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Prithviraj Sukumaran

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In this Indian name, the name Sukumaran is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Prithviraj.

Prithviraj Sukumaran
Prithviraj in 2012
Born (1982-10-16) 16 October 1982 (age 42)[1]
Trivandrum, Kerala, India
NationalityIndian
Alma materSainik School, Kazhakootam[2]
University of Tasmania
Occupations
  • Director
  • Producer
  • Actor
  • playback singer
  • Distributor
Years active2002–present
Spouse
Supriya Menon
​
(m. 2011)​
Children1
Parent(s)Sukumaran
Mallika Sukumaran
RelativesIndrajith Sukumaran (Brother)
Poornima Indrajith (Sister-in-law)

Prithviraj Sukumaran (born 16 October 1982) is an Indian film actor, producer, playback singer, and director, who predominantly works in the Malayalam film industry.[3] Additionally, he has also worked in Bollywood, Tamil, and Telugu film industries.[4] In a career spanning over a decade, Prithviraj has acted in more than 100 films and has received several awards, including the National Film Awards, Kerala State Film Awards and Filmfare Awards South.[5]

The son of actors Sukumaran and Mallika, Prithviraj was first spotted by director Fazil. Fazil's screen test of Prithviraj prompted director Ranjith to cast him in the 2002 romantic-drama Nandanam, his acting debut was a commercial success.[6] He continued to do starring roles and established himself as a successful leading actor in the following years. In 2006, he starred in the coming-of-age romance film Classmates, which became the highest-grossing Malayalam film ever. In the same year, he won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor for his performances in Vaasthavam, becoming the youngest recipient of the award at the age of 24. The 2009 action film Puthiya Mukham catapulted his stardom and also marked his debut as a playback singer. He won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor again in 2012 for the medical drama Ayalum Njanum Thammil and the biographical film Celluloid.[7][8]

From 2010 onward, he began co-producing films under the production house August Cinema, starting with the historical film Urumi starring himself. He co-produced and starred in the social drama Indian Rupee (2011), for which he received the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Malayalam and Kerala State Film Award for Best Film.[9] In 2014, he won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Villain for his performance in Kaaviya Thalaivan. His period film Ennu Ninte Moideen (2015) and horror thriller Ezra (2017), both emerged as one of the top ten highest-grossing Malayalam films of all time. He ended his partnership with August Cinema in 2017 and launched an independent production house, Prithviraj Productions, debuting with the science fiction film 9 (2019). Prithviraj made his directorial debut with the blockbuster Lucifer (2019).

Early life

Prithviraj Sukumaran was born in Thiruvananthapuram to actors Sukumaran and Mallika Sukumaran. His initial schooling was at Shrine Vailankanni Senior Secondary School, T. Nagar, Chennai and St. Joseph's Boys' Hr. Sec. School, Coonoor, since the family was settled in Tamil Nadu at that time.[10] Later, when the family shifted to Kerala, he had his education from The NSS Public School Perunthanni,[11] St. Mary's Residential Central School, Poojappura (which was near his home at Chengallur) where he acted in various plays and skits for the school's Annual Day Celebrations. He completed the rest of his school education at Sainik School, Kazhakootam and Bharathiya Vidya Bhavan, Thiruvananthapuram. He also participated and won several debates and elocution competitions while in school.[12] Prithviraj won the title of "Mr LA Fest" in the Annual Inter-School arts festival hosted by Loyola School, Thiruvananthapuram in successive years and is the only person to date to win that title twice.[13]

While pursuing his bachelor's degree in Information Technology at the University of Tasmania, Australia, he was called for a shot in the movies by film director Ranjith Balakrishnan to play the lead role in his film Nandanam.[12] It was Fazil, a well known Malayalam film director, who introduced him to Ranjith.[12] After his performance in Nandanam, he decided to take a break from studies to concentrate on his film career. Prithviraj's elder brother Indrajith Sukumaran and sister-in-law Poornima Indrajith are also film actors.

