He drinks his beer with pints of water, writes a sincere poem for his lover over a Rs 20 note and sneaks in some face cream when no one’s looking. In Blue Star’s world of scorching suns, incessant cricket matches and stories of resilience against oppression, Prithvi Rajan’s Sam brings in a sense of lightness to the film and has become somewhat of an overnight sensation. Prithvi, who is the son of Tamil actor and director Pandiarajan, plays Sam, the hot-headed younger brother of Ashok Selvan’s Ranjith in S Jayakumar’s sports drama co-starring Shanthnu and Keerthi Pandian.
“Everyone is calling me Sam. In fact, a lot of them are not aware that my name is Prithvi. A few of them are coming up to me, asking me my real name,” the actor laughs. The win hits different for the actor, who has been waiting for a break in the film industry ever since his debut in 2006. “The wait seems worth it.”
Excerpts from an interview.
How did you get involved with the film?
Shanthnu and I get together to play cricket matches every weekend. During one such match in 2022, Shanthnu asked for my latest pictures and told me there was a film about cricket being produced by Pa Ranjith sir. I met the director and he liked me very much. But he wanted me to lose weight because I play Ashok's younger brother. I lost around 12kg for the role.
How did your professional cricketing experience help with the role?
It helped only to an extent because, in real life, I am a keeper-batsman. But in the film, I am a fast bowler who occasionally bats. I've never bowled in my life before as I’m not too good at it. So, I worked on the run-up and the action. The director gave me a lot of references including Malinga. But every time I tried bowling like him, it just made my ball fly to the neighbouring pitch (laughs).
We were all so tired at one point because it would take us around 11 pm to go to the hotel. And we'd have to wake up by 4 in the morning again and travel for another 1.5 hours to the set. So, we didn't have any time to sleep. So, one day I just slept off on the ground on top of my pad. Filming was such a fun experience. The three of us would get together and keep talking. It felt like we were back at the hostel.
Like Ashok Selvan’s character is based on Jayakumar’s elder brother, yours is based on Jayakumar himself. What was your brief for the role? Is the poetry inspired from real life?
Most of what shapes Sam is what the director has experienced in life. He used to write a lot of poetry when he was young. And co-writer Tamil Prabha and he worked on this together. The brief for Sam was "indha paiyan edha pathiyum yosikamaatan". He gets angry quickly and is always on his toes but affectionate too. But just like in another house with siblings, Sam and Ranjith don't express their love for each other. They might keep fighting, but they are always there for each other.
Another main reference they gave for Sam was my dad's character in Aan Paavam (1985) to get that essence. Because there is a paati character and a pair of siblings in that film too.
In a film about cricket and camaraderie, Sam brings in a sense of ease to Blue Star. What made him work among audiences?
The writing was so strong for all the characters in the film. That's why this worked. The one thing I loved about Sam is that he's serious throughout the film. Whether he is measuring and mixing water with beer or reciting poems so deeply, he is doing that with conviction even if the audience is finding that funny. I found that very interesting because a lot of films have comedy tracks. According to him, the beer bottle always needs to be full (laughs).
Having played league cricket, how different was it for you to play the sport in the film with cork balls and slippers?
The kids in Arakkonam play with one pad, cork ball and slippers, which is very difficult because it has no grip. This was new to us. There are so many issues involving the cricket ground happening everywhere. Someone from Padi reached out to Shanthnu saying that the film reminded them of their cricket ground and issues. So many find even practising cricket difficult because of a few other people in the area. Blue Star acts as that pat on the back for young people. The core of the film is that “namba oru naal jeyichiduvom (we’ll win one day)”
Having waited for such a moment in the industry for the past few years, could you relate to this line about winning?
Being an actor I definitely felt this feeling too. The content does sync with my life. Not just for me, but even for Shanthnu. He was struggling to get a break, and when both of us felt this victory, it was special. I was happy for my dad more than myself because he had been waiting for this moment for such a long time. He was a bit nervous to watch the first show. But once we knew the audiences were accepting the film, he saw it in the evening, along with Bhagyaraj sir.
You’ve had a long gap between your last starring role in 2019 and Blue Star. What was your thought process like at the time?
There was a lot of unlearning happening and I didn't want to repeat the same mistakes. And I knew being patient meant that I'd eventually get a good role. It doesn't mean that I was at home doing nothing. I was meeting directors and listening to stories. But this happened at the right moment and with the right people. The gap was tough, but it feels worth it because I have gotten this reception after so many years.