He made his debut in 2002 with the critically acclaimed Malayalam film Nandanam, and has
since established himself in Malayalam cinema through a variety of roles in films such as
Ananthabhadram, Chocolate, Vaasthavam, Classmates, Thirakkatha and Thalappavu. He has
also made strides in Tamil cinema with hits like Kana Kandaen, Parijatham and Mozhi.
The period of youth is turbulent and comes with a rebellious streak - Going against the System -
swimming against the flow. Rebellious is his second name. And he is frank almost to the point
of brutality. His statements are always hard-hitting. And he is YOUNG!!We are talking about the
“new” darling of Malayalam - Prithviraj Sukumaran. [On second thoughts, new may not be the
right word as he burst into the scene some 7-8 years ago. Nevertheless..]. He has got a new
lease of life after Classmates has rocked the Box Office.
Prithvi made his debut in Nakshathra kannulla Rajakumaran Avanundoru Rajakumari. He didnot exactly set the screen on fire. But people started taking notice of him in “Stop Violence”. It
was hard to ignore the lanky youth with a good physique and that mean rebellious streak in him
- both in front and behind the camera. However it was Nandanam that anointed him as a real
hero in a Cinderalla-like love story. As the lover boy, Manu, who falls in love with the servant
Balamani. Navya walked away with the honors but Prithvi cemented his place in Malayalam as
a hero.
Prithvi always insisted in interviews that he is in the field not for the money, but because he
loved acting. [After doing his studies in Sainik School Kazhakkutam, he did his college in
Australia and he mentions that he had job offers in hand before he decided to dabble in Movies]
One another advantage he had over other younger heros was that he was tall, had a good
moustache [a must attribute for heros for us Mallus] and could do both action and romantic roles
with panache. Even though Prithvi’s movies like Swapnakoodu, Vellinakshatram etc met with
moderate success, the argument against him was that he couldn’t carry a film on his shoulders
alone.
He however did show glimpses of his potential in films like Ammakilikkodu .
In between he had his share of gossips. Rumors about his tying the knot with Meera Jasmine
was the talk of the town - though both denied it. Then came the AMMA clash. He spoke out
against the step-motherly treatment of AMMA towards some of her children and his comments
were interpreted as against the superstars and the super directors. It was projected that Prithvi
was an arrogant brat and had people saying “Venda Mone Venda Mone” to his antics. It did not
take long for him to get a “hidden ban” in AMMA. He had an able ally in Vinayan whose “love”
for the superstars was well known. The two joined and a forgettable movie called Sathyam was
born. Even though Prithvi did a few stunts sans a dupe - a la Jayan - the movie still could not be
saved.
After his offers in Malayalam came to a trickle, he decided to try his luck in Tamil [an anomaly -
as normally its the Malayali heroine who feel suffocated by the glamour-less and penniless
values in Malayalam and hop-skip-jump to Tamil and shed clothes at the drop of a hat].
Kana Kandein marked his debut and Tamizh Ulagam and Tamil girls especially loved the villain
for his acting abilities and looks - though not in the same order. This was followed by
Parijatham, a Bhagyaraj movie. The movie also received a good response and Prithvi even had
the privilege of sharing the dais with Rajnikanth in one of the promotion events.
Unfortunately for Prithvi, Bhagyaraj wanted to make Parijatham his daughter’s launchpad - Her
plump visage eclipsed poor Prithvi in all the posters. Still he had reason to rejoice as he has a
few good offers in hand.
Vargam saw Prithvi coming of age. As Solomon, the corrupt officer in the first half and the victim of his own doings in the second, he won accolades of the critics and the masses alike. The
movie did average business and producers and directors slowly started taking interest in him.
Lal Jose, who was considered the best mate of Dileep [ who was reportedly one of the
"enemies" of Prithvi], took the bold step of casting Prithvi as one of the lead heroes in
Classmates. The rest is history. And as Balachandran Adiga in Vasthavam, Prithvi has once
again proved that he hes here to stay.
Prithvi’s demeanour have irked many and say that he was a chip of the old block. If one could
draw an analogy of him with cricket, he could be compared to Shoaib Akthar of Pakistan - Killer
looks, rebellious, lovable, extremely talented, brash competitive and irritating people with his
shooing from the hip comments. He has a good future ahead of him and there looks to be no
stiff competition to him from co-stars of his age.
