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Prithviraj Sukumaran EXCLUSIVE Interview: 'Salaar is a bit like Game Of Thrones'; calls Prashanth Neel a confident filmmaker
In an exclusive chat with Pinkvilla, Prithviraj Sukumaran discussed his experience working with Prashanth Neel, as well as some of the challenges he faced during the filming of Salaar.
From his impactful roles to his directorial venture with Lucifer, Prithviraj Sukumaran has consistently pushed the boundaries of storytelling and creativity- as an actor, director, and producer. His seamless transition as Vardharaja Mannaar for Prashanth Neel's film Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire, has left moviegoers talking. Today, we had the privilege of getting a sneak peek into Prithviraj's experiences, challenges, and excitement surrounding this monumental project.
"I've always maintained that the idea behind choosing a theme is not to be over analytical about it. And it is very important that when you listen to a script or a story idea you listen to it as a movie lover, as an audience. I always try and make sure that when I listen to a script or story idea I don't listen to imagining myself, but I listen to it imagining the film that I would see in theaters. In fact, all the films I have done including Salaar, it depends on how it made me feel when I heard the story. But there is no method to choose a script," said Prithviraj about choosing his roles, and what draws him to a particular script.
Did you know Prithviraj Sukumran took about 30 seconds after the narration to say 'yes' to Salaar?
Opening up about the first script narration of Salaar, he further continued, "I mean the first time I heard the script of Salaar was a couple of years back, a few years back. And it was a new narration by Prashanth, it took me about 30 seconds after the narration to say I want to do this. Right from its original story idea, Salaar is fantastic. It's a great film on paper. I keep telling Prashanth, it's a bit like Game Of Thrones. That's the kind of drama and the character dynamics the film has. It is huge. The scale is so huge. There are so many characters. There are so many intricate character dynamics. I think I have a fantastic role and yes, it is a Prashanth Neel film, who wouldn't want to work with him."
It's worth noting that he referred to Salaar as a 'Prabhas film'. "The film is produced by Hombale and my films have close association outside Salaar as well. The cherry on top is, it's a Prabhas film and it is an absolute privilege to be sharing screen space with Prabhas and that too with a character like this," said the Lucifer director.
Apparently, Prithviraj's role as Vardharaja Mannar has several shades of grey. He can be seen wearing a septum ring and a black tilak on his forehead, giving off an overall impactful look.
Sharing the challenges and experience he had getting into the getup for Vardharaja Mannar, the man having an appeal with a calm demeanor, said, "Not really, the entire credit for the styling character and creating the look goes to Prashanth. He is the kind of filmmaker who does not believe in going on to sets with very fixated ideas. He likes to discover ideas and we can afford to take that liberty because he shoots very fast. On Prashanth Neel's sets, the shootings happen very very fast. It's not like you're sitting in your vanity van for hours. He's so confident with his craft, in narrating, and when an actor comes up with a new idea or if you want to walk to Prashanth for a scene you want like, and if you're able to convince him, he will change everything around you. He will change the plan of shoot entirely around the new idea that you have pitched. And he was able to do that, because he's got such solid command on his craft."
Prithviraj Sukumaran clearly places a high value on understanding and executing the director's vision for a film. "And that is one of the most enjoyable things about working with Prashanth, we will get constantly discovering the character and the plot points as you shoot. And Prashanth also likes that, he likes being surprised. He likes finding new things as he shoots. I keep repeating this, but the only filmmaker who is very very confident with his craft can do that," added Prithviraj who is known for his meticulous approach.
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