam movie to enter the ₹200-crore club.
The actor is currently busy with the sequel of Lucifer titled Empuraan. The shooting started in Delhi earlier this month. This is his third movie as a director.
Bro Daddy (2021), a direct OTT release, was his second directorial where Mohanal and Prithviraj acted as father and son.
The actor is also busy working with Vilayath Buddha where he will be seen as Double Mohanan. He met with an accident a couple of months ago while shooting for this film.
Prithviraj’s much-anticipated movie Aadujeevitham has been in the making for more than three years. The film, directed by Blessy, is a survival drama based on Benyamin’s acclaimed novel “Aadujeevitham“.
Prithviraj shed 24 kg to do the role of Najeeb in the flick.
The actor-producer-director is also part of Prasanth Neel’s Salaar which has Prabhas as the protagonist. The Malayalam actor will play the role of Vardharaja Mannaar in the movie.
The character poster launched by the makers featured Prithviraj in a fiery avatar. The movie is expected to hit the screens for Christmas.
Thank you Hombale Films, Prashanth Neel, Prabhas and the entire team of Salaar! Cannot wait for the world to see this epic! ❤️#SalaarCeaseFire #Salaar @SalaarTheSaga @hombalefilms #SalaarCeaseFireOnDec22 pic.twitter.com/GFrNG4sci4
— Prithviraj Sukumaran (@PrithviOfficial) October 16, 2023
He will also be seen in his fourth Hindi film soon. He essays the role of Kabir, an antagonist, in Bade Miyan Chote Miyan which has Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff in the lead. It is directed by ace director Ali Abbas Zafar.
Meanwhile, on the occasion of his birthday, the who’s who of the Malayalam film industry is wishing Prithviraj Sukumaran. Wishes are pouring in on social media with everyone wishing the actor success.
Superstar Mohanlal wished Prithviraj success in all the upcoming projects.
Antony Varghese, too, extended birthday wishes to the actor-director-producer.
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