Lucifer: A trailblazer from the Malayalam film industry

Lucifer marks the directorial debut of one of Malayalam cinema's most successful young heroes, Prithviraj.

In an industry that churns out on average a couple of movies per Friday, with only a handful among them able to lay claim to even a single USP (Unique Selling Proposition) to help drum up interest ahead of their release, it is a rarity to come across a movie like Lucifer, that boasts several USPs.
For starters, Lucifer marks the directorial debut of one of Malayalam cinema's most successful young heroes, Prithviraj, who at the time of going to print, we learn, will also make an appearance in this movie. As if that wasn't enough reason to grab eyeballs, Lucifer also stars legendary actor Mohanlal in the lead. With a script by the critically acclaimed Murali Gopy and starring powerhouse talent Manju Warrier alongside one of Malayalam cinema's current heartthrobs, Tovino Thomas, Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi and Indrajith, Lucifer has been in the spotlight ever since the project was announced in 2016.

So naturally the burning question is: What role does Lucifer play in God's Own Country, as Kerala is popularly referred to? "That's the biggest question of Lucifer," admits Mohanlal, who plays the central character of Stephen Nedumpally in the movie, when City Times caught up with the actor alongside the rest of the cast and crew during their recent visit to Dubai.

"When you watch the movie, you will get all your answers," the veteran actor explains while giving away nothing about the plot. 

All we know so far is that Lucifer (out in UAE theatres on March 28) deals with the power struggles within a political party when the leader passes away and the mayhem that ensues (Prithviraj is averse to tagging it a 'political film).

Keeping a secret
At a time when social media ensures there is no fourth wall literally when it comes to a movie and often the entire plot is out there for mass consumption even before the project hits the theatres, it is admirable that the Lucifer team have been able to keep the plot close to their chest despite indulging in a virtual promotional blitzkrieg.
"Keeping the script confidential is not the most difficult part," Prithviraj states.

"There are these parallel channels; these online platforms and click baits and fan pages, who want to put forth their idea of what the film is. So the difficult part is to make sure your communication remains honest, undiluted, and undistorted right through to the release of the film. In that sense I think we have been reasonably successful given the fact that this is such a high profile film; given the fact that from the day of announcing the film back in 2016, there's been such consistent interest in every development regarding the film."

Scriptwriter Murali Gopy confesses to being a traditionalist when it comes to marketing a movie; he'd rather remain silent "nor would I want my actors to speak about the film." To his credit he is also fully aware that, "star cast doesn't guarantee the success of a movie. You can always ensure a decent initial with a star cast and hype but beyond that it is actually content that should talk."

Facing social media trolls
With his recent experience with Odiyan (the period movie was mercilessly trolled online forcing the director to make a plea for the general public to watch the movie before passing judgment) Mohanlal might be expected to be bitter, but the actor is surprisingly equanimous. "When you start respecting a performance, be it a musical concert or theatre. you should respect that medium. When you lose that respect such kind of activity (trolling) happens," he tells us.

"Before watching a play or a film, how can you criticise? When a person loses respect for art or another person, I won't call it a curse, it is a degenerating process. So when you make a comment, think, that's all I can say."
Mohanlal himself is quite active on social media with his posts revealing his humorous side. So how much of it comes naturally and how much is it the demands of his profession.

"I never try to force myself. I write blogs, these are very simple things based on my perception, or what I want to see. I can't say what I write and read doesn't affect me.. When people start accusing me for nothing then I feel sad.

"But you should be there on social media; when you have such kind of platforms where you can share, why should you lose it? I personally love that humorous, light part of it. I am not against it or into it." Spoken like a true diplomat!

An electric combo
Having acted together in many movies, their recent outing being in Odiyan and the forthcoming Kunjali Marakkar, Mohanlal and Manju Warrier no doubt share a great equation. "Being a part of Lalettan's movies is always an honour as far as any artist is concerned," the actress avers. The same query when directed to Lal elicits a tongue-in-cheek response from the veteran star.

"I didn't share anything with her. that nothingness is the beauty of acting. But definitely she is a brilliant actress so I should be very careful while performing with her!"

"When the film is out it is the character, Stephen Nedumpally, not Mohanlal, who is out there. The strength of the character elevates the actor so it is a blessing," he continues.

