Prithviraj : A super star in the making

Today as usual is a rainy day!!!!
By now, I realize that I most of my creative writings have happened on rainy days. I am thinking of moving to place like chirapunji so that I can write more frequently :-). Its an unusual winter here in canada. No one here remembers a November, as warm as the ongoing one. most of the days are pleasant and sunny with occasional showers. Today is a bit different. throughout the day, it rained and towards the evening it turned foggy. It looks like a very cold day but it isn't all that cold. I was thinking of 2 posts about Sreesanth and Shashi Tharoor : 2 malayalees who are known outside kerala,mostly for their antics these days. Both of them have striking similarity : extremely good what they do;but have an inborn talent to make enemies (Believe me, they are like machines that generate thousands of enemies overnight) for no apparent reasons. However when I sat down to write, something else came up in my mind.



These days, I use a 3G phone. while returning home from work, I test it for streaming experience while on move. To make it interesting enough to continue that habit, I watch malayalam movie clips only. The very first clip I watched was not a random one but I picked it for various reasons. I know only 2 people in malayalam movie industry whom I can call friends. Devanand and Naren. Devanand is a playback singer who has sang beautiful melodies and Naren is an upcoming,promising actor. I chose a movie in which both of them worked together -- Class Mates. I started off with devan's song in that movie : Kaathirunna Pennalle... a Lovely Song.

Prithvi raj and Kavya madhavan acted on screen. (I still feel sorry for her sad episode. Like most of the average malayalee boys, I am is not able to understand how can a guy let go a girl like kavya. Though I have never seen this girl anytime in my life, like most of the malayalees ,I firmly believe she is a very nice,"homely" (That's the key word) girl next door. After all, Life is all about beliefs -- rational and irrational)

Prithviraj has an amazing screen presence. I really loved watching him onscreen till "Puthiya Mugham". I was his fan till puthiya mugham. Puthiya Mugham, the biggest box office hit of 2009 (may be now pazhassi raja took over that position) is a disaster according to me (who am I?? some one who PAYS to watch movies. some one who gets a tickets STANDING IN QUEUE...in short the average film lover who hasn't yet taken it as a passion and who watches a movie only once ). While I have 101 arguments about why puthiya mugham is a total mishap, kerala doesn't think with me in that topic. so let's leave it behind.

Back to Prithviraj !!!

This guy is the new hope of malayalam celluloid.for all those who are bored with the czars, this man is a refreshing difference. Atleast he is young to play romance (sad truth is thats the most weakest link in his acting) contrary to the sexagenerians who are even willing to act as college boys these days ( a role which never went to them, when they started off their career in 80's : and that's just a 30 years ago). I remember seeing mamootty acting a father of 1 or 2 kids those days; a role in which I don't see him these days. while I admire the czars for their acting depth, I pity them for the kind of roles they take up.

Back to Prithviraj!!!

Prithviraj, the younger son of yesteryear young turk on screen, made his debut in 2002 (or o1). acted in about 50+ movies in last 7 years. That's an amazing career. almost 7+ movies an year. which means he hardly had time for anything apart from acting ever since he made his mind. He never had any significant box office success after nandanam (the very first one). but he sailed through the toothing years without much damage (infact in an impressive manner). Things started changing dramatically since 2006. that's when he played the lead role in Class Mates. While he had not much to his credit in the phenomenal success of that movie, it's he who made the most out of that flick. ever since classmates he never looked back. chocolate was his first solo hit. Its an average movie with absolutely nothing to talk about, but it made to the hit charts (Some people call it TIME in kerala).

His commitment to work has been remarkable in these years. it demands more respect when we consider the very fact that he is just into his mid twenties. at such an young age, he never got carried away by the fame and money and looks like he is not a W&W boy so far. In these years, he definitely has made lots of good friends in malayalam media. The kind of coverage he gets testifies that (it also testifies his popularity among the malayalee youth). I always felt he has the backing of an invisible PR organisation that's doing a good job so far. With not many successes to his credit, he could successfully create a notion among keralites (Including me ) that is going to be the next super star. The shoes of the upset angry young man and of the cool romantic hero (rich and upper middle class only) seem to be perfect fit for him. His screen presence is awesome and so is his action (As in action).

I have watched almost all his movies to realize just one thing. you just see prithvi raj in those movies. No matter what's the role, its all prithviraj on screen. That's were Czars are still significant.Pazhassi raja,chanthu, ponthan mada, bhaksara pateler,arayan in amaram, the kathakali artist in vana prastham, the rich spoiled young man in dasaratham, sethumadhavan, the artist in sadayam, joji and the rough man in thaazhvaram are some of the stellar characters malayala cinema remembers. Our boy doesn't have any such characters to his credit. its all prithviraj so far in different costumes. same styles, smile, anger, walk and gestures!!!. its something like we going to work everyday in different clothes.

Future looks very promising for Prithviraj. He is on his way to the undisputed throne of the prince of malayalam cinema after the emperors retire. No other young actors look promising at this juncture. Its very surprising that there are only very few young actors (potential heros) in malayalam as of now
Jaya suriya is leading the race for the second post ( I guess there isn't any race infact). Indrajit has proved that he isn't fit for a solo hero but is an excellent actor in any other position.
Anup Menon is an amazing actor. He has shown glimpses of talent whenever he could but he isn't getting breaks for some reason. Naren looks (Or Looked???) very promising as an actor. But I don't know why he isn't seen on mallu screens so often. Every time he makes a mark, he kind of disappears. I heard him saying he is concentrating on tamil movies in a recent interview. but no tamil movie of his hasn't come out in last 2o months or so. He has tremendous potential but seem to be ruining his career by wrong decisions (or indecisiveness) so far. If he changes his mind, he will soon catch up with Jayasuriya. All other young heros appearing are like comets. they don't give a feeling that they are going to stay. The Hrithu boy, Nishan was a good change. But will malayalam adore a non malayalee hero??? I have my own doubts :-) :-).

To wrap up, Prithviraj is making it BIG !! Luck, professionalism and excellent publicity tactics is giving him the much wanted thrust and he is on his way to stardom..Let's wish him the very best. At the same time, Let's hope to see some good movies from him. While his movies are interesting and bearable so far, his interviews are not. I don't know why every malayalam actor is trying hard (desperate is more apt) to sound like a philospher genius who lost his ways in the of labyrinth of life, and some how ended up in acting and is just hanging out there for fun (you know just for the sake of it) but is more inclined and engrossed in higher aspects of life and philosphical thinking. This boy was last seen attempting to share his GK on kerala politics and cricket. its more soothing to hear him talking about cinema. ( It prompted me to remember Saroj Kumar :-) )