Prithviraj Sukumaran might have started his career with Malayalam films, but over the years, the actor has worked in films across languages, including Tamil, Hindi and Telugu. The 42-year-old, who was recently seen in the Hindi film Sarzameen, feels that language can be used as a tool for unity through cinema. However, in recent times, language-based violence has been rising, especially in Maharashtra. 

Ask about his take on language being used as a divisive tool, and Prithviraj says, “Maybe I’m just old-fashioned, because I come from a time and generation where we grew up with none of this being a topic for discussion.”

The actor adds, “I am a Sainik School product and I had friends from the North and from different states. We all spoke different languages and it was just a reflection of who we were as a country. I just think that in the heat of all these discussions and conversations, we forget that the ethos of this great nation is unity in diversity, not uniformity despite diversity.”

Prithviraj is among the actors who have managed to strike a balance between films in Hindi and the South languages. However, the success rate of South stars in Hindi has been skewed.

Mention this to him, and he says, “I am not looking for a transition. I am just looking for the next good script. I’ve always said that if the next good script that comes my way is from the Assamese industry, I’ll do it. If tomorrow, a Bhojpuri maker comes and narrates something interesting, I’d love to do it.”

But why do many big South names fail to connect with the audience when starring in a Bollywood film? “I don’t think anybody has an equation that is a foolproof methodology to understand what works and what doesn’t. All of us make a film hoping that it’d resonate with the audience. We might fail, but that’s the only way to go about it. Having done this job for so long, I know that nothing is permanent,” the actor ends.

While recent reports suggest that Prithviraj Sukumaran has called the proposed third instalment to Lucifer, his 2019 directorial, India’s most expensive film with underwater action, his team says he hasn’t made any comment. They took to X to bust the rumours, calling it a hate campaign against him and wrote: “We express our disappointment in major channels for spreading false news, claiming that Prithviraj Sukumaran made statements about the L3 movie. These reports are untrue. It appears this misinformation originated from a fake profile ID as part of a hate campaign.”