Supriya Menon

Prithviraj Sukumaran ( /pr̩t̪ʰʋiɾaːd͡ʒ/; born 16 October 1982) is an Indian actor, producer, director, and playback singer who primarily works in Malayalam cinema, in addition to Tamil, Hindi and Telugu films, adding to more than 100 films involving diverse genres and variety of roles. Prithviraj's accolades include a National Film Award, four Kerala State Film Awards, a Tamil Nadu State Film Award, seven SIIMA Awards and a South Filmfare Award.

Prithviraj made his acting debut with the 2002 film ''Nandanam''. After starring in a few box-office failures, he made a comeback with ''Classmates'' (2006), the highest-grossing Malayalam film of the year, and became the youngest recipient of Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor for ''Vaasthavam'' (2006). He then played a musician in the Tamil romantic comedy '' Mozhi'' (2007) and ventured into playback singing with ''Puthiya Mukham'' (2009) before earning his second Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor for the medical drama ''Ayalum Njanum Thammil'' (2012) and the biographical film ''Celluloid'' (2013).

In 2010, Prithviraj became a producer and joined the production company August Cinema. He co-produced and headlined ''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. He won the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Villain for '' Kaaviya Thalaivan'' (2014) and had further success with ''Ennu Ninte Moideen'' (2015) and ''Ezra'' (2017). After leaving August Cinema in 2017, he launched Prithviraj Productions independently that first produced '' 9'' (2019). Prithviraj made his directorial debut with ''Lucifer'' (2019), which became one of the highest-grossing Malayalam film. He has since achieved critical and commercial success with ''Driving License'' (2019), '' Ayyappanum Koshiyum'' (2020), ''Jana Gana Mana'' (2022), ''Kaduva'' (2022), ''The Goat Life'' (2024) and ''Guruvayoor Ambalanadayil'' (2024) and the Telugu film '' Salaar'' (2023).

Early life and education

Prithviraj Sukumaran was born on 16 October 1982 to the actors Sukumaran and Mallika Sukumaran in Thiruvananthapuram. Prithviraj hails from the well-known Nair family of south Kerala known as Kainikkara, the same family to which the famous Malayali authors Kainikkara Padmanabha Pillai and Kainikkara Kumara Pillai belonged. His grandfather, Madhavan Pillai, was also a Gandhian and political activist who supported the Indian National Congress. His family was settled in Tamil Nadu at the time, where he attended Shrine Vailankanni School in T. Nagar, Chennai, and St. Joseph's Boys School, Coonoor.

When his family moved to Kerala, he attended the NSS Public School, Perunthanni. He then moved to St. Mary's Residential Central School, Poojappura, where he acted in plays and skits for the school's annual day celebrations. He completed his education at Sainik School, Kazhakootam, and Bhavan's Senior Secondary School, Kodunganoor.

After school, he enrolled in a bachelor's degree in Information Technology at the University of Tasmania in Australia but did not complete it. He does not hold a bachelor’s degree. His highest level of education is higher secondary (+2) education. During this time, he auditioned for film director Ranjith and won the lead role in the film ''Nandanam''. It was film director Fazil who introduced him to Ranjith. His elder brother, Indrajith Sukumaran, and sister-in-law, Poornima Indrajith, are also film actors.

Personal life

Prithviraj married BBC India reporter Supriya Menon on 25 April 2011 in a private ceremony held in Palakkad. They have a daughter, born in 2014, who goes to Dhirubhai Ambani International School, Mumbai. Prithviraj and his family used to reside in Thevara, Kochi. Since 2024, he has been staying at a house bought for ₹30 crores, at Pali Hill, Mumbai.

Career

Debut and career struggles (2002–2008)

In 2001, Prithviraj underwent a screen-test by director Fazil for one of his projects. Even though that project never materialised, Fazil recommended him to director Ranjith, who was planning his second directorial, ''Nandanam'' (2002), Prithviraj underwent screen-test for the role and got selected. Though ''Nandanam'' was the first film that Prithviraj acted in, it was released after '' Nakshathrakkannulla Rajakumaran Avanundoru Rajakumari'' and '' Stop Violence''. Prithviraj then appeared in films directed by Lohithadas, Vinayan, Kamal and Bhadran. Shyamaprasad, who cast him as the lead in his film '' Akale'', said that Prithviraj's advantages are his talent and intelligence irrespective of his box office successes.

