It’s always a great treat to see actors from different industries come together and build a good rapport. Salaar revolves around Prabhas and Prithviraj Sukumaran’s character, named Vardharaja Mannaar. In an exclusive chat with Pinkvilla, the Lucifer director shared that the camaraderie between him and Prabhas in Salaar gives a glimpse of the exceptional bond they share off-screen.
“So, if you know Prabhas, it’s not possible to not be friends with him. That’s the kind of guy he is…he goes out of his way to make sure that everyone around him is comfortable. And he’s just one of those guys, who, at least, to me, seems like he’s completely unaware of this. He, I don’t think he realizes the kind of aura and stardom that we carry. And he just finds genuine pleasure and happiness in making other people happy. So, if I’m in Hyderabad, or anywhere else in the world, I want something, and I pick up my phone and call Prabhas, I know he really does it, because we find happiness in doing it. So yes, throughout the shoot for Salaar, it was like just one giant party that Prabhas was throwing. Be it food or want a particular car, you know Prabhas is there,” Prithviraj expressed about his friendship with Prabhas.
Further, the director also recounted a heartwarming incident where Prabhas made the effort to help Prithviraj recreate a vanity van like his own. “I remember telling him you have a nice vanity van and I’d love to build something like this. So I wanted to get details of where he got it from so I could get it for myself. But, he went out of his way and called the person and said, ‘You know, this is for my brother, my friend’. That’s the kind of guy he is. So, the bonding that you see in Salaar, is actually only a fraction of how close Prabhas makes you feel. He is an easy person to work with. And it’s not just me, I can assure you any person you talk to about him will have a similar reaction,” shared Prithviraj.
Prithviraj Sukumaran, a prolific actor with over 120 credits to his name and who predominantly works in the Malayalam film industry, shared his insights on how his experience of being both an actor and a director has impacted his approach towards filmmaking.
“I am very lucky that way that I compartmentalize with it completely- when I’m on set as an actor, I have some of the character in me to shut off because all the different stuff and when I’m directing, I make an actor in me to shut off, because if not, you end up risking every actor performing like Prithviraj. So I’m lucky that I’m someone who can do. When am with Prashanth Neel and on the sets of Salaar, I completely utilize that opportunity to soak everything in, soak everything in looks and learn all that I can. And we love discussing cinema, like, and I think probably more than anyone from my Malayalam circles, Prashanth knows all of the stories that I want to direct next so that way we have a lot to talk about. Yeah, I mean, when I want to sit in front of the camera, the character in which the students in me is always on there’s a feeling of students in me that never shuts off. Regardless of whether me being an actor, director or producer or distributor or anything, whatever I’m doing the cinema in me should never shut off,” says Sukumaran who also runs a production and distribution company Prithviraj Productions, with his wife Supriya Menon.
During the filming of the Malayalam movie Vilayath Buddha, Prithviraj Sukumaran sustained a ligament tear in his knee while shooting for an action sequence. He took 2 months break and bounced back stronger.
Sharing his thoughts on the same, he said, “I’m most relaxed when I’m on a film set. And the danger is being that way that you never really think that you need a break. And this is a constant route between my wife and me. I have a lot of fun making cinema. I never become tired of making films. I never go for work, I’m somebody who’s very lucky, one of the very few people who don’t have to really work to make a living because cinema for me is not work.”
