Interview with Rajesh Alfred, director of ‘Sutrula’

Only Kollywood interacted with Rajesh Alfred, who debuts as a director in Sutrula, an upcoming Tamil film which is slated to hit screens in December. Excerpts from the interview.

Tell us about the origin of Sutrula. 

We planned our movie to be an adventurous thriller from the beginning. Since it’s my first movie, I wanted to do a slap-up job with the making and cautiously avoided romance or melodramatic subjects. We planned Sutrula as a thriller and for its unique making style.

Thrillers have become the most mainstream genre in Tamil cinema now. How different is Sutrula from other films?

‘Sutrula’ is the real thriller movie. It has all elements that constitute a thriller. It encompasses the real aspects of a thriller genre and will be taut throughout its runtime. Our film doesn’t have comedy, glamour, obscenity or vulgarity in the name of horror elements. I can boldly say that Sutrula is THE perfect movie to be called a thriller. In Tamil cinema, climax is the pivotal part of the story which is usually ten minutes long. In Sutrula, the climax starts right after the interval block. The film’s running time is two hours and ten minutes. The last one hour will be the climax in our film.

Does the title Sutrula have any relevance to the film?

Very pertinent question. I always wanted to keep title for my first film in chaste Tamil because of my indulgence in Tamil literature and language. If you take Iranian movies, they name their films in their language. Every part of the world follows it. But, we used to keep titles in other languages too earlier. Only after the tax exemption rule came in place, people started embracing Tamil titles here. Sutrula is the most stylish word for my movie. It’s an exciting word to hear. Whenever someone hears Sutrula, they can immediately associate with good-old memories, tourist spots and so on. I have a chunk of audience in Tamil Nadu for my title alone. My script demanded the title Sutrula and not the other way round.

About Sutrula.

Sutrula has a run-through script where the story happens in a single day. The opening of the film alone has a flashback and a backstory. The screenplay is laced with real-life incidents which frequently happen in tourist hot-spots. If a couple goes and stays in a hotel in a famous tourist destination today, hotel owners ask myriad number of questions to validate their marriage. My film will also create awareness among audiences about how to prepare yourselves before going on a picnic with your loved ones.

Do you think a short running time plays a crucial part in a film’s success?

Hollywood films mostly have a shorter running time and our audiences are slowly getting used to it. Am not saying we cut Sutrula exactly to be short. The film is shot like that and we were not skeptical about our content. If the handling of script is good, even a three-hour movie won’t be boring. If it fails, even a two-hour movie will be tedious to sit through. It all depends on how one handles the screenplay. We shot the opening stretch of Sutrula with meticulous care and state-of-the-art technology. The introduction scene alone costed me 50 lakhs. If the audience gets impressed with it, am sure the film will be a success.

Tell us about your cast. Sutrula has Richard, Prajin, Sandra Amy to name a few.

Richard is my family friend. He is my cousin’s classmate in Loyola College. Udhayanidhi, Vishal, Richard and my cousin studied together. I never had Richard in mind while writing the script. It’s only after I finished writing the script, I chose him. My script demanded a handsome anti-hero. Anyone can do a hero or villain. Only few can do roles which demand characteristics of both a hero and villain. After watching the film, you’ll realize that no one but Richard could pull off this role. Sutrula will be a breakthrough for Richard. It will be to Richard what Sethu was to Vikram.

BGM is the backbone of a thriller film. Has it come out well?

When I narrated the script to Bharani, he was enthralled and told me that he will definitely do this film. The re-recording for Sutrula will be talked about. Even you will agree with me after watching the film.

Tell us about the shooting experience.

We shot substantial part of our film in and around Ooty like Koodalur, Mudamalai hills and other picturesque locations. We can never predict the weather in hilly areas. It may rain anytime. For some crucial scenes, we had to travel continuously three hours uphill and complete the scene. We took painstaking effort to take all the equipments there. You will witness this in the interval block, it has come out extraordinarily well.

Your next movie?

My next is a religion-based film. It is based on Christianity. We are planning to launch the film in over 125 countries. It’s backed by a Hollywood studio and I’m planning to shoot the film in France. We are looking to release the film in India in four regional languages if all goes well. The work is under progress. It’s modeled on the lines of Darren Aronofsky’s Noah and Ridley Scott’s Exodus.