In 2005, Prithviraj Sukumaran debuted in Tamil cinema through '' Kana Kandaen''. He starred in Director Santosh Sivan’s '' Anandabhadram'' in which he portrayed a character called Anandan who is a young NRI who likes his mother’s native village, a place known for powerful wizards and go through several human emotions. In 2006, Prithviraj co-starred with actor Bhagyaraj's daughter Saranya Bhagyaraj in '' Parijatham''. It became an acclaimed film.

In 2006, he played the role of Sub Inspector Solomon Joseph in '' Vargam'', and then appeared in the film ''Vaasthavam'', for which he received the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor. He was the youngest actor to win the award. The same year he starred in Lal Jose's ''Classmates''. The coming-of-age romantic comedy-drama was one of the biggest hits of his career. In 2007, he starred in ''Chocolate'', directed by Shafi. In 2007, Prithviraj co-starred Jyothika in '' Mozhi''. He also starred in ''Satham Podathey'' and ''Kannamoochi Yenada'' in the same year.

In 2008, he starred in ''Thalappavu'', (directed by Madhupal) and ''Thirakkatha'' (directed by Ranjith), playing pivotal characters in both. One of the reviews of ''Thalappavu'' describes it as the coming-of-age film for prithviraj describing the "spartan dignity" he brought to his portrayal of the Naxalite Joseph. The Sify review of ''Thirakkatha'' describes it as a "genuine attempt that keeps the viewer engaged until the end". Both ''Thalappavu'' and ''Thirakkatha'' shared the award for the best film in the Film Critics Award for 2008. In 2008, Prithviraj starred in ''Vellithirai'', the Tamil remake of ''Udayananu Tharam''. ''Rediff'' described, "Prithviraj ... makes the best of his assets – his expressive eyes, which glint in fury, soften with love, or brim over with frustrated tears."

Established actor (2009–2012)

In 2009, the success of Prithviraj Sukumaran's ''Puthiya Mukham'' (directed by Diphan) was a major turning point in the actor's career and led to him being branded as a superstar. His other releases in 2009 were ''Robin Hood'' (directed by Joshy) and the anthology film ''Kerala Cafe''. In 2010, Sukumaran's notable films were '' Pokkiri Raja'' and '' Anwar'', directed by Amal Neerad. He played the antagonist in Mani Ratnam's '' Raavanan'' in 2010 alongside actor Vikram who played the main protagonist. His performance was critically acclaimed. In the same year, Prithviraj debuted in Telugu cinema in the film ''Police Police''.

In 2011, Prithviraj produced his first film, the multilingual ''Urumi''. His other releases included '' City of God'', '' Manikyakallu'', ''Veettilekkulla Vazhi'' and ''Indian Rupee''. Critics praised Prithviraj for his performance in ''Indian Rupee'', a critic at ''Nowrunning.com'', called it his "careers best performance". In 2012, his releases included ''Hero'', '' Molly Aunty Rocks!'' and ''Ayalum Njanum Thammil'', along with cameo roles in '' Aakashathinte Niram.'' He also made a special appearance in Anjali Menon's ''Manjadikuru''.

In that same year, Prithviraj debuted in Hindi cinema through '' Aiyyaa'', starring alongside Rani Mukerji.

Critical acclaim and further success (2013–2018)

In 2013, Prithviraj had three releases ''Celluloid'', ''Mumbai Police'' and ''Memories'', all of which were critical and commercial successes. He portrayed J.C. Daniel in ''Celluloid'', for which he won his second Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor. He also played the role of a police officer in ''Aurangzeb'', directed by Athul Sabharwal which was his second project in Hindi cinema.

In 2014, Prithviraj's first major release was ''London Bridge'', which was a box office failure; followed by '' 7th Day'', which emerged as a commercial success. He also featured in a cameo role in '' Munnariyippu''. His third release of the year, '' Sapthamashree Thaskaraha'' was praised by critics. Prithviraj also starred in director Vasanthabalan's period film '' Kaaviya Thalaivan'', co-starring Siddharth.

