Salaar - Prashanth Neel reveals why he picked Prithviraj over a Bollywood star for Prabhas-starrer

Filmmaker Prashanth Neel turns out to be a big fan of Malayalam star Prithviraj Sukumaran and he can't help but heap praises on the actor for his contribution to expanding the scale and scope of the upcoming movie Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire. 

While Telugu superstar Prabhas plays the lead, Prashanth highlighted the importance of Prithviraj's character in exploring the major themes of friendship and enmity in Salaar. And the director of KGF fame revealed that it was not an easy role to cast. 

"We needed an actor more than a star. We need a phenomenal actor for Vardharaja Mannar. To show friends turning into enemies, we wanted someone who could translate that love and hatred. For a long period, we were thinking about whom should we cast in this role. There were suggestions to bring someone from the Hindi film fraternity. (But) I wanted Prithviraj for it," Prashanth told Galatta Plus. 

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Considering Prithviraj's stardom in the Malayalam film industry, Prashanth had nagging suspicions about convincing him to take up a supporting role. "He's not playing second fiddle in this film but at the same time...in many of the scenes, the hero Deva (Prabhas) is doing everything," Prashanth clarified. 

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However, Prashanth was surprised by the way Prithviraj responded to Salaar. It seems that the director in Prithviraj fell in love with the narration and Prashanth faced no difficulty in convincing him to be part of the film. However, Prithviraj's contribution to Salaar extends beyond his role as an actor. "He (Prithviraj) is one of the biggest reasons apart from Prabhas sir that I am confident of the movie today. Not just because of his screen presence and acting. But, he was the most perfect assistant director. The kind of suggestions he made from a creative point (of view) were absolutely brilliant. I can't thank him enough for doing Salaar. Salaar is about Prabhas and Prithviraj. And Salaar cannot be without Prithviraj. I have come to that conclusion after watching the movie," the director added. 

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Salaar is due in cinemas on December 22.