Mohanlal, Prithviraj on Empuraan: ‘This movie is not all just glitz and snazzy shots’

Prithviraj was asked a couple of decades ago that if he ever becomes a director, whom he’d like to cast. He named Mohanlal and Manju Warrier. And that turned out to be the case in his 2019 directorial debut Lucifer, and now in its sequel, L2: Empuraan. Mohanlal, did you see the director in Prithviraj before he realised it himself?

Mohanlal: Definitely. We knew he’s going to be a big director. His interest in films is like that. Directing an action sequence is a complicated thing. The kind of passion and story sense he was showing… it wasn’t a prediction or something, but we were sure that he could manage and bring out good films.

Prithviraj, you said that you don’t write keeping the star in mind. But subconsciously, did you ever have an eye on Mohanlal while developing your films?

Prithviraj: Lucifer is written by Murali Gopy. As far as this franchise is concerned, it was presented to me as an idea that can be done with Mohanlal. My writer is also an actor. So we were acting together in a film when he said, “There’s an idea I’d like to do with Mohanlal. So I said, “What is it?” And he told me the idea and we just actually started talking about it. I started giving him suggestions. After a few days, I just popped the question, “Who’s going to be directing it?” And he just said, “You direct it.” And I hadn’t directed anything till then. I thought it was a casual conversation, so I said, “Yeah yeah, I’ll direct it.” I thought Mohanlal would dismiss it as the whims of a young actor. 24 hours later, we’d made the announcement and the project was on. That’s how I became a director.

But weren’t you planning to direct earlier, before you put that on hold to act in Mani Ratnam’s Ravanan (2010)?

Prithviraj: Ya, just before Mani Ratnam sir offered me that role in Ravanan, I’d agreed to direct a film called City of Gold in Malayalam. Then it went on to become a Lijo Jose Pellissery directorial. So ya, I always wanted to be a director. But I didn’t think I’d be directing this big-ticket, commercial film. Now that I have, I think this is what I like doing.

Did you have to say no to acting offers when you finally leaped into direction with Lucifer?

Prithviraj: I had to. Even more than Lucifer, during Empuraan, I had to say no to a lot of films, especially from other languages. Like some really big films that came my way. But that’s okay. It’s a given when you’re directing a film, you’ll have to set aside that kind of time for it. I was always aware that this is what it entails.

Mohanlal: He’s worked on Empuraan for more than two years. So we know what all films he’s refused.

Any films you regret turning down?

Prithviraj: There are. But now that someone else has done it, it’s not fair to be saying it.

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Mohanlal, you also turned to direction with Barroz last year. Did you also have to ask the actor in you to take a backseat so that the director could take charge?

Mohanlal: No, my directorial debut is a totally different film. It’s a 3D film, and is more of an experiment. I think we’ve done it brilliantly. After 40 years, somebody from the Malayalam film industry made a 3D film. The first 3D film (in India) was from Malayalam only. We have so many firsts from the industry — the first cinemascope, first 3D film, and now, the first IMAX film. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to be directing films now. It’s an entirely different thing. I do experiments like that in acting also, like I sometimes do theatre. If you ask me to direct Empuraan, I’d say no. Because it’s not my cup of tea. It’s an unbelievable task. You have to do a lot of homework. I’ve seen the amount of pressure on Prithvi, but he’s been so effortless. Pressure and effortlessness, we call that mixture devasuran, deva (God) and asuran (evil).

Prithviraj, do you also think Monanlal can’t direct Empuraan?

Anyone can direct Empuraan. I truly believe whoever puts in the effort and understands what it entails, any filmmaker can make Empuraan. I don’t claim anything special.

You’re being too modest. I remember you saying that when you narrated Empuraan to Mohanlal, he was very assured while you were second guessing yourself. Why?

Prithviraj: Ya, because this has never been attempted in our industry. The scale, the size, the canvas. Even halfway into writing, I was thinking this is probably not going to get made. I realised I’d probably thrown the pebble too far. I was thinking we’d gone way above what could be possible. Unfortunately, in my mind, I was stuck in that and I was not able to pull it back and make it smaller. So I just went ahead with it. Even while narrating, I thought he’s going to say, “Probably this is a bit too much.” But he was the one who said, “We’re going to go all out.”

Mohanlal: See, I’ve shot a couple of films in the US, but concentrated in one place. But this film, it starts from Santa Fe, then there’s Morgan City, then New York, then Arizona. It was a big travel. But he was very particular that he wants to shoot there. That’s the confidence he had on the script.

Prithviraj: And then to be carrying a crew of 100. Going to all these places to shoot one after the other, it’s unheard of in Malayalam cinema (laughs).

