Mumbai, Jul 26 (PTI) Actor Prithviraj Sukumaran says the emergence of “new wave” cinema, spearheaded by the likes of Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane and Hansal Mehta, have pushed Malayalam filmmakers to elevate their own content.
The actor-director reflected on the struggles faced by the Malayalam industry in the past and recalled the time when filmmakers and actors from Kerala often found themselves questioning how Hindi cinema managed to develop great stories.
“Malayalam is going through a great phase now in terms of content creation. The consistency of great scripts finding their way to an actor is more in Malayalam at this particular phase. We also had times where we were struggling with great content.
“There were times when we sat down across tables in Kerala and asked ourselves, ‘How is Hindi cinema doing this?’ Not too long ago when the slew of this new wave Hindi cinema happened with Anurag (Kashyap) and Vikramaditya Motwane, and Hansal (Mehta). I’m sure I’m missing a lot of names,” Sukumaran told PTI in an interview.
“We were all in awe of what Bollywood is achieving. I’m sure very soon, you will be talking about, ‘Wow, what a great year Hindi cinema has had,” the actor added.
Sukumaran said he hopes that the current bloom in innovative storytelling in Malayalam cinema will last for a long while.
“But I’ve experienced enough to know that it won’t be. So, that’s okay. That’s how it is,” he added.
The 42-year-old actor is thrilled about his two Hindi films, “Sarzameen” co-starring Kajol, which released on JioHotstar Friday, and “Daayra”, alongside Kareena Kapoor Khan.
“Sarzameen”, described as a powerful and emotionally charged thriller, is directed by Boman Irani’s son, Kayoze, and produced by Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions.
Set against the backdrop of an increasingly volatile Kashmir, the film features Sukumaran in the role of Vijay Menon, a decorated army officer known for his unshakeable sense of duty and personal sacrifice. Kajol plays Sukumaran’s wife and Ibrahim Ali Khan stars as their son.
Sukumaran said his choice to act in Hindi films is purely based on the script.
“The only thing that will make me say yes to a film is the script. And from that point on, there are multiple things that could make me say no to it. I’d much rather be a present in a great film than be a fantastic performance in a bad film, or you hope to be a fantastic performance in a fantastic film, like ‘Sarzameen’,” said the actor, who has earlier featured in Hindi movies like “Aiyyaa”, “Aurangzeb”, “Naam Shabana”, and “Bade Miyan Chote Miyan”.
Speaking about “Daayra”, Sukumaran said it is “one of the finest scripts” he has read in the recent past. The film is a crime-drama thriller from acclaimed filmmaker Meghna Gulzar.
“Meghna has managed to get a really, really gripping script and it’s one of the finest scripts I’ve read in the recent past. I’m really looking forward to it as a film lover.
“I’m happy about the fact that it is very much about the two characters and there is a lot of scope for it for both these actors. Meghna has such a clear, vivid vision about what she wants to do with it,” Sukumaran said. PTI KKP RB RB
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.