"I hate remake movies," Sumana Kittur

After serving as a reporter for 10 years, Sumana Kittur entered Kannada film industry with the movie Aa Dinagalu. Even though she was an associate director in the movie, her responsibility was equal to the director on the sets. Sumana"s debut directorial venture Slum Bala, which starred Duniya Vijay and Shubha Poonja, was successful at the Box Office. Her latest movie Kallara Santhe, which released three weeks ago, has got rave reviews from the critics and is doing well at the Box Office.

Recently, the director spoke to us about her experience and her future Kannada films. Here are excerpts of Sumana Kittur interview.

How was your childhood? Do you have any acting experience in your school?
I don"t have any memorable experience in my school days. I had my primary education at my village. Those days, we did not have TV or any other communicative means. I spent my childhood as every village girl spends it. When I was in PUC 1st year, I had directed a small Kannada play called 'Bhuvam". That's it.

What made you enter the Kannada film industry?
My interest in writing led me to the Kannada film industry. As a writer I want to share what I feel. I want to convey my ideas and thoughts to common man. I feel that movie is the powerful medium to communicate him. So I chose this medium to bring my feelings on-screen.

Have you done any course in direction? Who is godfather?
I haven"t done any formal course. But I've learned even more than I should have learned in a course. When I was doing my PUC, my father passed away. I came to stay at Agni Shridhar"s house. After completing PUC, I started working as a journalist. Agni Shridhar sir is my godfather, Guru and my university. He used to give me books of great Kannada writers like Da.Ra.Bendere. Slowly I started writing stories. Sometimes, Shridhar sir used to take me to shooting sets in Bangalore and used explain me about various things. For me, he is like a big university and I have learned so many things from him.

You have worked as an assistant director for Aa Dinagalu. What kinds of problems did you face when you started with your first movie Slum Bala as an independent director?
Actually, I did not face many problems on the sets of Slum Bala because though I was associate director in the movie Aa Dinagalu, I had responsibilities even more than the director. So it was really wonderful experience. After writing a story, you will have perfect idea about what should be shown on screen. Since I am more interested in writing I don't find much difficulty in direction.

You look so young when compared to your members of your cast and crew. How do you managed to get the cooperation of all seniors those who are working with you?
When we work together, there won"t be any domination. Our main concern will be shooting work, which we need to complete in a given time. So I did not face any such situation so far. Of course! Sometimes, I"ve faced ego clash, but not very often.

What was your experience on the sets of Kallara Santhe?
I had very difficult and different experience on the sets of Kallara Santhe, because Shridhar sir"s script was weaved very carefully and lot information was included in it. The story was a sharp satirical tone on the current political illegal activities. So it was very challenging for me. As a director, I had to look carefully for each and every detail. Even if a single thing was missed it would misled the audience and diverted their attention.

Do you think you done justice to Shridhar"s script?
Yes! I think I"ve done lot of hard work and I"ve done 100% justice to his script. But every day, every hour we learn something important in the film industry. So I can"t say what I have done is perfect. Shridhar sir watched the movie and he was very happy. He said, “You gave me 90%."

Yash"s onscreen chemistry with Haripriya has got nice response from the film critics. How did you manage to get such cooperation from them?
During the audition for Kallara Santhe, I and the producers had planned to select good-looking cute pair for the movie. We got Yash and Haripriya as hero and heroine. Both of them were very cooperative on the sets. They used to discuss with me whenever they had difficulties. Finally, we managed to get beautiful a chemistry on-screen.

How is the audiences" response for the movie Kallara Santhe?
It"s really mind-blowing. I have never received so many phone calls on my cell phone. Especially, ladies and students congratulated me for my bold attempt and encouraged me to do more movies on the same subject. The movie has been running with enough number of audience for the fourth week.

Do you think that the movie complete 100 days?
I don"t want to talk about this part, because I"ve done my work and rest is left to the audience. They will decide how many days this movie should run.

What is your concept of perfect movie, which is fit for every one?
There is nothing perfect in this world for everyone. Different people will have different tastes and these tastes will be changing according to the time and changing world. So we need to update ourselves to offer a movie to suit their tastes.

What kind of movies you would like to direct in future? Have you signed any new projects?
First of all, I hate repetition. I would always like to come up with a new subject. Presently, I've three scripts, which are ready. I"m little bit confused about which one to be done first. Probably, I will announce my next project in May/June.

What do you think about remake movies? Would you like to direct remakes?
I don"t like remakes and I would hate to direct remake movies. I"m a writer. I would love to create my own scripts and bring them on-screen.