Monday 28 January 2013

The Prithviraj versus Mohanlal Debate


When I first saw Prithviraj on the sets of Nandanam, I was completely bowled over by his personality- a combination of good looks and the individuality that radiated from his persona. It was something amiss in Malayalam cinema.

And then I heard all these squabbles over Prithviraj versus Mohan Lal. Mohan Lal has a very strong place in my heart, on account of the calibre of characters that he has delivered over a span of several years. I do think it is baseless to ‘compare’ these 2 personalities. It would be more mature on our part to give Prithvi his due merit and give him constructive criticism on his performance.

However, such a squabble did set me thinking on these 2 personalities and the differences in them. I watched Prithvi’s interview shortly after his marriage and was impressed by the clarity of his thoughts and the ease/courage with which he put across his thoughts. The conservative malayalee will brand his individuality as ‘attitude’ or ‘arrogance’.

But then I ask myself- I love him as an individual…do I love him as an actor?

Nandanam was a masterpiece by Ranjith. And the truth is that I was too much in love with the movie to contemplate on Prithvi’s proficiency as an actor. As subsequent movies unfolded, I found his acting skills very average. In fact, there are a good many young actors in some Malayalam serials who outdo his performance any day- I always wonder why they don’t make it to movies. Prithvi is good at roles that match his personality. But that is not what defines an actor. An actor is one who can effortlessly shed his own personality and get into the soul and spirit of the character in the movie…who can become one with the character. It is in this regard that Mohan Lal and Prithvi differ. Lal is the product of a different era- he is the sum total of years of grooming and moulding by harsher circumstances, greater struggle and ingenious mentors. Also, Lal’s personality differs- he doesn’t lash out like Prithvi does. He ‘contains’ his emotions. It is these contained emotions which define an artist for they remain a part of his subconscious and are liberated in the artist’s art. Prithvi dissipates all this emotions by reacting aggressively to every situation. To be a fine actor, one must have allowed oneself to experience the range and depth of emotions that one wants to portray on screen. One must have in one’s mind the silence and solitude to allow these emotions to attain depth…to allow them to mature. Prithvi lacks this silence and solitude of mind that is vital in shaping an actor. I think he would make a brilliant journalist.

When we think of Lal, all his characters come to our minds. There is very little we know about the individual- Mohan Lal. We know him and remember him as the sum total of all the characters he has brilliantly enacted; Lal is that raw. On the other hand, when we think of Prithvi, it is his own personality that comes to our minds- the individual ‘Prithviraj’, whose personality has spilled into all his characters. This is the primary difference between these two personalities that I love in entirely different ways.

It is true that Lal and Mammootty bring down their image when they play characters much younger, but as Lal himself has put it-‘I am what the film makers make of me. Lal is not one person…he is the work output of numerous people who have stood backstage and gone into his making.’ I think the entire film industry needs a serious revision and redefining of standards. I can only wish that someone would somehow turn the key and we could go back to the golden era of the 90s when movies set our standards for life.

9 comments:

  1. Atleast our directors and producers dont think Prithviraj has average acting skills otherwise he wouldnt continue to be favorite among top directors like Lal Jose and Ranjith. And with very average acting skills, it wouldnt be easy for him to get Projects outside kerala like Mozhi( with Jyothika and Prakash Raj) , Raavanan( with Maniratnam) , Aurangzeb( with Yashraj) and Happy New Year ( with ShahRukh Khan)

    But agreed Mohanlal is definitely a better actor , for that matter perhaps the best Kerala has ever produced.

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  2. 'Average' is a relative term. It depends on the population of reference. I literally grew up with Malayalam movies. So my reference base is that population of actors- not just Mohan Lal, but anybody and everybody of that era- Mammootty, Sreenivasan, Jayaram, Thilakan, Oduvil Unnikrishnan, Nedumudi Venu, Murali, Jagathi...the list is endless. Exposure to that calibre of acting naturally raises our expectations and we tend to expect a lot more out of Prithvi- since we are considering him in the backdrop of malayalam artists of the past. It is in this regard that I label him as average because he does not share their range of versatility.
    Secondly, your mention of directors rating him as topmost. There are 2 reasons for this. One, movies today are targeted on commercial success and are hence formula-based. 'What would lure the masses?' goes behind the making of a movie, much more than the passion for making a film. And Prithvi is no doubt the perfect formula for the commercial success of a film. His good looks, his boyish charm, the richness of his voice and the modulations of his tone, the powerful delivery of his dialogues, the intellectual air he carries about him- these would easily appeal to the masses. And yet, this is not what defines an actor.
    There is a second reason. Prithvi easily passes for an elite cosmopolitan malayalee youth (for which role I can think of none else). This was his character in Nandanam, where he had to essentially enact himself. Navya's character was the tough one, and the soul of the movie. Directors are wise in that they give him roles where he can be himself. And this he does with perfection and grace.
    Movies today lack depth in their characters. And thus, it is hard to rate talent based on the commercial success of these movies. I quite doubt if Prithvi would have come anywhere close to actors of that era in enacting characters such as the ones in kireedam, Bharatham, Mukundetta Sumithra Villikkunnu, Thazhvaram, Golanthara vartha, Moonam pakkam, Valayam, Sargam, Chakoram....the list is again endless.
    I remember Prithvi mentioning in his interview that Lal never once congratulated him for any of his performances. I felt sorry, but then how could he? From the standards of our glorious past, it is a little difficult to think of his performances as anything but average...atleast at this point in time. All the same, my best wishes to him for his evolution as a true actor!

    I must emphasize that this is purely my perspective. I completely respect your sentiments on the issue.

    Cheers!

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  3. Thats fine. We have completely different perspectives in this case. So lets agree to disagree :)

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  4. And I certainly wish for Prithvi to prove me wrong :) See you around....keep writing...it is good to read you.

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  5. This morning i got up early by chance and since some time was left to go to my office , i strted watching mohanlals "pavithram"..Then this doubt raised in my mind...would prithviraj be able to deliver a performance such as lal did in this movie...then i happened to see this blog which cleared my doubt entirely...what you said is entirely true.....

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    Replies
    1. Thanks a ton for the note, reju....I strongly believe that 'Prithviraj' is a passing phase in the industry....but Mohanlal and the rest from that era transcend time....

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  6. thats so much for debates :P

    even Sachin has to retire...already people are talking about Kohlies and Dhawans though they wont last half the years Sachin did in international cricket!!

    life is like that... everyone gets his/her due credit :)
    did i give my best when i was called, maybe thats the only question i need to ask...
    oops...
    stopping here after a long gap...and a debate

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  7. enjoy the festive season ahead..
    may you have a grace-filled Christmas and Happy New Year

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  8. Thank you and wish you the same, deep! Btw, I have moved on to www.vchathoth@wordpress.com. Please do drop by :)

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