Career

Malayalam

In 2001,19-year-old Prithviraj underwent a screen-test by director Fazil for one of his projects at that time. Even though that project never materialised, Fazil recommended him to director Ranjith, who was planning his second directorial venture, Nandanam. Ranjith instructed Prithviraj to grow a beard to look mature. Nandanam released in 2002. Though Nandanam is his debut film, it released after Nakshathrakkannulla Rajakumaran Avanundoru Rajakumari. After Nandanam, Prithviraj appeared in films directed by Lohithadas, Vinayan, Kamal and Bhadran. Shyamaprasad, who cast him in lead role in his film Akale, said that Prithviraj's advantages are his talent and intelligence irrespective of his box office successes.[14]

In 2006, he played the role of Sub Inspector Solomon Joseph in Vargam. After Vargam, Prithviraj acted in Vaasthavam with the same director, M. Padmakumar, for which he received the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor[15] and became the youngest actor to win the award.[16] The same year he starred in Lal Jose's Classmates. In 2007, he starred in Chocolate, directed by Shafi.[17] In 2008, he starred in Thalappavu, (directed by Madhupal) and Thirakkatha, (directed by Ranjith), in which he took up roles which serve as pivotal characters. One of the reviews of Thalappavu describes it as a film which is truly the coming-of-age film for Prithviraj, the actor and that there is a spartan dignity that he brings to his commanding portrayal of the Naxalite Joseph.[18] The Sify review of Thirakkatha describes it as a "genuine attempt that keeps the viewer engaged until the end".[19] Both Thalappavu and Thirakkatha shared the award for the best film in the Film Critics Award for 2008. He also made a special appearance in Anjali Menon's Manjadikuru.

In 2009, the success of Prithviraj's Puthiya Mukham (directed by Diphan) lead the print and visual media to call him "Superstar".[20][21] His other releases in 2009 were Robin Hood (directed by Joshy) and the anthology film Kerala Cafe. In 2010, Prithviraj's notable films were Pokkiri Raja and Anwar, directed by Amal Neerad. In 2011, Prithviraj turned producer through the multilingual film Urumi. Other releases in Malayalam include City of God, Manikyakallu, Veettilekkulla Vazhi and Indian Rupee. Reviewers praised Prithviraj for his performance in Indian Rupee like the one at Nowrunning.com, who described it as his "career best performance".[22] In 2012, his major releases were Hero, Molly Aunty Rocks! and Ayalum Njanum Thammil, along with cameo roles in Aakashathinte Niram and Manjadikuru. In 2013, Prithviraj had three releases Celluloid, Mumbai Police and Memories, all of which were critical and commercial successes. He portrayed J.C. Daniel in Celluloid, for which he won his second Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor.[7]

In 2014, Prithviraj's first major release was London Bridge, which failed at box office; followed by 7th Day, which turned out to become a commercial success. He also did a cameo role in the Mammootty led Munnariyippu. His third release of the year, SapthamashreeThaskaraha was praised by critics and audiences alike. His first release of 2015 was Picket 43. His second movie of 2015 was Shyamaprasad's Ivide. Even though the movie did not match up to its expectations, Prithviraj was hugely praised for his outstanding acting in the movie. Varun Blake (Prithviraj's character in Ivide) is considered to be one of his best performances till date. He next appeared in Lijo Jose Pellissery's Double Barrel, which was appreciated for its novelty. His most successful film of the year was Ennu Ninte Moideen, which narrated the tragic love tale of Kanchanamala and Moideen that happened in the 1960s in Mukkam, a riverside village in Kerala. The film opened to critical acclaim, with several critics regarding it as one of the greatest romance films made in Malayalam.[23][24] His role as Moideen in the film is regarded as one of the best in his career.[25] His next releases Amar Akbar Anthony and Anarkali became back to back big hits, thus completing a hat-trick of hits ending the year.

Prithviraj had four releases in 2016, debuting with Paavada, a family drama in which he played a drunkard. It met with positive response and was a commercial success, grossing ₹16.34 crore from Kerala box office and ran for 100 days in theatres. His following releases Darvinte Parinamam and James & Alice met with mixed reviews, the former told the story of an ordinary man dealing with a local goon and the latter was a family drama that discussed the matter of life and death. His last release, Oozham, an action thriller directed by Jeethu Joseph was a commercial success, earning ₹15.25 crore in 25 days. He played a demolition expert.[26] In 2017, he starred in the horror film Ezra, which became one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of the year, grossing ₹50 crore worldwide, with ₹33 crore from Kerala box office.[27] He continued the year with Tiyaan, Adam Joan and Vimaanam. Both Tiyaan and Vimaanam were declared average hits. Jinu V Abraham's Adam Joan was released at the time of onam and collected around 20 crores emerging as a super hit. His first release in 2018 was Roshini Dinakar's romantic drama My Story which fell flat at the box office. His next two releases were Anjali menin's Koode, which was widely accepted and declared a blockbuster, and Nirmal Sahadev's cross-over movie Ranam: Deteroit Crossing. The movie received positive response from critics and mixed response from audience and showed an average performance. In 2019, Prithviraj started his run with Jenuse Mohammed's sci-fi 9(nine) which was produced by himself under his production house Prithviraj Productions. The movie was widely appreciated for its novelty, actor's performance, direction and cinematography and received positive response from critics. It was declared a hit at the box office.[citation needed]

Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi

In 2005, Prithviraj Sukumaran debuted in Tamil through Kana Kandaen. In 2006, Prithviraj co-starred with actor Bhagyaraj's daughter Saranya Bhagyaraj in Parijatham. It has been acclaimed as a hit and gave the actor a turning point in his Tamil film career. In 2007, Prithviraj co-starred in Mozhi. He also starred in Satham Podathey and Kannamoochi Yenada in the same year. In 2008, Prithviraj starred in Vellithirai, the Tamil remake of Udayananu Tharam. Rediff described his performance: "Prithviraj ... makes the best of his assets -- his expressive eyes, which glint in fury, soften with love, or brim over with frustrated tears."[28] The Tamil remake of Classmates, titled Ninaithale Inikkum, was released in 2009. He played a cop in Mani Ratnam's Raavanan in 2010 with Vikram playing the main protagonist and his performance was critically acclaimed.[29] Prithviraj played one of the main characters in director Vasanthabalan's big budget period film Kaaviya Thalaivan, in which he co-stars with Siddharth.

Prithviraj Sukumaran debuted in Telugu through Police Police, which was released in 2010. Besides, Prithviraj has had many of his Malayalam films dubbed into Telugu such as Sivapuram in 2006, which was the dubbing of Ananthabhadram and ATM in 2010, which was the dubbing of Robin Hood. The dubbed version of Urumi released in August 2011.

Prithviraj debuted in Bollywood through Aiyyaa, directed by Sachin Kundalkar. Aiyyaa, which was jointly produced by Anurag Kashyap and Viacom 18[30] released on 12 October 2012. His second film Aurangzeb, directed by Athul Sabharwal,[31] released on 17 May 2013. His performance was highly praised. His next film was Naam Shabana in 2017, in which he played the antagonist.

Personal life

Prithviraj married BBC India reporter Supriya Menon on 25 April 2011, in a private ceremony held at Palakkad.[32][33] They have a daughter named Alankrita Menon Prithviraj, born in 2014. Prithviraj's family resides at Kochi, Kerala.[34]

Filmography

Main article: Prithviraj Sukumaran filmography

Film production

Main article: August Cinema

In 2012, Prithviraj Sukumaran started a production company named August Cinema with cinematographer turned director Santosh Sivan and businessman Shaji Nadesan. In 2015, actor Arya joined the production company. However, in 2017, he announced on his Facebook page that he is quitting the company. In March 2018, Prithviraj announced the launch of his independent production company named Prithviraj Productions.Later the actor announced that his production company was getting into a collaboration with Sony Pictures India for its maiden venture.

Playback singing

Prithviraj debuted as a singer in Puthiya Mukham (2009) by singing the title song of the film; "Kaane Kaane".[35]

Year Song Film Music Notes
2009 "Kaane Kaane" Puthiya Mukham Deepak Dev Featured in the title credits
2010 "Kaattu Paranjathum" Thanthonni Thej Mervin Not featured in the film
2010 "Kettille Kettille" Pokkiri Raja Jassie Gift Party song
2010 "Njan" Anwar Gopi Sundar Featured in the end credits
2011 "Vadakku Vadakku" Urumi Deepak Dev First song in the film
2012 "Tarzan Antony Coming Back To Cinema" Hero Gopi Sundar First song in the film
2014 "Oru Kadha Parayunnu Lokam" 7th Day Deepak Dev Title song
2015 "Ivide" Ivide Gopi Sundar Theme song
2015 "Premamennaal" Amar Akbar Anthony Nadirshah Party song
2017 "Arikil Ini Njan Varaam" Adam Joan Deepak Dev Featured in the film

Narrator

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Prithviraj Sukumaran
Award Year Category Film
National Film Awards 2011 Best Feature Film in Malayalam Indian Rupee
Kerala State Film Awards 2006 Best Actor Vaasthavam[36]
2011 Best Film Indian Rupee
2012 Best Actor Celluloid, Ayalum Njanum Thammil[7]
Filmfare Awards South 2013 Critics Award for Best Actor – South Celluloid
Tamil Nadu State Film Awards 2014 Best Villain Kaaviya Thalaivan

