Prithviraj, younger son of the famous Malayalam actor the late Sukumaran and
actress Mallika, is the rising star of Malayalam cinema after
Mammootty and Mohanlal. Prithvi did his schooling from the Sainik School and
the Bharathiya Vidya Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram. He was doing his Bachelor
Degree in Computer Engineering at the University of Tasmania, when he came
into the film world. During one of his vacation trips to Kerala, director
Fazil introduced him to screen playwright Renjith who was searching for a new
face in his first directorial venture. Ranjith impressed by him offered the
lead role in his film 'Nandanam' (2002). So he discontinued his studies and
concentrated on acting. Quite early in his career Prithviraj was fortunate to
act in films directed by leading directors in the Malayalam filmindustry such
as Lohitadas, Vinayan, Kamal and Bhadran.
Prithviraj managed to win the hearts of the Malayalam film audience through
his first film itself, especially that of female viewers. He had a definite
edge over other younger heroes with his good looks- he was tall, had a good
moustache and acting talent - he could do both action and romantic roles with
panache.After the fantastic performance in 'Nandanam' he got
several offers. His list of sterling performances include films like, 'Swapnakoodu'
(2003), 'Vellinakshatram' (2004), 'Akale'(2004), 'Daivanamathil'(2005), 'Ananathabhadhram'(2005)
etc. In 2006, Lal Jose's 'Classmates' was released and it turned out to be one
of the biggest blockbusters in Malayalam cinema. After pulling off the role of
a corrupt police officer quite well in Vargam (2006), Prithviraj acted in
another film 'Vaasthavam' with the same director, M. Padmakumar and again it
was a hard hitting drama and Prithviraj got noticed for his intense acting. As
Balachandran Adiga in Vaasthavam, Prithvi once again proved that he is here to
stay.
He made his Tamil debut in cinematographer K V Anand's film 'Kana Kandein'
(2005) in which he did a negative role. After 'Kana Kandein' Prithviraj has
his share of fans in Tamil Nadu too. His second Tamil film 'Parijatham'
directed by veteran Bhagyaraj, gave Prithvi the break he needed. In the wake
of the success of Parijatham, Prithvi has become one of the most sought-after
heroes in Tamil cinema. Another noted Tamil film was 'Mozhi', produced by
Prekash Raj, in which he was paired with leading heroine, Jyothika. The
success of his films helped to enhance his stardom in Tamil tinsel
world.
Among the current crop of new faces in South Indian
cinema, Prithviraj is definitely the most bankable star.