Prithviraj is making his Bollywood debut with Aiyyaa, but that doesn’t mean he has ditched South cinema. The actor will continue acting and producing Malayalam films. He is currently shooting for a biopic on the life of JC Daniel, the father of Malayalam cinema. On the anvil is a period drama based in the 1950s, which he will be producing. Malayalam superstar Mammotty is playing the lead role, while he himself will be playing a negative role in the film. “This will be my first negative outing in Malayalam cinema. I have played a villain in Tamil films,” he informs.

The actor, who is just stepping into Bollywood is also happy with the trend of remakes and his own film Pokkiri Raja being made in Hindi. “I heard Akshay Kumar is playing my role. It’s great that films are being remade and becoming a success. It’s not about showcasing South Indian cinema but the fact that sensibilities are universal. Jab We Met and Dabangg are being remade in South. It shows that aesthetically we are more or less on the same plane,” he reckons.

And yes, he wants to remake his own Malayalam films Vargham, Anwar and Classmates in Hindi. “One movie that I really want to make and deserves to be made in Hindi as soon as possible is Ayalum Nyanum Tammilam (Between him and me.) It’s about a young disillusioned medical student who discovers himself during the course of his service in the rural areas. I have just finished shooting for it,” says Prithviraj.

About Aiyyaa in which he plays a South Indian in love with a Maharashtrian girl, he says it’s the first-of-its-kind in the cultural backdrop that it showcases. “A Bollywood love story coming out of Punjabi cliché is great,” smiles the good-looking hero.