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You’ve been a part of similar tentpoles in other languages like, Prashanth Neel’s Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire (2023) and Ali Abbas Zafar’s Bade Miyan Chote Miyan (2024). Did those experiences help in mounting Empuraan to this level?

Prithviraj: Empuraan was conceived way before all these. Even when we conceived the trilogy in 2015-16, I knew that part 2 would be very big. And I know that part 3 will actually be BIG. But having said that, working with filmmakers like Prashanth and Ali, I’m sure I’ve learnt a ton of things. If you ask me what I’ve learnt, I may not be able to tell you. But I’m sure I have. But at a subconscious level, I’m sure I’m relying on all that knowledge to pull off all of this. On every film as an actor, I’m subconsciously picking up lessons as a filmmaker.

Mohanlal: It also depends on what to do, what not to do. In such a big film, if you make even a small error, it’ll reflect on the screen and the project will get affected. So what not to do is also a big challenge.

Speaking of that, I remember you couldn’t get permission to shoot in Dubai for the Lucifer climax. Given the scale is now amplified, did you face any similar hurdles while making Empuraan?

Prithviraj: There were a ton of hurdles, especially with locations. I’m a believer of shooting everything in real, as much as possible, and as little as possible in CGI. In the film, there was a big sequence which happens in a particular landscape in Iraq. So we actually travelled to multiple locations to see if something could pass off as that. I found one right outside of Athens in Greece. But unfortunately, I also wanted to pull off live explosions. None of these places allowed us to do that. They said, “If you have to shoot here, the explosion will have to be CGI.” So then I did the whole recce, finally came back, and told my producer, “I’m sorry, but I’ll have to put up a set of Iraq (laughs).”

I read that during the early years of working relationship, every time Prithviraj would ask Mohanlal for an exact same take, he’d do a completely different one.

Prithviraj: He still does that.

But how did you work around that?

Prithviraj: No, with Mohanlal sir, that’s what you should be looking forward to. He surprises you. In the sense, he’ll come and ask you for a brief. He’ll listen to you very carefully. Then he’ll go in front of the camera and do something completely unexpected. So be prepared to be caught out, I’m telling this to all filmmakers who haven’t worked with Mohanlal. But that’s the magic of it. Which is why I think he’s Mohanlal.

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Mohanlal, you said Prithviraj is the one of the best directors in India. Since you’ve worked with dozens of them, what do you think makes him stand out?

Mohanlal: Each film has its own unique approach. There’s a grammar. The way he handled Empuraan, somebody else may do it differently, but he knows what the film demands. That’s very important. As an actor, if I have a confusion, if I ask the director, he should reply. That’s the confidence, the commanding power of the director. So I’m not pinpointing at any other director, but some people cannot do it. “What’s the purpose of this shot? Why have you put this lens?” As an actor, I have the right to ask. If the director can answer it, it leads to a beautiful understanding. Not only with me, but Prithvi has got it with all his actors. He treats each actor as his lead actor. And that shows. He wanted to put up an Iraq set in Chennai, that’s not possible. But he made it possible. But nobody would think while watching it’s in Chennai. That kind of detailing and precision have gone into the film.

Did you ever see Prithviraj lose his cool on set?

Mohanlal: He demands so many things. We promised him, and if we can’t fulfil that promise, definitely he’ll get (demanding). It’s more of a commitment. He’s got all the right to ask. It’s not for him, it’s for the movie. Definitely, there was the (harsh) climate. He can’t be passive and jolly when certain scenes are shot. It’s for the betterment of the film. He looks like paavam (helpless), but he’s definitely not paavam (laughs).

Malayalam cinema has always controlled its budgets. So even if they go all out, I don’t think the money would only serve the purpose of exhibitionism. Do you also feel that?

Prithviraj: I understand that after having watched the teaser and trailer, most people would be talking about the scale, the visuals, and the technicality. But make no mistake, it’s a content-driven film. It has really layered, coherent narrative driving the film. Without that, we’d have never attempted something like this. This is not all just glitz and snazzy shots. I jokingly always tell my producer that we’ll put out the film in theatres and make the audience guess the budget. And I’ll tell you, the guess will always be more than the actual budget.

You’ve said that directing great actors like Mohanlal and Manju Warrier has made you a better actor too. What have you learnt from directing them?

Prithviraj: The biggest takeaway from working with Mohanlal sir and Manju is how I should be with my director when I’m acting, how much they surrender to the vision, how much they surrender to the written word. It’s just an absolute joy to direct both of them. I don’t really want to cut away to wide shots. I just want to be very close on their faces. This famous cinematographer said, “There’s no visual more powerful in cinema than the performance of an actor captured in a close-up.” So it’s just such a joy to have actors like Mohanlal sir and Manju give you that consistently through your films.