Sukumar - The Reluctant Perfectionist

Sukumar may be just three films old as a director, but he’s also regarded as one of the best in the Telugu film industry. His next film, 100% Love starring Naga Chaitanya and Tamannaah is one of the most eagerly awaited films this year. What makes him so special? Hemanth Kumar is blown away by Sukumar’s obsession with perfection as the latter sheds his image of being media shy.

Sukumar is a man of contradictions! He specializes in making suave and uber-cool films like Arya and Arya-2, yet he’s extremely down to earth and almost carries an inconsequential look. So rare are his appearances in public that the only time we get to see him, even on TV, is only when one of his films is about to release. We bet that it would be quite a task to recognize him amidst a crowd. He’s extremely media shy and hardly gives any interviews! Nevertheless, he’s highly regarded as one of the best directors in the Telugu film industry today and it’s not without reason. After all, his debut film Arya managed to transcend geographical boundaries. There are umpteen instances where people who could hardly utter a word of Telugu were running to every nook and corner in remote areas of states like Orissa, Maharashtra to buy the CD of  Arya! We are not kidding! Few debutant directors can boast of such a feat.

As we try to quiz him, Sukumar goes into an extremely self-conscious mode. Every answer is precise and at some point we were certain that he had already framed his answers for our next few questions before answering the current one. And then, he breaks into a smile which has the charm and innocence of someone who’s extremely humble and content. Clearly, we had caught him in a good mood as he opens up about his films and his influences.

“Hold on for two minutes, I am telling a few lies to this journo,” Sukumar grins at his assistant as the latter tries to intrude into our conversation. Quite a sense of humor! If he indeed is a liar, as he quips, then let’s say we can’t wait to hear more of what he has to say.

Before he made it big in films, he used to teach Mathematics in Aditya Tutorials, Kakinada for almost 6 years. However, his love for films eventually brought him to Hyderabad. “I was always waiting to quit teaching and get into films,” Sukumar reminisces. Later he worked with Editor Mohan for Kshemangaa Velli Laabhamgaa Randi and Hanuman Junction before assisting VV Vinayak for the film Dil. A year later in 2004, he made his debut as a director with Arya which had Allu Arjun, Siva Balaji and Anuradha Mehta in lead roles. Till date, he has directed three films including Arya, Jagadam and Arya-2.

His upcoming film 100% Love starring Naga Chaitanya and Tamannaah would be his fourth film in almost seven years! That’s a really long time, isn’t it? “I tend to get confused with my thoughts. A thought which strikes me today might appear bad or obsolete the next day. Hence the actual writing process takes time,” he confesses. We can assure you that he isn’t lying this time. During our conversation, he loses track of what wants to say even if he gets distracted for a moment. No wonder, he takes so much time to make his films, but every film he has made has been unique in its own way.

So did he fall in love with the concept of Arya so much that he stuck to it without any second thoughts? “The concept about a guy falling in love with someone who’s already in love isn’t new. We have already seen similar concepts in films like Darr, Kadhal Kondein and Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa. In all these films, the hero hides his love for the girl until the very end. The concept had already become obsolete. So I took a different approach and let the hero confess his love right in the beginning. That was interesting to explore,” he says. The success of Arya catapulted him into the big league overnight. However, his next film Jagadam which had Ram and Isha in lead roles didn’t click at the box office. That must have been quite depressing. “Oh yes, it was! Jagadam was an act of bravado. I made it with an innocent passion. I didn’t think about whether the film would reach out to the audience or not. When you work so hard and the film doesn’t work, it’s depressing.” Innocent passion? “I have had this passion for violence even when I was a kid. Whenever there was a fight on the streets, I would join the ruckus and hit people. I believe man is essentially very violent. In ancient times, his violence was in terms of hunting and safeguarding his food. Sex is another such characteristic which man has always been interested in. Since we believe in logical reasoning, we have named the process which leads to sex as love.” He isn’t lying, is he?