The girl who watched her father work his magic in cinema tents at her village as a child, is thrilled. Suman Kittur’s fourth venture as a director is touted to be one of the most successful films of 2016. It is based on a popular short story by late Poornachandra Tejaswi.
From being the first-ever woman to pen lyrics for a film scored by musical maestro Ilyaraja, Suman has come a long way from being a journalist to working as a technician before finally making her directorial debut with Slum Bala followed by Kallara Santhe, and Edegarike. Even as her film Kiragoorina Gayyaligalu celebrates 25 days at the box office, Suman Kittur speaks to Bengaluru Chronicle about her journey so far, women directors and much more.
With Sandalwood seeing a slew of newcomers in experimental films, women directors like Suman Kittur, Kavitha Lankesh and others are walking with their creativity held high alongside male counterparts in the industry. “I never dreamt of making films as a child. From a modest farming family, my dreams were for a new set of clothes, food or some footwear. However, the environment I grew up in left an everlasting mark. As my father worked in various capacities running a cinema tent, it brought me closer to films. He wanted to own a cinema tent and I would accompany him, wide-eyed, taking notes on how films were screened. I was amazed at the expertise my father had, and how he managed everything,” Suman Kittur recalls.
It was writer and film maker Agni Sridhar who spotted her talent, and Suman began as a journalist writing profiles of legendary actors and film makers. “After I lost my father, it was Sridhar Sir who took responsibility for me. I was like a daughter to him. When he noticed my interest in films, and the stories I had done as a journalist, he gave me a chance with Aa Dinagalu. Apart from direction, I worked in almost every department for Aa Dinagalu. Impressed with my work, Sir gave me Slum Bala to direct, and that was how my journey as a director began,” Suman shares.
On women directors in Sandalwood, Suman feels that the works of Kavitha Lankesh, Vijayalakshmi, and others are noteworthy. “Kavitha Lankesh has directed commercial successes as well as artistic films, and Vijayalakshmi has focused on a different genres. Personally, three years after Edegarike, I have seen a change in attitude. Earlier, even if a person was disliked by a few, his/her films were never harmed but now people personally bear a grudge against a newbie getting into films, which is very unfortunate,” she says candidly.
Suman had to fight the Censorboard for a few of the dialogues in Kiragoorina Gayyaligalu. “I still do not understand how the Censorboard asks us to approach higher bodies to challenge their actions. If such is the case, the existence of local censorship has no meaning as everyone can then approach a higher body to win cases. It showcases their inability to judge and rate a film. I still wonder why most of them do no understand this simple logic,” she adds. Kittur feels that as long as the audience loves a film, irrespective of its making, its struggle, the film will find a way to reach cinema lovers.
