‘Avatara Purusha is my most ambitious project yet’

Interview

Suni bebuted as director with the hit ‘Simple Aag Ond Love Story’.

It’s hard to believe that ‘Simple’ Suni was a quiet and shy child. Because the Kannada filmmaker is a witty speaker apart from being a crowd favourite for social media banters and wacky promotional tactics.

“I used to write a lot in school. I loved trying something quirky, coming up with different lyrics for popular movie songs,” he says.

His quirkiness is what impressed people in his debut ‘Simple Aag Ond Love Story’ (2013). The film’s catchy dialogues are still popular.

It’s tough to slot the director in one box. He has done comedy capers (‘Simpallag Innondh Love Story’, ‘Operation Alamelamma’), rowdyism films (‘Bahuparak’, ‘Bazaar’) and dramas that tried to cater to all (‘Chamak’, ‘Sakath’).

Suni doesn’t have a 100 per cent trackrecord. His growth over the years doesn’t amaze you either. To his credit, he is a self-aware filmmaker who is ready to experiment more. “My producer’s financial safety is my first priority,” he says.

‘Avatara Purusha’, set to be out on December 10, is his second release in two weeks. He spoke to Showtime about the Sharan-Ashika Ranganath-starrer, his brand of comedy and his rollercoaster journey so far. Excerpts:

Hilarious one-liners are guaranteed in your films. Where do you get your ideas from?

It all started with ‘Simple...’. I was also producing the film so we decided to shoot at minimal locations with just two characters. I had to make the film enjoyable and interesting with one-liners. I always had a keen ear for slang in schools, during cricket matches and at ‘pani puri’ stalls.

It’s apparent that the college crowd loves your film. Tell us about your brand of comedy.

I enjoy troll pages on Twitter and Instagram. I try to recreate the same type of comedy in my films. It’s not easy to maintain quality of such pages. That’s why many perish in the crowd. I also don’t support jokes that are insensitive. I make sure my films stay away from such humour.

Does the moniker of ‘Simple...’ force you to make simplistic films? How do you handle expectations?

I don’t let expectations affect me. I have enjoyed big blockbusters and also suffered a huge flop early in my career. I am always well prepared. My aim is to make my producer financially safe and direct a quality movie within the budget I have. For example, I created a courtroom with a set that was already available yet made it look convincing in ‘Sakath’. Whereas in ‘Avatara Purusha’, I had decided to shoot in a smaller house in Malenadu but my producer (Pushkara Mallikarjunaiah) was willing to invest in a bigger house in Kerala. This pushes you to write for a bigger scale.

In terms of content, are you ready to take bigger risks?

Yes. I know people want comedy from me. But I want to mix comedy with different genres such as horror, thriller and serious dramas. Just that, you need to make people ready for your experiments. ‘Bahuparak’ flopped because people weren’t ready for a film like that after a romantic comedy (‘Simple Aag...’). I have interesting scripts with me. I have a script that begins with the climax and goes backwards.

How unique is ‘Avatara Purusha’ in your career?

In terms of scale, this is the biggest film I have directed. I have explored the concept of black magic, which is new to the Kannada audience. The film will also have the typical comedy of Sharan. I wrote this as a web series. My producer Pushkara felt it would be better off as a film. So we are releasing it in two parts.