'Varanasi' star Prithviraj Sukumaran opens up on playing Kumbha: 'The wheelchair is an extension of his personality'

SS Rajamouli's much-awaited magnum opus, 'Varanasi,' features Mahesh Babu, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, and Prithviraj Sukumaran in central roles. Prithviraj Sukumaran recently opened up on his role in the film as Kumbha, the paralyzed antagonist. The actor also praised the director, SS Rajamouli's filmmaking.Speaking about his role with Collider, Prithviraj Sukumaran opened up on playing Kumbha who is a wheelchair bound villain. Playing the character of Kumbha was an incredibly demanding experience for Prithviraj Sukumaran. Because the character is confined to a wheelchair, the actor had no freedom of physical movement to convey emotion. Instead, he had to channel everything, his fear, rage, and inner strength—entirely through his facial expressions and eyes. Rather than relying on CGI to simulate his condition, the production used practical methods, forcing Prithviraj to deliver a performance that felt raw and authentic. Despite his physical limitations, Kumbha is depicted as having a "dangerous and wide" intellect, making him a deeply intense and terrifying antagonist whose power lies in his mind rather than his movement.He said, "To make sure that I don't involuntarily move my hands and legs, my hands and legs are kept, not tight, but sort of locked in place by a mechanism where I can truly then be sure that. Okay, whatever I do, I'm not going to be moving my hands or legs,” which then also means that in case a fly comes around my nose...""So, I'm in the wheelchair, and there is a lot more to it than what you would think from that one picture you saw. Because of who he is and because of the mind that this character has, the wheelchair, in a way, is an extension of his personality. The wheelchair, in a way, is an extension of how his mind works, and he's a dangerous man. He's a very dangerous man who's just physically incapacitated. His mind works in very, very unpredictable, dangerous ways. The wheelchair is set up in a way where it almost connects directly to his thoughts, you know? So, I'm not going to elaborate further. The wheelchair is not just a prop. It is very much an extension of who Kumbha is," Prithviraj Sukumaran continued.Prithviraj Sukumaran also shared an insight on collaborating with SS Rajamouli, praising the director for his straightforward and honest approach. He noted that Rajamouli avoids unnecessary melodrama or "filler" scenes, choosing instead to focus on the fundamental pillars of clean storytelling. According to Prithviraj, even though the film boasts massive scale and grand visuals, the core filmmaking remains grounded and simple, a style he described as "classical filmmaking done right."In the same interview, Prithviraj Sukumaran noted, "One thing I've noticed with Rajamouli Sir is that for all the grand visuals and the sheer scale and imagination that his films carry, I've realized that, as far as possible, he sticks to the most simple basics for his filmmaking. I've seldom seen him setting up a gimmick shot. In fact, never. I've never seen him attempt a gimmick with the camera or an unnecessarily complicated track movement. Nothing. For him, it's about the basics. It's about classical filmmaking done right. Now, when I say classical filmmaking done right, it might seem easy, but that's the tougher thing to do. There's no escape mechanism there. When you're sticking to that language of making a film, you really can't have an escape mechanism for a shot that you're not able to capture at a moment that you're not able to get. You will have to just keep at it until you get it, and that he does. That he does. He will go on until he gets what he wants."'Varanasi' is slated for a release on April 7, 2027.