Prithviraj Sukumaran diehard fan of SRK. After the clash between Animal and Sam Bahadur on December 1, anticipation is now building for another box office showdown. Shah Rukh Khan's third film of the year, Dunki, is scheduled for release on December 21, followed by the release of Prabhas and Prithviraj Sukumaran’s Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire on December 22. The pre-release hype surrounding both films is creating intense competition, leaving film enthusiasts wondering whether Rajkumar Hirani’s saga or Prashanth Neel’s magnum opus will emerge victorious.
Prithviraj, however, refuses to favor one film over the other. In an exclusive conversation with News18 Showsha, he expresses his eagerness to watch Dunki, citing his admiration for Shah Rukh Khan and Rajkumar Hirani. Additionally, he reveals excitement for a major Malayalam film starring Mohanlal, scheduled for release on December 21 as well. As a film enthusiast, Prithviraj views this holiday season as exceptional, especially in Kerala, with Salaar, Dunki, and Neru (a Mohanlal-Jeethu Joseph collaboration after Drishyam 2).
Unlike Dunki, Salaar is set to release in five languages – Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, and Hindi. Addressing the trend of multilingual releases becoming common, Prithviraj argues that the success of pan-Indian films is not solely based on casting actors from different industries.
The Bro Daddy and Kuruthi actor elaborates, “Baahubali, which initiated this trend, featured Telugu stars. The same applies to KGF and Kantara, an even more compelling example. You have to choose a story, write a script, stay true to the material, and strive to produce the best version of that script. Salaar is a top-tier release in every language in India, and we made it genuinely, not as a pan-Indian film.”
Prithviraj emphasizes that Prashanth Neel did not aim to create a pan-Indian project by casting actors from various markets. He realized this when he initially declined the film due to the pandemic. According to Prithviraj, “If all he wanted was a star, I wasn’t the only option. He’s Prashanth Neel, and after KGF 2, he could’ve approached anyone. In his mind, Prithviraj was Vardharaja Mannar. The idea is to let the actor make the decision, not the star.”