Prithviraj Sukumaran might be superstar down South but he is a little known name when it comes to Bollywood. The actor, who is all set to make his debut in Bollywood with ‘Aiyya’, has no qualms in playing second fiddle to Rani Mukerji.
“It’s a Bollywood film and I am a completely a new entity and I love that. The film is riding on Rani's shoulder I am happy with it. I love the fact that people will go and watch it as a Rani Mukerji film and discover me. At the end of the day it’s a love story between two people and they are Rani and me,” said Prithviraj to PTI.
Prithviraj has acted in many movies down South including Malayalam, Telugu and Tamil movies. The actor has produced huge hits down South and his biggest hits are 'Vaasthavam', 'Indian Rupee', 'Classmates', Mani Ratnam's Tamil version of 'Raavanan', 'Urumi' among others.
“I need to get real and I understand the fact that I am a beginner in Bollywood, the 80 films that I have done down South and who I am and what I have achieved there has nothing to do with what I am going to do in Bollywood,” he said.
The actor thinks that the main reason for ‘Aiyya’ to receive so much media coverage is the fact that it’s a Rani Mukerji movie.
“Right now, the film will obviously be Rani's responsibility because the minute someone as big as her walked into the film it became a Rani Mukerji project. I think it is a great to make a debut in a way... it’s a vehicle in which you are travelling,” he said.
“The fact that Rani said yes to the film meant that it (film) got bigger, the film got bigger canvas to portray. At the end of the day I need to realize that all the buzz that is happening around 'Aiyya' right now is because of the fact that Rani is in it,” he added.
The actor said that given that Rani Mukerji and Anurag Kashyap, who is producing the movie, are the only two known names in Bollywood it was no surprise that Rani Mukerji would feature on every poster of the movie.
“When a big star like Rani Mukerji is involved obviously the whole film at least in its marketing stage will piggy bag on her. Apart from Anurag Kashyap any big name that is associated with 'Aiyya' is not me or Sachin Kundalkar or anyone else it is Rani Mukerji and if I was left with the marketing of the film, I would have still marketed it with Rani,” he said.
‘Aiyya’ is a love story between a Marathi girl and a Malayalam boy.
“I said yes to the film after reading the entire script. And from the script to the print the film has grown up so much, the characters have grown up so much that I am more than happy,” he said.
The actor revealed that he was a huge Rani Mukerji fan.
“I have seen almost her all films, I am a big fan of Rani and I always was. And I don't say that now because of 'Aiyya', even if you see my old interviews given to South Indian media you will see this statement. But now that I have done 'Aiyya', I am a bigger fan of Rani," he said.
Prithviraj said that Rani Mukerji was a fantastic co-star and it was a great experience working with her.
“She is fantastic. She is so inclusive as an actor, she used to go out of her way to make sure not just me but every actor on the sets is comfortable in their own space. She used to call the entire team to her house, discuss scenes and how we will approach towards scenes,” he said.
“She used to say stay back on the sets even when she was not shooting, just to guide me. She was very involved and open to suggestions. She is great to work with,” Prithviraj concluded.