Prithviraj floats own production company, says it's been his dream to give back to cinema

Popular Malayalam actor Prithviraj Sukumaran, known for films such as Mumbai Police, Ezra and Naam Shabana, on Friday, 9 March 2018, announced his full-fledged plunge into film production with his own company, which he has co-founded with his wife Supriya. Sharing the news via a statement on his Twitter page, Prithviraj said he and his wife are finally realising a dream into which they’ve invested lot of effort. [caption id=“attachment_4384579” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Prithviraj announced the plans for his production house on Twitter. Image via Facebook/@PrithvirajSukumaran[/caption] “We have always wanted to give back to cinema and we couldn’t possibly think of a better way to do that than facilitate films which we believe will make Malayalam cinema proud. Why did it take one year? Why do we believe this could be the start of something very special for our industry? Why is this dream of ours effectively taking a step close to the vision that I have always harboured for Malayalam cinema? These are all questions to which hopefully you’ll find answers in the next few announcements that will follow. For now, I’d like to thank all of you who’ve given me what I have, not to forget Shaji Nadesan and Santosh Sivan who held my hand when I took baby steps into the world of film production, and a heartfelt thank you to each and everyone who taught me all that I know of cinema,” said Prithviraj, adding that his company is named Prithviraj Productions. This is not Prithviraj’s debut stint with production. Under the banner of August Cinema, he has co-produced popular Malayalam films such as Urumi, Double Barrel, Darvinte Parinamam and The Great Father in association with cinematographer Santosh Sivan and entrepreneur Shaji Nadesan. Last year, Prithviraj announced through Facebook that he will not be the part of the company any more. He signed off from the board of directors while asserting that he would continue to remain a ‘well-wisher’. On the acting front, Prithviraj has nearly half a dozen projects in his kitty. His next release will most likely be Nirmal Sahadev’s Ranam, which was originally titled Detroit Crossing. He recently commenced work on director Blessy’s Aadujeevitham, based on the 2008 popular Malayalam novel Goat Days — about an abused migrant worker in Saudi Arabia. The film will be predominantly shot in Kerala, Rajasthan, Oman and Jordan. Prithviraj is said to have set aside 18 months for this ambitious project. According to the storyline, Prithviraj’s character will be seen in two looks. For one of his looks, he’ll be expected to lose a lot of weight which will be shot at a much later stage. “We plan to shoot the portion where he looks healthy first. The weight loss process will take time and that portion will be shot in the end,” Blessy had previously told Firstpost.