Prithviraj Sukumaran praises Vivek Oberoi’s acting skills, says ‘everything is pinpoint’: ‘If you take 18 shots…’

Malayalam actor and director Prithviraj Sukumaran, who is all set for L2: Empuraan, his film releasing today, shared his thoughts on directing Mohanlal in Lucifer and Empuraan and compared his acting with Vivek Oberoi. 

While talking about both the actors, Prithviraj praised Vivek Oberoi and said he follows directorial  instructions very well. In an interview with Galatta Plus, Prithviraj shared his perspective on working with Mohanlal. He said, "When I’m acting alongside him, I follow my own process. But when I’m directing and watching him on the monitor, I’m also witnessing his approach firsthand."

He went on to explain, "Mohanlal sir prefers to detach himself emotionally, and it works wonders for him. As a filmmaker, it can be challenging because he may give a brilliant take, and if the focus is slightly off, I might ask for another shot. When I explain to him that we just lost focus, he’ll agree, but then he’ll deliver something entirely different."

The filmmaker acknowledged that Mohanlal's acting style resulted in some out-of-focus shots being included in the final cut of Lucifer. He shared, "There are multiple shots in Lucifer—especially—we were more careful in Empuraan, where the shots are out of focus. So a lot of my cinematographer friends after watching 'Lucifer,' they’ve called me and said, ‘A lot of shots are out of focus.’ And I say, ‘I know, I’ve kept it because it’s the best performance."

Praised Vivek Oberoi

Prithviraj compared Mohanlal's acting style with that of Vivek Oberoi, who portrayed the antagonist in Lucifer and said, "When it comes to Vivek Oberoi, if you do 18 takes, you can choose any take, because everything is pinpoint the same." He went on to add that Vivek consistently follows directorial instructions, delivering the same level of performance with precision in each take.

 

 

 

 

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On Tuesday, Prithviraj Sukumaran praised the Hindi film industry for its groundbreaking contributions to Indian cinema, especially after the 1990s. He stated that regional language films will always be grateful to Hindi cinema for setting a global example. Prithviraj, who directed Malayalam cinema icon Mohanlal in L2: Empuraan and also stars in the film, was in the national capital to promote the movie, which is set to release this Thursday.

Replying to a question on lessons that Hindi cinema, which is going through a lull phase, needed to learn from other industries, Prithviraj praised Bollywood and said every industry goes through different phases. "There is a lot for everyone to learn from everywhere. I understand the conversation and praise around Malayalam cinema off late. But make no mistake, it was not too long back when we were sitting across tables in Kerala and thinking, 'How is Hindi cinema doing this?' It was a time not too far ago when maverick filmmakers like Anurag (Kashyap), Vikramaditya Motwane and Hansal Mehta burst out on the scene and started making content which made us think 'wow'... Yes, Malayalam cinema is going through a great phase but these phases happen to every cinema periodically," the actor-filmmaker said at a promotional event of Empuraan.