Suman Kumar: ‘Originally thought of a man at the centre’

Raghu Thatha

Do screenwriters make for better directors? Suman Kumar would be the right person to answer that. The writer made his directorial debut with Keerthy Suresh's recent release, Raghu Thatha. "If you ask me, screenwriting is harder. Someone has to build it on paper for [the rest] to happen. A director's job is to keep the vision uniform; it is a lot of people-managing. The writer may write a scene with pasta, and at your location, there is only idli sambar," he laughs.

Suman Kumar

Kumar, who has written the past two seasons of The Family Man, picked a Tamil feature to turn director. The decision was "sentimental". "It is my mother tongue," he explains. The language element goes deeper than that; through its protagonist, Raghu Thatha explores the imposition of Hindi language in society.

"The story came from my friend. His grandfather would make fun of his father about how he had to write a Hindi exam to get an increment. Originally, we thought of a man at the centre, but then we wanted to flip the narrative. A woman being placed [at the centre] allows you to explore more layers. I didn't set out to make a woman-centric film; I just wanted to make a good, funny movie. Women experience so much imposition - from what they should wear to who they should be with. It gives a great opportunity to explore things."

He has now joined Raj-DK as a director for The Family Man 3. "What motivates me to do different things is that I love telling stories. I am relentless, though the past month has been chaotic, between The Family Man 3's shoot and the film's release."