THE CONNECT BETWEEN PAPANASAM AND THOONGA VANAM

Suka in literary and film circles is a respectable name to reckon with. He is one of the many acclaimed students of Balu Mahendra who has worked with the veteran in many films.

When the Malayalam film Drishyam was planned to be remade as Papanasam in Tamil, it was decided to use a particular slang of Tamil in the film and Kamal zeroed in on the Tirunelveli accent. The search for an authentic and a right hand to tutor Kamal and the entire crew on this beautiful but difficult lingo ended in Suka who hails from the place and has authored quite a few books on the much popular town.

Talking about his role in Papanasam, Suka states, “I was there throughout the shooting to help the team out as I taught the Tirunelveli slang to them. I am the Creative Enhancer of the film and have taken charge of the entire dubbing process too”.

When asked about his association with Kamal Haasan, Suka adds, “Our friendship dates back to Sathi Leelavathy days where I had worked with my mentor Balu Mahendra”. And as Kamal is known for his thirst for literature and litterateurs, he has read Suka’s literary works.

Suka’s work in Papanasam has led Kamal to hand over the dialogue writing department to the former for his next film Thoonga Vanam. This film that is being directed by Rajesh Selva is produced by Raaj Kamal Films International. Ghibran scores music in this bilingual which has Trisha, Prakash Raj, Kishore along with others. Thoonga Vanam is currently being shot in Hyderabad.