Filmmaker Suman Kumar, who gained fame for co-writing the Hindi web series Guns & Gulaabs, Farzi and The Family Man, recently turned to direction with the Keerthy Suresh-starrer Raghu Thatha. He is now a far cry from the ‘broke and depressed’ Suman, who started in stand-up comedy in his 30s before evolving into writing with the famous filmmaker duo Raj & DK.

“Telling stories has always been my forte,” explains Suman 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 the hell not, and went to an open mic in Bengaluru that changed my life. Of course, stand-up comedy took a back seat once I got busy with series and films,” he adds.

‘Keerthy impressed me with her performance’

When Suman wrote his debut directorial, 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, Salaar) picked up the Tamil film, they thought Keerthy would be perfect to play Kayalvizhi Pandian, aka Kayal. “The producers knew the film needed a big star in this role and thought of Keerthy,” he says.

But Suman was more than happy to be on board with this casting as he loved Keerthy’s performance in Saani Kaayidham (2022). “She broke the mould as a commercial film heroine and starred in a revenge drama, it wowed me. My film is a comedy, but I knew she could pull it off well. I didn’t even have to brief her because she prepared well to play Kayal,” says the filmmaker.

And now, Suman is getting ready for his second directorial - a Kannada film titled Kirik’et 11. “Manojkumar Kalaivanan has written the story, and we’re polishing it now. It’s a crime-comedy based on a fun premise. We will resume shooting for it soon,” he says of the Danish Sait and Naveen Shankar-starrer. Not just that, Suman is penning a couple of feature film stories, including an action drama which will have a female lead.

He is also excited for season 3 of The Family Man. “Right now I am between schedules of The Family Man’s next season. This time, I’m even directing a couple of episodes. I’m excited to work with the legendary Manoj Bajpayee and my friends, Raj & DK, in a totally different capacity this season. I look forward to the next schedule,” says Suman.

‘Writing is not a stepping stone to direction’

But even as Suman juggles between writing and direction, he emphasises that the two are completely different skill sets. “Writers are getting more attention due to the OTT boom, but we need more of them than we have. There’s a misconception that screenwriting is a literary pursuit when it’s not. It’s an invitation for artists and technicians to come and perform, it’s very technical. Most look at it as a stepping stone to direction, but writing requires a completely different skill set,” he opines.

Suman also believes that given that Indian cinema is going places and getting recognition globally, it’s time that writers are paid more and given the respect they deserve. “Put their name on the poster,” he says, echoing Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar's sentiments in the recently released Prime Video docu-series Angry Young Men. 

“Writers need to be paid more, respected more. They’re the silent heroes. We’re still in the zone of - star first, content later - and that needs to change if we are to do better. We can't keep going on floors just because an actor has free dates without a proper story in hand,” rounds off Suman.