Charting a success story: The directors and lead actors talk Amazon’s Suzhal – The Vortex-Entertainment News , Firstpost

Bramma and Anucharan are renowned award-winning Tamil film directors while Sriya Reddy and Kathir are well-known talented actors. The success of ‘Suzhal – The Vortex‘, an Amazon original Tamil web series, which Bramma and Anucharan directed and Sriya Reddy and Kathir played leads, has them in a buoyant mood as they chat about it to Firstpost.

Directing films versus web series

After two films, director Bramma chose to sign on for web series ‘Suzhal’ and when you curiously ask why, he replies, “Firstly, it was a script by Pushkar and Gayatri. Beyond the philosophy and heart in the script, the storytelling and narration was very good and it was being made for OTT; that was the important motivation to get on board.”
Interestingly, ‘Suzhal’ had two directors with Bramma and Anucharan directing four episodes each. Were there any challenges as a result? “Initially, we stuck to our boundaries but we became very good friends over time. It took us some time to warm up and we were able to understand the synergy and how the momentum builds up. As Anucharan and I worked together, we could see the output taking brilliant shape. It was a very collaborative approach,” explains Bramma.

Like Bramma, Anucharan too is a talented director but did he feel there might be comparisons between his work and Bramma’s in ‘Suzhal’? “I think there was a sense of competition between us,” laughs Anucharan. “I would sneak onto his set and see how Bramma is shooting. And if he was shooting really well then, that pressure was on me! That was the boost I channeled into good productive work. It’s natural to compare but we were working seamlessly – we knew that we had a huge responsibility on our shoulders and I think we did our jobs well.”

When it comes to web series, a whole new pool of writing talent has emerged and unlike films, there is an approach that writing and directing are two distinct jobs and shouldn’t be combined. “This is long-form storytelling which is completely different from what we do in feature films. There are complete character arcs and everything has to come to a conclusion. This long-form storytelling was a new experience for me; I haven’t done this before. The way we tell the story in episodes is different from that of a feature film – the amount of time you take in establishing the world, the play-off, it’s all different. That had to be inculcated in direction as well. In feature films, not many characters have character arcs. It was extremely adventurous and exciting. Unless you are excited about this you can’t pull it off; it’s a huge task,” says Anucharan.

Chemistry of Sakkarai and Regina

In ‘Suzhal’, Sakkarai (Kathir) is Regina’s (Sriya Reddy) subordinate and while she may be seething with anger, her affection for Sakkarai is not unnoticed. As you talk to Sriya Reddy and Kathir, you can see the genuine camaraderie between them.

Ask Sriya Reddy if she’s happy with the response she has got for her stellar essaying of Regina and she replies, “I’m extremely numb. Coming back after 16 years, to this reception – dreams are made of this. It’s very gratifying to see people say she’s back after 16 years and nothing has changed! Very happy and proud of the way this has come. The way that the directors have brought out Regina on screen, I don’t know if it was me that performed but one thing is for sure, I lived my character. Without having the others around me like Sakkarai, I don’t think Regina could have excelled. Sakkarai (Kathir) played a key role in bringing out Regina and likewise the directors Anucharan and Bramma were equally important in bringing out the emotions inside Regina.”

“We had to shoot for about 70 days and Sriya is very reserved and it’s only black or white for her, there’s no grey. So, I was apprehensive,” interjects Kathir laughingly. He is the youngest actor in terms of acting experience among the lead actors but he says there was no nervousness. Shriya is full of praise for her co-star Kathir who played Sakkarai and accolades have not stopped pouring in for him. But many actors would have loved to be in his place in this web series. “There were stars as options but Pushkar-Gayatri and Aparna were confident that I can pull off Sakkarai. The trust they placed in me was added pressure too which is why I totally focused on the part,” says Kathir.

With Sriya’s character Regina touching people’s hearts, was the actress looking at taking on more roles post this great break? “People seem very perplexed as to why I took this long break and why I’m so choosy. I was offered roles but I need to connect with the character and that’s the only way I know how to perform – it has to come from the heart. To be honest, the roes I have been getting were total rubbish – they tell me you are pitted against this big hero and I’m thinking in my head, ‘I don’t think hero can even act’. I feel people are generally very scared to cast women who come across very strong on screen. I like to come across strong – it is our time to shine. What came out from ‘Suzhal’ is that most of the messages I’m getting are from women who are saying they wish they could like Regina. That is very progressive. The moment I get something of value, I definitely would love to take it up,” says Shriya emphatically.

What is the biggest takeaway for them from ‘Suzhal’? “We have a huge number of people around the world appreciating your work thanks to the series being on Amazon and dubbed in so many languages, that is so rewarding. Finally – being from South India – we are being spoken about; people are hailing us. We are being applauded finally for the talent that we always had. This will be the first of more to come for us,” says Shriya.
“My takeaway is that I’m not in an urge to do more films; I don’t mind waiting for a year or two but I’d rather wait for good content like ‘Suzhal’,” signs off Kathir.

Latha Srinivasan is a senior journalist based in Chennai. Her passion is entertainment, travel, and dogs.

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