South Indian actor Prithviraj, who recently made his Hindi film debut with Aiyyaa (co-starring Rani Mukerji), is now trying his hand at directing! The actor, who is hugely popular in both Malayalam and Tamil films, is hoping to become a director after nearly 10 years in the film industry.
About his directorial debut, Prithviraj states, “Direction is definitely on cards right now. But I don’t want to produce anything in Bollywood because I don’t know the industry at all. I understand that it works differently for an independent producer here as for a wide release, you need to be backed by a studio and all that.”
So why didn’t he chose directing before? “Direction was something I almost did couple of years back in Malayalam, but then I signed Ravan that was postponed. I had a lot of pressure on me at that time… Hopefully, it (direction) will happen sometime soon. I would like it to happen.”
It has been rumoured that he was going to move to Mumbai, so is this true? “Yes, I am going to buy a property in Mumbai… not that I will completely shift here because Malayalam cinema has made me what I am today and my family is there (Kerala)… I will always do films in Malayalam. She (Supriya – his wife) would love to shift here. She is just like me – in love with the city and also she never lived in Kerala… it was a stop gap for her.”
“Fortunately, I am only 30 and I have already made a career where I can afford to sit back and do one film a year. And that means I have enough time in hand to invest in Mumbai. I am hoping to get a place in Mumbai by the end of the year,” the actor further added.
What would he say has gotten him where he is today? “Only passion can keep you going. First time when you sign an autograph, it gives you a big kick… and even when you sign your 10,000th autograph, you feel good. Everything that I need to support my lifestyle, I am getting that kind of money. There is nothing that I can do with more money. Ya, if I get more money, I will buy some property but having an estate in Mahabaleshwar is not going to do anything to your quality of life. All these things don’t matter… what keeps you going most is only passion.”
So there you have it, by the star that is Prithviraj himself; passion is the only thing that got him where he is today!
