Old is gold for Prithviraj!

Actor Prithviraj made his debut in Bollywood playing eye-candy in Aiyya, but the South star seems to have no qualms in going from being a hunk onscreen to essaying the role of a 77-year-old filmmaker in his new film.

The actor, who has recently completed a long schedule of his second Bollywood film Aurangzeb here is juggling his Bollywood fare with his films in the South. Post Aurangzeb, the actor is back to shooting for his new film there which is said to be based on the life of Malayalam cinema’s first filmmaker JC Daniel.

A source informs that set in 1920 and directed by veteran filmmaker Kamal, the Malayalam film Celluloid traces the journey of JC Daniel. “For this, Prithviraj, who is playing the lead, will be seen sporting different looks as he essays the late filmmaker’s journey from a 25-year old to a 77-year old. It’s the first time that Prithvi’s playing such an old man on screen and expects the film to be a milestone in his career,” says the source, adding that it took hours of make-up for the 30-year-old star to look the part. “But he patiently sat through it all and did not once complain about the tiring make-up sessions. It was very gruelling as getting ready actually took more time than the time it required to shoot the scene,” adds an insider.

The actor himself shares that despite his image in Bollywood, he is not afraid to take on roles like these, be it here or down South. “I am ready to experiment with every film and I prefer taking risks than being typecast,” he’d said. As for the balancing act between here and his films down South, he adds, “I am never going to bid adieu to Malayalam cinema even if I shift base to Mumbai.”