Prithviraj Sukumaran on South-Bollywood: "Exchange of Talent Was Inevitable"

Actor-filmmaker Prithviraj Sukumaran recently shared his views on the growing success of South Indian films and the increasing exchange of talent between Bollywood and the South film industries. He believed that this collaboration was a natural progression as cinema evolved both as an art form and a business.

The actor, who is preparing for the release of L2: Empuraan, recalled a conversation he had with filmmaker Karan Johar in 2011. At the time, Johar had offered him a role in an anthology and had predicted that the future would see a significant migration of talent between the two industries. Prithviraj pointed out that this prediction was now becoming a reality.

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He also emphasized that filmmakers today were working beyond labels of ‘regional’ and ‘mainstream’ cinema, creating stories that connected with audiences everywhere. According to him, this shift had contributed to the widespread appeal of Malayalam films, which have been performing well at the box office.

Speaking about Malayalam cinema’s recent success, Prithviraj expressed his excitement. He credited talented filmmakers, actors, and producers for backing strong content. However, he disagreed with the claim that Malayalam cinema was the only industry producing great content. He reminded audiences that there were times when Malayalam filmmakers had looked up to Hindi cinema for its bold storytelling.

While acknowledging the success of Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada films, Prithviraj highlighted a key strength of the Malayalam industry—the way it values writers. He explained that in Malayalam cinema, writers played a major role in initiating projects. Using Lucifer (the prequel to L2: Empuraan) as an example, he shared how writer Murali Gopy had approached him with an idea and later contacted Mohanlal to bring the project to life.

In contrast, he observed that in many other industries, production houses or directors typically took the lead in shaping a project. He believed that Malayalam cinema’s strong literary foundation had been a significant factor in its storytelling success.

With the industry continuing to evolve, Prithviraj’s insights shed light on how collaboration and creative respect are shaping the future of Indian cinema.

Image Credits: Instagram