Prithviraj Sukumaran, who is gearing up for the release of 'L2: Empuraan' on March 27, opened up about his experience directing Mohanlal in 'Lucifer' and 'Empuraan'. Reflecting on the veteran actor’s process, Prithviraj revealed how Mohanlal’s approach to acting posed challenges for him as a filmmaker but ultimately resulted in remarkable performances.

During an interview with Galatta Plus Prithviraj explained, "When I am acting with him, I am in my own process as an actor. But when I am directing, and when I am watching him through the monitor, I am also privy to the process."  "Mohanlal sir likes to disassociate. And it works for him wonderfully well. It’s a bit tough for the filmmaker because he would give you an earth-shatteringly good take. And let’s say if the focus is off a bit, and I would call for one more take and I’ll go and tell him, ‘Sir, the exact same thing, we’ve just lost focus,’ and he’ll be like, ‘Sure.’ But he will give something completely different."

The filmmaker admitted that this aspect of Mohanlal’s acting led to certain out-of-focus shots making it to the final cut of 'Lucifer.' “There are multiple shots in 'Lucifer'—especially—we were more careful in 'Empuraan,' where the shots are out of focus. So a lot of my cinematographer friends after watching 'Lucifer,' they’ve called me and said, ‘A lot of shots are out of focus.’ And I say, ‘I know, I’ve kept it because it’s the best performance.’”

Prithviraj contrasted Mohanlal’s approach with that of Vivek Oberoi, who played the antagonist in 'Lucifer.' “When it comes to Vivek Oberoi, if you do 18 takes, you can choose any take, because everything is pinpoint the same,” he said, adding that Vivek precisely follows directional instructions with consistency across multiple takes.

The actor-director also noted how directing has helped him grow as an actor. “Different actors, different processes—you are privy to that when you direct. When you act, you are within the space, going through your own process. Then you are not aware of what the other actor is going through. So in that way, I’m assuming I’m a much better actor today having watched so many great actors going through their processes and making me part of it.”

'L2: Empuraan,' the highly anticipated sequel to 'Lucifer,' is being made on a larger budget than its predecessor, though the exact figures have not been disclosed.