References

  1. ^ "Prithviraj on a Roll (Turns 27)". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 15 October 2009.
  2. ^ https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/malayalam/movies/news/Studying-at-Sainik-School-helped-me-handle-firearms-Prithviraj/articleshow/37331855.cms
  3. ^ "Prithviraj: The director's actor". Khaleejtimes.com. 17 January 2016.
  4. ^ "What does Bollywood have against the south Indian hero?". First Post.
  5. ^ "Can now afford to slow down my career in south: Prithviraj". Deccan Herald. 15 May 2013.
  6. ^ "On the road to stardom". The Hindu. 13 May 2004.
  7. ^ a b c Celluloid actor Prithviraj bags the Kerala State Film Awards . IBNLive.in.com (22 February 2012). Retrieved on 22 February 2012.
  8. ^ Photos IndiaMoviesCricketSportsTechAutoWorld. "Birthday Bumps: Prithviraj Sukumaran, Bollywood's new eye candy|South Cinema Photos-IBNLive". Ibnlive.in.com. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
  9. ^ "Prithviraj turns producer with Urumi". 17 July 2010.
  10. ^ "പ്രിത്വിക്കു നൊന്ത്തൽ ഇന്ദ്രന് വേദനിക്കും:Interview with Mallika Sukumaran". nanaonline.in. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  11. ^ "പൃഥ്വിയ്ക്ക് എന്തെങ്കിലും വിഷമമുണ്ടായാല് ഇന്ദ്രനാണ് ദുഃഖം :Interview with Mallika Sukumaran". malayalam.oneindia.com. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  12. ^ a b c RK Roshini (10 April 2004). "On the road to stardom". Chennai, India: The Hindu. Retrieved 25 November 2008.
  13. ^ 10 yearsof LA Fest. ashok.loyolites.com
  14. ^ Vijay George (7 October 2005). "Advantage Prithviraj". Chennai, India: The Hindu. Retrieved 27 November 2008.
  15. ^ "State film awards announced". Chennai, India: The Hindu. 10 February 2007. Retrieved 24 November 2008.
  16. ^ Vijay George (16 February 2007). "Portrait of a winner". The Hindu. Retrieved 24 November 2008.
  17. ^ Paresh Palicha (15 October 2007). "Prithviraj shines in Chocolate and classmates". Rediff. Retrieved 10 December 2008.
  18. ^ "Thalappavu Review". Nowrunning.com. 15 September 2008. Retrieved 10 December 2008.
  19. ^ "Thirakkadha". Sify. Retrieved 10 December 2008.
  20. ^ Kerala Box- office (25 July – 25 Aug). Sify.com (26 August 2009). Retrieved on 5 December 2010.
  21. ^ "New superstar on the block". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 28 August 2009.
  22. ^ "Indian Rupee Review". Nowrunning.com. 7 October 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
  23. ^ Rejath RG (21 September 2015). "Ennu Ninte Moideen is truly epic". Kerala Kaumudi. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  24. ^ Akhila Menon (20 September 2015). "Ennu Ninte Moideen Movie Review: An Eternal Love Saga!". Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  25. ^ "19 നാളില്‍ മൊയ്തീന് 20 കോടി". Deshabhimani. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  26. ^ "'From Paavada to Oozham, here's how Prithviraj Sukumaran fared in 2016'". Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  27. ^ "'Ezra : Prithviraj starrer emerges 8th Rs. 50 crore grosser of Malayalam cinema'".
  28. ^ Vellithirai is worth watching. Rediff.com. Retrieved on 5 December 2010.
  29. ^ Raavanan is better than Raavan – Rediff.com Movies. Movies.rediff.com (18 June 2010). Retrieved on 5 December 2010.
  30. ^ "Rani Mukerjee signs Anurag Kashyap's next". Ndtv.com. 4 October 2011. Archived from the original on 23 June 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  31. ^ "Prithviraj to star in YRF's Aurangzeb". BollywoodHungama.com. 12 June 2012. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
  32. ^ Staff Reporter (25 April 2011). "Prithviraj gets married in Palakkad". Palakkad: The Hindu. Retrieved 2 October 2011. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  33. ^ Asha Prakash (28 April 2011). "Prithviraj: No more a bachelor boy". Indian Express. Retrieved 28 April 2011. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  34. ^ http://connectingmalayali.com/articles/business/42-all-about-kerala/film/250-malayalam-film-artists-contact-details
  35. ^ Prithviraj | Malayalam Movie Puthiyamugham | Song | Singer | Deepak Dev | Mohanlal – Oneindia Entertainment Archived 14 July 2012 at archive.today. Entertainment.oneindia.in (29 June 2009). Retrieved on 5 December 2010.
  36. ^ The Hindu : Friday Review Thiruvananthapuram : Portrait of a winner. Hinduonnet.com (16 February 2007). Retrieved on 5 December 2010.
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