New Delhi: Malayalam actor-director Prithviraj Sukumaran called the current crisis in Bollywood a ‘phase’. The actor was speaking at the Delhi leg of L2: Empuraan’s press conference held on 25 March. It was also attended by the film’s lead Mohanlal along with other members of the ensemble cast, including Tovino Thomas, Manju Warrier, Indrajith Sukumaran and Abhimanyu Singh. Sukumaran’s comment comes on the heels of actor Sunny Deol saying, at the trailer launch of his upcoming film Jaat, that he might want to settle in the South.
“I know now conversations are about Malayalam cinema right now. But not long ago, all of us were sitting in Kerala wondering how Hindi cinema does it? Makers like Hansal Mehta, Anurag Kashyap, and Vikramaditya Motwane made the content we were talking about. So it’s a phase,” said Sukumaran, referring to the massive losses incurred in the Hindi film industry in the last few years.
“We will forever be indebted to Hindi cinema for showing the way to take Indian cinema to the world,” added Sukumaran.
L2: Empuraan is the much-awaited sequel to Sukumaran’s directorial debut Lucifer. Released in 2019, it was the first Malayalam film to earn more than Rs 200 crore. The sequel is well on its way to reprise the success. It’s the first Malayalam movie to hit Rs 50 crore in sales before its release.
In this installment, Mohanlal reprises his role as the mysterious Khureshi Ab’ram, aka Stephen Nedumpally. Sukumaran, is playing the role of Zayed Masood. Aamir Khan’s sister Nikhat Hegde is also part of the movie’s ensemble cast.
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No clashes
Sukumaran made his Bollywood debut in Aiyyaa (2012) opposite Rani Mukerji, and also recently played the role of the villain Eklavya in Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (2024). Both films were box office disasters.
Responding to a question about what Hindi cinema can learn from the Malayalam film industry, Sukumaran spoke about the role of the writer. He said that Malayalam cinema has always placed the writer center of any project, including the Lucifer trilogy.
“Had my writer, Murali Gopy, not been unwell, he would be sharing the stage with us in this press conference, because it is his brainchild. I don’t see that happening a lot in Tamil, Telugu or Hindi cinema. Somewhere, Hindi cinema has lost touch with the fact that Salim-Javed were as big as Amitabh Bachchan and Manmohan Desai, and started focusing on algorithms and designs,” said Sukumaran.
Sukumaran added that people in North India should watch L2: Empuraan in Hindi. He said 30-35 per cent of the film is in Hindi. “The inclusion of Hindi was not a marketing strategy. A part of the story is set in North India, so characters are speaking in the language,” he said.
The idea of Lucifer being a three-part film was conceived before franchises and pan-India became formulas for delivering hits. “Lucifer was always a three-part film, with each part also working as a standalone movie,” he said.
When asked about the movie clashing with Salman Khan starrer Sikandar at the box office, Sukumaran responded with his trademark charm.
“You can watch Sikandar at 11 am and then watch our film at 1:30 pm. There won’t be any clashes.”
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)