One can never accuse Suseenthiran of plagiarism or being inspired by foreign films; he remains original in his work. His passion for cinema is intense. He grew up in an environment where cinema was discussed and as he saw the travails of his father turning a filmmaker, he resolved to be a director some day.
He moved to Chennai after completing Std XII and 12 years of struggle later, his first film Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu released. For the Telugu audiences, he is known as the director of Na Peru Siva , Palanadu; most of his films have either been dubbed or remade in Telugu. Forthright, down to earth and a man with clarity, Suseenthiran says he will continue to make movies on social issues. And if if he were not a director, he would have been a kabaddi player.
Your film has an English title (C/o Surya); why did you choose this for a Telugu movie?
Nenjil Thunivirundal in Tamil means ‘If you dare’. At that point when I decided to make this movie into a bilingual, I was clueless and as I don’t understand Telugu; I asked for a few titles. I was given a few options and I settled for C/O Surya . This obviously means that someone is under Surya’s care. It is a story about friendship. I agree that in all my stories, the hero hails from a middle class background and the rift is about middle class problems. The majority of people belong to this segment and I feel they will relate to the problems easily. Since I too come from a similar background I understand the issues and feel confident of portraying it a manner that people can relate to. Sundeep Kishan has a look that suits the segment and his boy-next-door image can help him pull it off well.
Which issue does this film deal with?
The suspense will be lost if I reveal it now. The film also has a few action episodes but I executed it with a good dose of entertainment. The hero’s friend is Mahesh and he gets into a lot of trouble and how the former saves him is the crux; but there is more to it. And as the friend is under the hero’s care, the title is C/O Surya . There are 10 members working in a catering firm and visit IT companies for orders; the story takes off from there. However that is just a backdrop, no need to read much into it.
Why are women characters not given importance in your films?
Have you seen Aadhalal Kadhal Seiveer that released before Palanadu ? The woman does get importance in the story. To be honest, I don’t like to show elaborate romantic scenes in my stories, not that I have anything against love. I too loved a person and got married to her but I feel strongly about not showing it on screen.
Every child these days watches television and is exposed to romance and other content. The media has a big influence on children, so I try to avoid it as much as possible. If you notice, in all my films, there is not much romance, no drinking and smoking. I don’t approve of bad behaviour.
What about violence? Isn’t it raw and unapologetic?
If you had watched my first five films, there is absolutely no violence. In fact I gave a social message in each of these stories. Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu has no bloodshed; it is a sports-based story. I got a National Award for Azhagarsamiyin Kudirai and Adhalal Kadhal Seiveer fetched me critical acclaim. Jeeva too is a sports film without violence and Maveeran Kittu deals with a social issue. Why is it that everyone chooses to pick the last five films that had violence? Na Peru Siva has realistic scenes. My new film doesn’t have much violence; it is a social drama. All my scripts are reflective of things happening around me.
Tell us something about shooting ‘C/o Surya’?
We shot more than 60 days for this Tamil-Telugu bilingual — 27 days in Visakhapatnam where the action portion and montage song was shot. It was easy to get permissions there for exterior portions unlike in Chennai. We shot for a day in Hyderabad and the remaining 34 days we moved to Chennai. The film has a simple message and the media will concur with the common man in this issue. Na Peru Siva had very little humour, I try to make it up here. It’s a watertight screenplay, especially in the second half. The film is due to release on November 10.
Tell us about your future projects and how was Mehreen in her work?
Mehreen has good screen presence and she was punctual to the sets and worked sincerely. She would write down the Tamil and Telugu dialogues and memorise them. My next film will be a suspense thriller in Tamil with seven newcomers.
