Prithviraj Sukumaran: Self-doubt never leaves you

“Self-doubt never leaves you. The basic thing about being an artist is that you question yourself. The day you start thinking, that's it, I'm now fantastic, there's nothing more to be improved upon. It's the day you hang your boots and walk away from this,” Prithiviraj told IANS.

New Delhi: With a career spanning over two decades and 100 plus films to his credit, Prithviraj Sukumaran has been feted with several honours, including a National Film Award and four Kerala State Film Awards among many others. Yet, for the actor-filmmaker, the essence of being an artist lies in constant self-questioning.

“Self-doubt never leaves you. The basic thing about being an artist is that you question yourself. The day you start thinking, that’s it, I’m now fantastic, there’s nothing more to be improved upon. It’s the day you hang your boots and walk away from this,” Prithiviraj told IANS.

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“Self-doubt never leaves you. And every actor will tell you this. Every actor, the good ones at least, will definitely tell you this,” he added.

The 42-year-old star, who is gearing up for the release of his upcoming action thriller L2: Empuraan starring Mohanlal, said that he has seen the Malayalam superstar becoming nervous.

“I can see Mohanlal sir becoming nervous. I’ve had the privilege of acting with Mohanlal sir as a co-actor. I remember a scene where he comes and says, this is okay, you tell me, this is okay. And I was blown away that he’s doubting it. And that is the process.”

“These legends, they’re still constantly doubting themselves. Like Mammootty sir and Mohanlal sir, they’ve nothing to prove now. If they stop what they’re doing today, they’ll still go down in history as two of the greatest actors the world has ever seen.”

He added: “But even today, they come on location, and they read a scene, and sometimes they’re tense, they’re worried. So self-doubt never leaves you, it should never leave you.”

“L2: Empuraan”, also called L2E, is an action thriller. It is the second instalment in a planned trilogy, following the 2019 film Lucifer. The film was jointly produced by Lyca Productions and Aashirvad Cinemas. The film is set to release on March 27.

It also stars Prithviraj, Indrajith Sukumaran, Tovino Thomas, Manju Warrier, Saniya Iyappan, Saikumar, Baiju Santhosh, Fazil and Sachin Khedekar reprising their roles from the original.