Rani Mukerji recommends Prithviraj for another project?

Before south superstar Prithviraj Sukumaran had even finished shooting for his Bollywood debut, Aiyyaa, opposite Rani Mukerji, he had bagged another plum project — Aurangzeb, to be produced by Yash Raj Film.

Before south superstar Prithviraj Sukumaran had even finished shooting for his Bollywood debut, Aiyyaa, opposite Rani Mukerji, he had bagged another plum project — Aurangzeb, to be produced by Yash Raj Film. And since Rani’s influence at YRF is no secret, the automatic question was whether it was Rani who put in a word for him. Ask Prithiviraj about it, and he doesn’t rule out the possibility. He says, “If Rani did put in a word for me, then I take it as a complement. Her recommending me for a film means that she likes my work. I did, however, have to audition for the role.”

This is the first time in his decade-long and 80-odd-film career (most of them in Malayalam) that Prithviraj had to audition for a role. He didn’t have to audition even for Aiyyaa. “It’s the first film I auditioned for in my career. I’m kicked because I’m getting Aurangazeb not for my successes down south. I am on a clean slate here. There was some back and forth with my audition tape, and week-long discussions with Adi (Aditya Chopra) before I landed the role,” he says. Talking about how the role came about, Prithviraj says, “We were shooting for a song in Aiyyaa in Yash Raj Studios. Sanu Sharma, one of YRF’s casting directors, came to meet Rani. A couple of days later, I got a call for the audition. It was a case of being at the right place at the right time.”

Due to a confidentiality clause, Prithviraj can’t reveal much about the film, but he says, “It’s not a periodical film And my role is diametrically opposite to that in Aiyyaa.”