South Indian actor Prithviraj Sukumaran talks to Divya Kaushik about his role as a North Indian cop in Aurangzeb
Aurangzeb is not Prithviraj Sukumaran’s first Hindi film. He also appeared in Aiyya.
But in the latter, Prithviraj known for work in Malayalam and Tamil movies, was playing a South Indian character. So his role in Aurangzeb as a North Indian cop is big news down South. “Yash Raj Films did not cast me to play a South Indian. It was just that I happened to fit the part. I am told I am apparently the first South Indian actor to play a North Indian role in a YRF production. It shows how perceptions of directors and producers are changing about South Indian actors.”
He added that we usually had Southern heroes playing character roles or villains from the South. “When you watch Aurangzeb, you realise that Arya (my character) is very much the film’s protagonist. It is a role that requires someone with clear Hindi, because there are lots of voice overs and I narrate the film and its philosophy.”
He added, “I think it is a big responsibility, because there is a perception in my side of the country that Bollywood is a niche thing. Actors do not get this chance. There haven’t been many actors from my land who did significant work, unless one mentions Prakash Raj. If you read articles in the South Indian media, you will notice they are excited about an actor entering the Bollywood scheme of things. It opens up many possibilities. Because I have a chance to work with YRF, I hope no one will view me as an actor doing a one off thing in Hindi.”
Prithviraj worked hard to perfect his language. “There is no safety net here, so I had to give my hundred per cent to get the dialect. If I will fail to impress people as a North Indian cop, it will be my failure.”
He wasn’t looking for something specific in Bollywood and got this role by chance.
He was shooting a sensual number with Rani Mukherjee for Aiyya at a floor in Yash Raj Studios, when the casting director for YRF, Shanoo Sharma came to meet Rani and noticed him.
“She called after ten days. It was sweet of her to say ‘I know you are a star, but would you mind giving me an audition.’ I agreed. And after reading the script, I was sure I wanted to do that.” He informed that emperor Aurangzeb and his philosophy were used as a metaphor in the film.
“How you look at the metaphor is your perspective. He is an emperor who turned against his family, to do what he believed was right, like jailing his father. So he could be viewed as a negative character. But to some he was a great ruler and organiser. All the characters in the film are in search for what they think is the ultimate threshold of power,” he explained.
The actor shared that in terms of content Malayalam cinema is going through a fantastic creative high for the past few years. “I hope this will continue. And it is a privilege to be an actor in Malayalam cinema today because of the kind of content originating from there. My first film was an action film. It was an underdog hit, but changed a lot of careers including mine.”