A much-appreciated filmmaker who certainly goes well with the term Boss-lady is none other than Sudha Kongara Prasad. And certainly because of the niche she has created in the industry. The Tamil film Drohi marked her directorial debut. Her bilingual film Irudhi Suttru (also known as Saala Khadoos in Hindi) won her the Filmfare Award for Best Director—Tamil in 2016. Later, in 2017, she directed the Telugu version of the movie Guru. She has worked in more than three languages during her career and has won two SIIMA Awards, two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, two Filmfare Awards South and two National Film Awards.
Just a while back, the talented filmmaker entertained the audience with her film Sarfira, a remake of her Tamil film Soorarai Pottru. The film stars Akshay Kumar and Radhika Madan in lead roles.
This week, for our exclusive segment of Celeb Talk, we have with us the director, giving to us some exclusive tidbits of the just-released.
Shikha Duggal
In what ways has the process of redoing your own movie altered your understanding of narrative?
One thing is certain when I am redoing my own movie: the narrative must be told in a certain way. There isn’t any confusion here! I’m confident that I wouldn’t have to fight the feelings that the original portrays. However, there is a drawback as well: I won’t be making two distinct movies. The good news was—and this is something I firmly believe in—that what worked once will most likely work again. Since their cultures will obviously differ greatly from one another, the experience and difficulties of doing a remake will also vary. That is essentially the distinction. The two movies I made both featured a culture I’m not familiar with! That proves to be a fascinating educational experience for me as well.
So, in what ways do you think your evolution as a filmmaker has changed?
As a writer, forget about being a filmmaker, for sure. I’ve always maintained that, in business, writing defines who I am. I can write a narrative without needing many years and I can readily see the shortcomings in my writing. Let me just refer to myself as a “stress writer,” nevertheless, because I am capable of making the remake’s shortcomings better than the original. Every year, I wish a writer would finish a draft for me, but I’m not able to. It’s a rule for me to write it on my own! I want to finish writing the movie and get filming with my actors since I am so in love with the creative process.
Please go into more detail on the difficulties you face when trying to retell your tale in a different cultural setting.
When Soorarai Potturu arrived, it advised the various sectors not to give up on their individual companies just yet. Sarfira had come to me during the pandemic. I also had no intention of seeming preachy. Making Soorarai Pootutru for Tamil audiences meant that I had to take a character from Karnataka and place him in the Tamil region. For instance, a girl visits a boy in a community in Karnataka to discuss the possibility of marriage. That isn’t how things work in Tamil Nadu. However, I had to provide an explanation for this. I was able to position that specific custom in a cultural framework and take advantage of it. Since Sarfira is based on the Deccan Plateau, for instance, funerals are not celebrated outside of Tamil Nadu. Now I have to explain this! What are all of the reasons for it? It wasn’t always easy for me because I dislike deceiving my audiences, but I was sitting there, breaking my head on this. I have no interest in translating! Actually, I am not into critics. To avoid confusing the viewers, I went above and beyond by studying Maharastrian culture and making it appear genuine. Dialect was crucial as well! I like the hurdles that I faced while working with Akshay Kumar on Sarfira.
How did you manage to keep Sarfira’s original spirit with Akshay Kumar?
I’ve been friends with Suriya for twenty to twenty-five years. It was so simple for me to guide him because I know exactly how he laughs, smiles and feels. However, I had no prior knowledge of Akshay Kumar! The two actors are completely different from one another, and I first encountered him during the screenplay reading sessions. I’ve known Venky since I was a young child. To get Akshay Kumar to understand my directing style, I had to first grasp how he operates. The fact that we both get up early and dislike working late is a plus.
What further themes will Sarfira highlight?
The popular movie covered a number of delicate subjects and Sarfira was given special treatment. Even though Radhika Madan hadn’t seen the original, she did a fantastic job with the Maharastrian accent that she had learned. Her hometown is Delhi! Observing her perform the dialogue was a delight. Her curiosity about everything that went on in the sets led me to believe that she was extremely brilliant as well. She had a great deal of inquiries! Though there were moments when she felt uneasy using some words or delivering certain dialogues, she ultimately decided to add her own unique touch to things. Since my characters are more important to me than the script—which is not the Bible—I was fine with it.
How did the first conversation with Akshay Kumar go?
Initially, Akshay was rather worried about the movie’s runtime. Perhaps it took a little longer to translate Tamil dialogues into Hindi? For instance, when Venky joined the original Saala Khadoos cast, he objected to the opening scene, which featured a man making love to another man’s wife. He declared, “My reputation in the South film industry is so strong that it will hurt your film!” I quickly made the change. I am aware of the dos and don’ts because I grew up watching Telugu movies. Therefore, in the original, we introduced Venkatesh more effectively. However, Akshay Kumar made no requests for adjustments! The harder part was putting it in its proper place, culturally.
How did a day on the Sarfira sets used to be?
Making a film usually makes me really nervous, but this time, I felt pretty relaxed. Since it’s a remake, I should have been more cautious, but everything went smoothly. This was where I had my first AD system and it was really different. I’m used to acting as both the director and the first AD. I only needed to watch the performances by Radhika, Akshay and others. On the Sarfira sets, Akshay Kumar instilled a great deal of discipline. The shooting used to begin promptly at seven in the morning. I also remember a time when he was staying at Panchgani and that particular day we were shooting in the night. But beyond some hours of time, he won’t shoot! The whole crew travelled 12 hours to Panchgani to shoot a scene at 6:30. So he was very accommodating. Many, many days I said goodbye to him early and he would say things like, “I gave you my time, so please make full use of it. Who wants to go?” He used to pull our legs quite a bit, hehe. Akshay suddenly abandoned the college where we were filming! I discovered that he doesn’t shoot on Sundays, but that wasn’t part of my agenda. For four hours, from 4 to 8 in the morning, the secretary persuaded him in some way. I thought, but hey, he doesn’t shoot at night either, so my AD tells me that it’s 4 to 8 in the morning, ma’am. I thought, “Oh my god!” He was getting calls from home at around seven, asking where he was, as he reportedly had to go out to breakfast with Twinkle!
Meanwhile, the film, which has now hit the theatres, marks Sudha Kongara and Akshay Kumar’s first collaboration. Also not just as the director, Sudha also dons the hat of its writer in Sarfira.
