Prithviraj Sukumaran Biography

Prithviraj Sukumaran is an Indian actor, singer, and producer who primarily works in the Malayalm film industry. He made his debut in 2002 with the critically acclaimed Malayalam film Nandanam and has since then established himself in the Malayalam cinema through a variety of roles such as roles in Stop Violence, Chocolate, Vaasthavam, and Classmates. Apart from acting in Malayalam cinema, he also made his debut in Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi languages

Early Life

Prithviraj was born in Trivandrum, Kerala, to popular Malayalam film actors Sukumaran and Mallika. His elder brother Indrajith Sukumaran and sister-in-law Poornima are also film actors. His initial schooling was at St. Mary's School, Poojappura, which was near his Chengallur home. Later, he did his schooling at the Sainik School (Kazhakkoottam, Thiruvananthapuram) and Bharathiya Vidya Bhavan, Thiruvananthapuram. After completing his school education he went to Australia to pursue a Bachelor's degree in Information Technology. Later, he dropped-out of his studies and made his debut in the Malayalam film industry with the film 'Nandanam 'in 2002. Following a decent performance in Nandanam, he was flooded with several offers from the industry, so he decided to take a break from his studies and concentrate on acting. 

In 2011, Prithviraj tied the knot with Supriya in a private ceremony in Palakkad. The couple was blessed with a baby named Alankrita. 

Career

Prithviraj began his career in Malayalam cinema in 2002. He was introduced to cinema by Renjith who cast him in his directorial debut film Nandanam. After this, he was flooded with offers and was able to appear in films directed by the leading figures of the Malayalam film industry such as Lohithadas, Vinayan, Kamal, and Bhadran. He made his debut in Ranjith's Nandanam (2002) at the age of 19.

He was noted for his performances in Stop Violence and Swapnakoodu, films that did well at the box office. Shyamaprasad, who cast him in the lead role in his much-acclaimed film Akale, comments that Prithviraj's advantages are his talent and intelligence irrespective of his box-office successes. In 2006, Lal Jose's Classmates was released and it turned out to be one of the biggest blockbusters in Malayalam cinema. The film had an ensemble cast consisting of Jayasurya, Narain, Indrajith, and Kavya Madhavan. After Vargam, Prithviraj acted in another film called Vaasthavam with the same director, M. Padmakumar.

It was a hard-hitting drama, in which Prithviraj again got noticed for his intense acting. The role fetched him the Kerala State Award for Best Actor in 2006, and in the process, Prithviraj became the youngest actor to win the award. In 2007, his film Chocolate directed by Shafi received glowing reviews. His performance in the film has been praised as contributing to the success of the film. In Thalappavu directed by Madhupal and Thirakkatha directed by Renjith, he took up roles that serve as pivotal characters.

One of the reviews of Thalappavu describes it as a film that is truly the coming-of-age film for Prithviraj the actor and that there is a spartan dignity that he brings into his commanding portrayal of Naxalite Joseph. Thirakkatha has also received widespread praise from reviewers. He has also made a special appearance in Anjali Menon's widely acclaimed film Manjadikkuru. 

In 2005 he made his Tamil debut as the villain in the film Kana Kandaen. His performance as the handsome and suave villain grabbed quick attention and was praised for his unconventional portrayal of the character. Soon, he got an opportunity to act under the direction of Bhagyaraj in the film Parijatham. His performance in Parijatham also received similar attention and appreciation in Kollywood. One of his recent Tamil flicks was Mozhi in which his splendid performance was highly praised. The film ran in packed houses for several weeks/months. His other Tamil films are Satham Podathey and Kannamoochi Yenada.

The success of the films and his own intense performance in them have helped him to enhance his stardom in the Tamil tinsel world. The subtle performance of Prithviraj in Kannamoochi Yenada has received special mention by many reviewers.

In 2010, Prithviraj joined the production house August Cinema to then headline and co-produce Urumi and Indian Rupee (both 2011); the latter won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Malayalam and Kerala State Film Award for Best Film.[9] He won a Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Villain for Kaaviya Thalaivan (2014) before appearing in Ennu Ninte Moideen (2015) and Ezra (2017). After leaving August Cinema in 2017, he launched Prithviraj Productions independently which first backed 9 (2019). Prithviraj made his directorial debut with Lucifer (2019), the highest-grossing Malayalam film ever. He has since starred in Driving License (2019), Ayyappanum Koshiyum (2020), and Jana Gana Mana (2022).

Then , he appeared in the films such as Urumi and Indian Rupee in the year 2010. Since then acted in several films such as Ayalum Njanum Thammil (2012), Celluloid (2013), Memories (2013)., Sapthamashree Thaskarah. Later, in the year 2015, he acted in the film Ennu Ninte Moideen, which was based on a real-life story, the actor received critical acclaim for his stellar performance in the movie. 

Prithiviraj made his debut in Bollywood Cinema with the film 'Aiyya' in 2012. Since then he acted in the two films such as Auraganzeba and Naam Shabana. The films received positive responses from the audience.

Besides acting, he launched a production house named' Prithviraj Productions' in 2017. Later he made his directing debut with the film'Lucifer' 2019. The film starred Mohanlal and Manju Warrier in the lead roles. The film became a super hit and collected over ₹200 crores at the box office. 

Apart from being an actor and producer, he is also a playback singer. He has sung several songs for his movies. In 2009, he made his debut as a singer in the film Puthiya Mukham. 

Accident During Movie Location 'Vilayath Budda'

Reportedly, the actor met with an accident and sustained leg injury while shooting for his upcoming movie 'Vilayath Budda'. He was immediately rushed to a private hospital in Kochi on 26th June 2023. As per the latest update, that the actor will undergo a keyhole surgery on his leg and is expected to take a rest for the three months. 

Awards

Prithviraj is a three-time State award winner. He bagged the first Kerala State Film Awards for best actor category in 2006 for the film 'Vaasthavam'. Later he received it in 2011 and 2012.