Su From So director JP Thuminad: ‘Raj B Shetty taught me how to engage with cinema’

SCREEN caught up with JP Thuminad himself to discuss the love and frenzy around his film, its making, and also his own journey to reach this point of glory. Edited excerpts:

There’s a fascinating story behind how Raj B Shetty came to know about the storyteller in you. Can you tell us a little about it?

I have always had a passion for telling stories. There was a time when I spun my own stories and shared them with friends and family, pretending they were scenes from films I’d just supposedly watched. My formal education was discontinued quite early on, and I entered the painting profession, but my love for storytelling never ceased. It also helped me with scripting theatre plays over the last 14 years.

After I began working with Raj (B Shetty) sir, the word somehow reached him that I have countless stories up my sleeve, and he was interested to know if I’d ever direct a film. I had already been wanting to direct a short (not really knowing how a screenplay is to be written), but for some reason, I could never get Raj sir to like any of my stories! There’d be 60-70 of them in my mind, but he didn’t find much merit in any of them. So that’s when I decided that I would simply make a short film and show it to him, and that’s how it all started. He watched it and was very impressed, even saying that if he made a film on the same story, he would make it similarly. For me, who only wanted to impress Raj sir, getting that feedback was a big boost.

You say you weren’t sure how a film’s structure worked – was it difficult to convert Su From So from idea to script?

Yes, especially for a full-length feature. Raj sir would tell me that I had to first get everything in my mind out on paper, and the rest could be figured out later. Simultaneously, Rishab Shetty sir, with whom I worked in Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana (2021), watched my short film and told me that a screenplay’s three-act structure was ingrained in me, even though I wasn’t aware of it consciously. These inputs, and my own clarity regarding how the film must be told, helped me put it together.

What kind of clarity are you talking about?

I knew that the storytelling had to be different here, and I wanted each character to tell the story in their own way. And a clash of egos among those characters or personalities was as important, because that’s how I’ve seen a community function around me. All the characters – Ravi, Yadhu, Sathisha and so on – in my film are innocent at heart, but there’s an endearing, comical play of egos among them that takes the story forward.

Directing a film of this kind, where almost every scene is exuding energy, isn’t easy. Did it help you that you were working with actors – Shaneel Gautham, Prakash Thuminad, Deepak Rai Panaje, etc. – whom you have known very well?

I have worked with these guys for over a decade now, and that helps a lot. The thing about working with people who are also your friends is that it could lead to two extremes: one, everyone comes together saying it’s ‘our film’, and the other, being taken for granted. I was lucky that I got the former, and everyone involved – actors, technicians and crew members – considered Su From So to be their film. The ones whom I met for the first time on the sets also felt that passion, and creating something like this wouldn’t have been possible without that sense of synergy.

Alongside, we had the clarity about how to make the film and prepped a lot. We preempted things that could go wrong during the shoot, and also prepared ourselves beforehand in a few other areas – certain scenes or songs were meticulously shot on mobile phones first before we went on the floors. Since I was also acting in the film, I needed a strong behind-the-scenes team that could handle it when I was in front of the camera. My direction team, my DOP and many others were very collaborative. More importantly, we had incredible fun making the film, and that shows.

The last time a Kannada film received such overwhelming love and helped many of its cast members gain popularity was perhaps Kantara (2022). What do you suppose has worked in your favour?

I couldn’t pinpoint anything, to be fair, but the same clarity I referred to earlier could have helped us here. I knew from the very beginning that this was a film meant to entertain the masses, and not something for the insiders alone. I wanted to entertain the common folk out there, including my mother, father and relatives. I feel that simplicity, combined with a neatly written and executed film, worked well.

Along with the simplicity, there’s a strong emotional core in the film that struck a chord with audiences. I speak of the Bhaanu character (played by Sandhya Arekere), which speaks about the treatment of women in a non-preachy manner. Did that portion occur naturally to you while writing?

I think I wrote it the way I’d like a film to be, as a good blend of humour, an emotional journey, some action and so on. That’s the right kind of film in my eyes, but having said that, Bhaanu is the character closest to my heart. I couldn’t say exactly why, but she represents the many women I have witnessed growing up. The plight that she carries with her is common among women across backgrounds, but we find that so many of them are unable to openly address what they are enduring. My short film ‘Maa’, which impressed Raj B Shetty sir, tackles the same theme, and so do some of my plays – fascinatingly, I was never consciously attempting to discuss this topic.

Ravi Anna, the Shaneel Gautham character, is quite the rage now. In this era of franchises and cashing in on repeat values of certain characters, do you suppose there’s a sequel/spin-off in store using Ravi Anna and others?

At this point, the thought hasn’t crossed my mind even once, and I am actually on the lookout for something new and fresh. Who knows, a worthy idea might strike sooner or later, but I have yet to even consider that direction.

Do you plan to focus more on direction now?

More than direction alone, I am very keen on telling stories. Screenwriting and direction require a lot of time and effort, so I am equally interested in picking acting projects based on good roles. There’s the rangabhoomi (theatre) as well, to which I want to dedicate as much time as possible, so it is about balancing everything I can at this point.

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You have worked alongside and under credible directors like Raj B Shetty and Hemanth M Rao. Anything you learnt from them?

For me, as much as I have learnt about filmmaking from them, what resonated more is the way they live and breathe cinema. If it wasn’t Raj sir, I would strongly assume that my journey would have been on a starkly different path because it was he who taught how to engage with cinema – from characters to the form itself – on a deeper level. Outside work, I have rarely discussed films or filmmaking with him – it would mostly be about life or similar reflective conversations. In Hemanth Sir’s case, he showed by example how a director must be on the film sets and how to direct one’s passion for storytelling. It’s only now, having made a film and released it, that I realise how much more I can learn and understand the craft.

Now, I have to ask you about your love for actor-director Upendra, because his ‘presence’ in the film is so vital to the story!

(Laughs) I have been a huge admirer of Upendra sir, particularly the writer and director in him. Back in the day, I would embody his style and his mannerisms by constantly reciting his dialogues at home. I was mad about each of his films and have even sold tickets in black for a few of them. I vividly remember getting beaten up by cops when I was selling Naagarahaavu (2002) tickets in black outside a theatre!

As far as using him in my film as an element is concerned, it primarily stemmed from creating Ashoka’s (his character in the film) personality. Since the story involves him staging a performance of a kind, I wanted the posters in his room to suggest to the audience that he has a liking for cinema and acting. And that’s how Upendra sir’s ‘Kalpana’ cropped up, which was originally made in Tamil as Kanchana.

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