Mumbai: Bollywood action star Akshay Kumar, who’s known to be one of the most prolific talents in Hindi cinema, heaped praises on South Indian actor Prithviraj for dedicating years of his life towards a single project with ‘The Goat Life’.
“Prithvi showed me the trailer of that film and I told him that I rarely watch films, but this is one movie that I will definitely watch. This man has worked on this film for the last two or three years, correct?” asked Akshay Kumar looking at Prithviraj for confirmation. When Prithviraj corrected him and said that he set aside 16 years of his life for ‘The Goat Life’, the look of admiration and surprise was evident on Akshay Kumar’s face.
The two were at the trailer launch of their upcoming Eid Hind-language release ‘Bade Miyan Chote Miyan’ in Mumbai on March 26. Prithviraj plays the villain in this Hindi action adventure, shot partly in Jordan and Abu Dhabi.
“Think about it: this man has worked 16 years for one film. It’s unbelievable. Frankly, I can’t even imagine working on the same film for 16 months, forget 16 years … Hats off to him,” said Akshay Kumar in Hindi with genuine admiration. He even went to the extent of saying that he was more than happy to showcase the Malayalam film’s trailer at the event, meant to showcase their joint project ‘Bade Miyan Chote Miyan’.
“Honestly, it’s one film that everyone should watch and I genuinely don’t mind showing that trailer today for you all to see. Can someone show that trailer too,” said Akshay Kumar. It’s not often that you see actors talking about other films at the trailer launch of their own, but Akshay Kumar was in a seemingly generous mood.
“I have learned a lot of acting tips from him too … It’s one of the rare film where the villain has more dialogues than the heroes,” said Akshay Kumar with a laugh. When Prithviraj looked uncomfortable at the attention, Akshay Kuar ribbed him with – “Just take the compliment".
Prithviraj’s ‘Aadujeevitham’ or ‘The Goatlife’, directed and co-produced by Blessy, is the actor’s most audaciously ambitious films of his career. Based on a true-life incident, Prithviraj plays Najeeb in this survival drama. It’s a searing tale of a Malayali immigrant labourer who works in a secluded farm in the Middle East shepherding the goats.
The actor was cast in 2008 and the movie took more than a decade to reach the finish line. The crew famously got stuck in Jordan, where they shot the movie, during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. The movie also stars Amala Paul as Sainu, Najeeb’s wife. Prithviraj also underwent an intense physical transformation for this role. The movie is scheduled to release in the UAE on March 28.
