The Inherent difficulty of being Prithviraj Sukumaran

Let's consider a person, who is not allowed to have a character arc in his personal life unlike his filmic avatars, always expected to stay true to his opinions and ideas from the past, till eternity, in an age where people learn, amend and better themselves each day as human beings. The man who is audited specifically unlike any other person in malayali cultural life for things said and even his occassional silences.

A bona fide superstar who pretty much does his own thing in varying capacities from acting, mounting, directing, producing and presenting his films but still gets relegated into being nothing more than a tactful businessman in a leading man's body, when his contemporaries act in films for world peace and charity with no business motive in their hearts and only their love for cinema! This guy sure needs to be called out for carrying monetary ambitions at heart for the work he decides to attach his name to like all actors worth their reputation should, duh! 

When most actors keep mum on critical social issues and don't choose to speak out even if forced on gun point, he spoke out on numerous occasions and got the bashing he deserves for being unlike others and speaking out his mind, often labelled names and trolled excessively.

When half-baked experiments like Nine, Kuruthi, Theerppu and many others drew some criticism and flake for its formal, cinematic and political contrivances, these attempts never for once, lacked genuine conviction and daring ambition, from its leading star and sometimes originator. Even the weird, low key duds felt like glorious failures from an artist who is always aspiring to push the limits of mainstream storytelling.

In the age where even mediocre performances and actors have been hyped up beyond any semblance of nuance, here we have an actor and star whose performances are being wilfully dissected, compared to and mocked at for not adhering to the popular idea of internalised subtlety, an clearly different ball game for a performer known for his loud, charismatic screen parts, a direct result of the his largely unconventional film choices. 

There are many reddit thread worthy breakdowns of the short comings in his recent performances that come across more as cheap potshots from a section of the audience who finds him irritable on screen for a variety of reasons. Anyhow, lets just take a moment to appreciate the guy who can underplay the vulnerabilities and insecurities of a traumatized, battered Joshua from Koode, the fragility and toxicity of the unkempt army man Koshi Kurien in Ayyapanum Koshiyum to the slightly over the top, broad strokes interpretation of a wronged vigilante Aravind Swaminathan in Jana Gana Mana, recently.

Let him be and do his own thing and work out his standing in relation to the ever evolving world of malayalam cinema, on the sidelines without being judged constantly and having to double guess himself at each turn. Just chill out and give the guy a break and let him go see Lalettan or whomever he wishes to meet and take our films to the next possible level as an actor, ambitious filmmaker and tireless lover of the medium. 

Happy B'day P!