The
pandemic
has
left
its
effect
on
the
entertainment
industry
but
it
has
also
led
filmmakers
to
work
around
the
restrictions
to
tell
their
stories,
says
Malayalam
star
Prithviraj
Sukumaran,
who
shot
for
his
upcoming
film
Cold
Case
during
COVID-19.
The
offer
for
the
Malayalam-language
film
Cold
Case
came
to
the
38-year-old
star
at
a
time
when
the
country
was
already
under
the
coronavirus-induced
lockdown
last
year.
Sukumaran
said
after
much
contemplation
the
team
decided
to
shoot
in
Trivandrum
and
Varanasi
in
accordance
with
COVID-19
protocols.
"For
the
first
time,
everyone
was
masked,
there
was
sanitization,
regular
testing
on
sets,
etc.
It
is
a
film
that
told
us
that
it
is
possible
to
make
films
or
else
we
would
still
be
sitting
and
thinking
about
how
to
restart
the
industry.
It
taught
us
how
to
make
cinema
with
COVID
protocols,
Sukumaran
told
PTI
in
a
Zoom
interview.
With
theatres
being
shut
in
India
as
the
country
grapples
with
a
devastating
second
wave
of
the
pandemic,
the
producers
had
to
opt
for
OTT
release
as
the
next
best
thing.
Cold
Case
premiers
on
Amazon
Prime
Video
on
June
30
and
the
actor
is
happy
that
the
film
will
be
available
in
more
than
240
countries.
"It
is
not
the
time
where
I
can
tell
my
audience
to
go
to
theatres
with
their
families.
That
would
not
be
a
responsible
statement
right
now.
Given
the
circumstances,
it
(OTT)
is
the
way
to
go.
But
even
without
these
circumstances
being
in
place,
(as)
I
had
said
in
the
past,
OTT
premieres
and
theatrical
releases
will
coexist.
This
would
have
happened
regardless
of
the
pandemic.
I
believe
COVID-19
accelerated
this
process," he
added.
The
actor-filmmaker
said
streamers
will
help
the
film
industry
from
the
finance
and
creative
standpoint.
"We
will
diversify
because
there
will
be
films
that
will
be
made
for
the
platform.
It
is
a
different
viewing
experience,
it
(OTT)
is
very
personal.
It
is
between
content
and
the
viewer
as
opposed
to
being
in
a
theatre
and
sharing
the
experience
with
a
community
of
thousands
of
people," he
said.
The
actor,
best
known
for
his
Malayalam
films
such
as
Classmates,
Vaasthavam,
Indian
Rupee,
Ennu
Ninte
Moideen
and
Hindi
film
Aiyaa,
said
his
process
of
selecting
films
is
simple:
he
looks
at
them
as
an
audience.
"If
I
sit
back
and
think
the
next
script
has
to
be
something
new
and
never
done
before
or
something
that
will
let
me
grow
as
an
actor,
you
may
miss
out
on
a
great
script
that
deserves
to
be
made.
My
idea
is
to
keep
the
analysis
simple.
You
read
a
script
as
somebody
who
is
watching
it
and
not
as
somebody
who
is
in
it."
The
actor
described
Cold
Case,
which
marks
the
directorial
debut
of
cinematographer
Tanu
Balak,
as
a
hybrid
genre
film,
which
is
an
investigative
crime
thriller
laced
with
elements
of
horror.
"For
films
like
(Cold
Case),
what
is
important
is
that
when
you
read
the
script,
the
question
of
what
next
remains
significant
right
up
till
the
end.
I
remember
when
I
read
the
script,
it
held
my
interest
and
I
wanted
to
know
what
is
happening
next
and
that
is
what
attracted
me
to
the
film,"
he
said.
The
actor
plays
a
no-nonsense
investigative
officer
and
said
he
took
a
conscious
decision
to
not
override
his
characters
over
the
script,
which
is
penned
by
Sreenath
V
Nath.
For
Sukumaran,
the
hallmark
of
great
writing
is
that
the
character
never
becomes
bigger
than
the
film.
"I
don't
lend
too
much
weightage
that
the
character
becomes
bigger
than
the
plot.
That
is
what
I
have
tried
to
do
in
Cold
Case.
I
have
always
maintained
that
what
I
do
in
the
film
is
secondary,
what
is
important
is
that
I
am
part
of
a
good
film.
I
would
rather
do
a
small,
uncomplicated
or
mundane
part
in
a
great
film
than
do
a
complex
and
layered
character
in
a
bad
film."
Prithviraj
Sukumaran
recently
announced
his
next
directorial
venture
Bro
Daddy
with
superstar
Mohanlal.
They
previously
collaborated
on
the
actor's
directorial
debut
Lucifer
in
2019.
With
Bro
Daddy,
the
actor
said
his
aim
is
to
deliver
an
entertaining
film
amid
such
grim
times.
Bro
Daddy
is
exciting
to
me
because
we
all
are
desperately
missing
a
happy
film.
I
am.
It
is
one
of
those
films
that
I
hope
will
put
a
smile
on
your
face
and
not
fry
your
brain.
"As
a
filmmaker,
it
will
be
a
very
good
shake-up
between
Lucifer
and
the
sequel
to
Lucifer.
I
will
break
my
filmmaking
pattern
to
make
this
film
and
that
will
be
a
good
exercise
for
me,"
he
added.
The
actor
said
he
shares
a
warm
relationship
with
Mohanlal
and
he
is
looking
forward
to
teaming
up
again
with
him.
"As
the
screenplay
develops
and
you
start
thinking
about
the
subject,
faces
start
appearing.
We
share
a
good
relationship,
we
stay
in
the
same
building,
we
meet
each
other
and
hang
out
quite
a
lot.
He
is
one
of
the
finest
actors
and
biggest
superstars,"
he
said.
Acting
remains
Sukumaran's
first
love
though.
"I
will
always
be
an
actor
and
once
in
a
while,
I
will
come
across
a
script
that
I
would
like
to
make
as
a
filmmaker,"
he
said.