His first release of 2015 was '' Picket 43,'' followed by other releases such as Shyamaprasad's '' Ivide''. Prithviraj was widely praised for his performance in the film. He next appeared in Lijo Jose Pellissery's '' Double Barrel''.

His most successful film of that year was ''Ennu Ninte Moideen'' co starring Parvathy which narrated the tragic love tale of Kanchanamala and Moideen that happened in the 1960s in Mukkam, a riverside village in Kerala. The film opened to critical acclaim, with several critics regarding it as one of the greatest romance films made in Malayalam cinema. His role as Moideen is regarded as one of the best in his career. His next releases ''Amar Akbar Anthony'' and ''Anarkali'' were major commercial success. Prithviraj had four releases in 2016, beginning with '' Paavada'', a family drama in which he played a drunkard. It met with a positive response and was a commercial success and ran for 100 days in theatres. His other releases ''Darvinte Parinamam'' and ''James & Alice'' were met with mixed reviews, the former told the story of an ordinary man dealing with a local goon and the latter was a family drama that discussed the matter of life and death. His last release, '' Oozham'', an action thriller directed by Jeethu Joseph was a commercial success. He played a demolition expert. In 2017, he starred in the horror film ''Ezra'', which became one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of the year, grossing 50 crore worldwide. His other releases that year included '' Tiyaan'', '' Adam Joan'' and ''Vimaanam''. Both ''Tiyaan'' and ''Vimaanam'' were moderate box office hits. He starred in his third Hindi film, '' Naam Shabana''.

His first release of 2018 was Roshini Dinakar's romantic drama '' My Story'', a commercial failure at the box office. His next two releases were Anjali Menon's drama ''Koode'' and Nirmal Sahadev's crime drama '' Ranam''. ''Koode'' received critical acclaim and was a commercial success while ''Ranam'' was met with positive critical response but performed moderately at the box office. In 2018, Prithviraj launched his independent production house, Prithviraj Productions. In 2019, he produced and starred in the science fiction film '' 9''. The film received was a box office success.

''Lucifer'' and beyond (2019–present)

Prithviraj made his directorial debut in 2019 with the film ''Lucifer'', starring Mohanlal. The film became one of the highest-grossing Malayalam film. In the following years, he would go onto star in the comedy-drama ''Driving License'' (2019), '' Ayyappanum Koshiyum'' (2020), ''Jana Gana Mana'' (2022), ''Kaduva'' (2022) and '' Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire'' (2023), all of which emerged as box office successes. However, '' Brother's Day'', '' Kaapa,'' and ''Gold'' failed at the box office. In 2024, he acted in the survival drama, ''Aadujeevitham'', directed by Blessy. Prithviraj had been cast for the project 16 years prior in 2008. ''Aadujeevitham'' was critically and commercially successful with Prithviraj earning critical acclaim for his performance. His second release, ''Bade Miyan Chote Miyan'', marking his fourth film in Hindi cinema, received negative reviews from critics and was a box-office bomb. His third release, the comedy-drama ''Guruvayoor Ambalanadayil'' was also a commercial success. Both films ranks among the list of List of highest-grossing Malayalam films of all time. He won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actor for ''Aadujeevitham'' that year. In 2025, he directed and starred in '' L2: Empuraan'', a sequel to ''Lucifer''. The film received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics and emerged as a commercial success.

Other ventures

Prithviraj Productions is an Indian film production and distribution company based in Kochi, established in 2017 by Prithviraj and his wife Supriya Menon. Since then, it has produced and distributed over 10 films.

As a producer

As a distributor

Filmography

Awards and nominations

See also

* Forca Kochi FC

References

External links

*
*
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prithviraj Sukumaran
Indian male film actors
Kerala State Film Award winners
Living people
Malayali people
Male actors from Thiruvananthapuram
Indian Hindus
Male actors in Tamil cinema
1982 births
Male actors in Malayalam cinema
Sainik School alumni
Film producers from Thiruvananthapuram
Malayalam film producers
21st-century Indian male actors
Male actors in Hindi cinema
Indian male playback singers
Singers from Thiruvananthapuram
Malayalam playback singers
Male actors in Telugu cinema
South Indian International Movie Awards winners
Kerala Film Critics Awards winners
University of Tasmania alumni
IIFA Utsavam winners