Prithviraj Sukumaran has begun shooting for the Malayalam film Jana Gana Mana, which is being helmed by Dijo Jose Antony of Queen fame. Sharing screen space with Prithviraj in this flick is Suraj Venjaramoodu. Interestingly, the two actors had recently worked together in Driving Licence which turned out to be a massive hit. Details about Jana Gana Mana including its remaining cast and crew are expected to be out soon.
Watch: Song from Jana Gana Mana
While Jana Gana Mana is under progress, Prithviraj has quite a number of films in the pipeline needing his attention.
He was shooting for Aadujeevitham in Jordan when the lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19 was announced earlier this year. The team remained stranded in that country for several weeks before returning to Kerala without completing the shooting. Aadujeevitham is directed by Blessy and bankrolled by KG Abraham under the banner KGA Films. The film’s technical crew includes Resul Pookutty for sound designing, KU Mohanan for cinematography and Raja Muhammed for editing. Also, Aadujeevitham will bring the Oscar-winning music director AR Rahman back into the Malayalam film industry after 27 years. The progress of this film has been slow as Prithviraj is required to undergo a major physical transformation for his role in the film.
The actor also has to do the film Ayalvashi which is directed by debutant Irshad Parari, who worked as an assistant director in Prithviraj’s debut directorial Lucifer. It has been reported that the shooting of this film will begin soon after Prithviraj is done with Aadujeevitham. According to reports, Ayalvashi is about two neighbours constantly in conflict with one another.
In Kaaliyan, which is his other film in the making, Prithviraj will be seen playing a warrior. Kaaliyan is the story of Kunchirakkottu Kali, a 17th-century warrior who lived in Venad. He was a trusted disciple of the legendary warrior Iravikkutty Pillai. Though Iraivikutty Pillai went on to become a part of history, Kaaliyan remained an unsung hero. Sources in the know say that Prithviraj will be playing Kaaliyan and veteran Tamil actor Sathyaraj will be seen as Iravikkutty Pillai.
In addition, Prithviraj has signed on the dotted lines to star in an investigative thriller in which he will be playing a cop. The film will be the debut directorial of cinematographer Tanu Balak of The Train and Of the People fame. Editor Shameer Muhammed and cinematographer Jomon T John are producing this venture under their banner Plan J Studios.
Apart from the acting assignments, Prithviraj also has his directorial Empuraan waiting to take off. Recently, he posted a picture with the film’s scriptwriter Murali Gopy on the social media with the caption: “Probably the day I first “saw” Empuraan. When your writer’s design starts forming an edited, colour corrected shape in your mind! I cannot wait to get this started..as much as a fan..as a filmmaker!”
Murali Gopy also wrote on his social media page: “With my director bro, after I gave him a full design brief of Empuraan.”
Reportedly, the photo was taken during the story discussion of Empuraan. The film is sequel to Lucifer, which was released last year, with Mohanlal playing the lead.
(Content provided by Digital Native)