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.”