Manju, who asserts she has always been a "director's actor" adds; "I have been blessed to be able to do strong characters. whatever character I have played, even if it is a cameo or an extended cameo, it has always left its mark in the movie. Priyadarshini in Lucifer is one of the strongest characters I have ever played in my career. I hope the blessing continues."

Big budget movies
The Malayalam industry, known for putting out slice-of-life movies, has of late been bringing out big budget movies like Kayamkulam Kochunni, Odiyan, etc. "We are trying to capture a bigger market, that is why we are producing movies like Kunjali Marakkar," explains Mohanlal.

"We have the potential and only through good films can we capture that. We can dub it in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi. We have even sold some of the rights to China, so the market is so huge and only with big films can we capture that. It is an attempt - and with brilliant directors like Prithviraj we can achieve it!

Model-turned actor Tovino Thomas who has captured the hearts of Malayali fans with his turn in films like Ennu Ninte Moideen, Mayaanadhi, Ente Ummante Peru seems to be happy to share the platform with this exalted company. While he is chuffed to be part of such a high profile film, Tovino states a huge draw was also the fact that he had a meaty role to play. "The people who watch this movie may not be my audience. I have a particular set of audiences and that is a small part of this huge audience. So I want to be seen in a movie which reaches more people and that will help my career."

As to whether the success of this movie will determine his future course as a director, Prithviraj is quite clear, "The success of Lucifer is not going to be the reason for me wanting to do another film, but I am definitely aware of the fact that, that is going to be the biggest reason for people wanting me to do that (another film)."

The actor-producer-director is also keen to distance himself from his mother's recent statement that he is fulfilling his father (late actor Sukumaran's) dream by turning director. "I think what should be understood from what my mom said is that what my father always wanted to do and couldn't, I am doing, so I guess it is like a cycle of fate."

"This is my own journey. This is something I've always wanted to do and I'm lucky that I'm able to do it in such a high-profile manner with a film that so many people are looking forward to, at a time and age when most people would think that I'm still young and have a whole career ahead of me."

Lucifer was a very effortless film: Prithviraj
When a successful actor like Prithviraj, known to shine in whatever roles he takes on, be it as the amnesia-struck cop forced to confront his true nature in Mumbai Police or the melancholic brother trying to come to terms with his sister's death in Koode, announces his directorial debut, it is bound to attract attention. After all it isn't common for a successful actor to go behind the cameras when he is still a leading actor who can draw crowds to the theatres. As an actor and a producer, Prithviraj is known to give off a 'no-nonsense' vibe. So how much of a 'control freak' was he on the sets of Lucifer?

"I actually don't know how much of a control freak I am because if ever I had an OCD regarding control, I never had to exercise that on the sets of Lucifer because everybody was on the same page and that has been a huge blessing for me," Prithviraj says. "I really don't remember having to sit across a table and having to convince someone about why I wanted something in a particular way. I don't remember an instance where I saw something in one fashion and an actor or a co-technician saw it in another fashion, which I think is a huge blessing. "I made sure that we were all on the same page before the shoot started so frankly in terms of shooting, Lucifer was a very effortless film. Although it has big sequences and multiple locations, the actual process of making it seemed effortless to me. I just hope if ever I get an opportunity to make another film, I'm able to repeat that."
The cast weighs in on the newbie director: 
Tovino: I have never seen actor Prithviraj on the sets. I used to call him 'Sir'. I've never called him Rajuetta on the sets because he was directing the film as if he had been directing films for a long time. He was very precise; we didn't have to say the same dialogues from two different angles.
Manju: His conviction made our job very easy, as he exactly knew what he wanted.  From his narration it was very easy for us to deliver. We just needed to try to deliver to his expectations - that is all I tried to do and that was all I was supposed to do as well.
Mohanlal: He was controlling everything without the knowledge of anyone on the sets! That's a skill. He would make everybody comfortable but he was controlling everybody. That is leadership.

Politics is not my cup of tea: Mohanlal
Would Mohanlal ever turn director? "Maybe. May not be. It's again a process, if you want to give that kind of impact to the audience, you have to prepare, so it is not an easy task. It is very big process so I am not saying no, but I'm not saying yes."

So is he more likely to enter politics then? The actor demurs. "Politics? It's an amazing field, but it's not my cup of tea."  Prithviraj interjects at this stage, "Personally I would really love to see a film that he makes."
ambica@khaleejtimes.com

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