Interview with The Family Man screenwriter Suman Kumar: ‘Writers are the silent heroes; put your name on the poster’ | Web series

“Storytelling has always been my forte,” Suman explains in an exclusive chat with Hindustan Times. “Making strangers laugh is one of the toughest things in the world. But in 2015, when I was broke and depressed, I thought, why not? and went to an open mic gig in Bengaluru that changed my life. Of course, stand-up comedy took a backseat as I got busy with TV shows and films,” he adds.

‘Keerthy impressed me with her performance’

When Suman wrote his directorial debut, Raghu Thatha, he had no one in mind for the lead role: a feminist who writes stories under a male pseudonym. But once Hombale Films (KGF, Kantara, Lettuce) chose the Tamil film and thought Keerthy would be perfect to play Kayalvizhi Pandian aka Kayal. “The producers knew the film needed a big star for this role and they thought of Keerthy,” he says.

But Suman was more than happy to be on board with this casting as she loved Keerthy’s performance in Saani Kaidham (2022). “She broke the mold of commercial film heroines and starred in a revenge drama. I was captivated by her. My film is a comedy, but I knew she could do it well. I didn’t even have to coach her because she prepared well to play Kayal,” says the filmmaker.

And now, Suman is gearing up for his second film as a director – a Kannada film titled Kirik’et 11. “Manojkumar Kalaivanan has written the story and we are now polishing it. It is a crime comedy based on a fun premise. We will resume shooting soon,” he says about the film. Danish Sait and starring Naveen Shankar. Not only that, Suman is writing a couple of feature-length stories, including an action drama that will have a female lead.

He’s also excited for season 3 of The Family Man. “Right now I’m between work schedules. The family manThe upcoming season of ‘s. This time, I will even be directing a couple of episodes. I am excited to work with the legendary Manoj Bajpayee and my friends, Raj and DK, “I am going to play in a completely different way this season. I am looking forward to the upcoming schedule,” says Suman.

“Writing is not a springboard in a direction”

But while Suman juggles writing and directing, he stresses that these are two completely different skill sets. “Writers are getting more attention because of the Rise of OTTs“But we need more of them than we have. There is a misconception that scriptwriting is a literary activity when it is not. It is an invitation for artists and technicians to come and perform, it is very technical. Most see it as a stepping stone to directing, but writing requires a completely different set of skills,” he says.

Suman also believes that since Indian cinema is making strides and gaining recognition globally, it is time for writers to be paid better and receive the respect they deserve. “Let’s put their name on the poster,” she says, echoing the sentiments of Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar in the recently released Prime Video documentary series. Angry youth.

“Screenwriters need to be paid more and respected more. They are the silent heroes. We are still in the ‘star first, content second’ zone, and that needs to change if we want to do better. We cannot continue to make productions just because an actor has free appointments without a proper story in hand,” Suman concludes.