Suman, the Next Big Star in Southern Cinema Speaks to us

With her dazzling smile and a girl next door looks gorgeous Sandalwood actor Suman is not your regular heroine. She is confident, she cares for the environment; she talks about nutrition and is worried about the junk-food generation.  She has attempted CAT and feels that her life would have taken a different turn had she secured admission in any of the elite IIMs. With acting in movies like Re, she is dubbed as the next big thing in the Kannada film industry. We caught up with her to talk about her life, experiences in the movie industry and more.

Q) When was your first contact with show business? 

Suman: As a kid, I was very active in sports and cultural activities. When I was fourteen, I was offered a movie role. I wasn’t interested back then and moreover my dad wanted me to pursue higher education before venturing into anything in life.

Q) Interesting. So what was your dad’s idea about where he wanted to see you in life?

Suman: His idea was, a formal education can help me take informed decisions plus I am glad that I rejected that role. I also believe that education, ethics, good upbringing and values define a person.

Q) So you went ahead with higher education?

Suman: Yeah, I hold an MBA from Bangalore University.

Q) How did you finally manage to enter the film industry?

Suman: In a family gathering during my MBA, I was introduced to director Sunil Kumar Desai by my dad’s friend, who is a very close friend of Desai sir. He did not react much at the function. I totally forgot about the incident and never thought I would hear back from him. Five months later, I got a call from him for acting in the movie Re.

Q) Haha, that’s something. So what was your reaction? 

Suman: I feel very lucky to have paired alongside the multi-talented Ramesh Arvind and Anant Nag who are considered one of Kannada Cinema’s finest actors. To add to the excitement, the film was directed by my favorite director Sunil Kumar Desai. If this wasn’t enough, one of my favorite hero from the industry Super Star Kiccha Sudeep clapped the clapperboard for my first scene.

Q) That’s great, so how important was this as your first movie?

Suman: It is a dream come true as I was introduced by the acclaimed director of Kannada movie industry who has earlier introduced actors like Ramesh Arvind and Kiccha Sudeep who went on to become Super Stars of the industry(laughs).

Q) So as this was your first experience in cinema, how did you blend in?

Suman: There were six days of formal introduction to acting and basic camera sense. Plus taking part in school and college cultural programs helped me learn faster. I am good at multi-tasking.

Q) So what’s the movie about

Suman:I play a dual role of PREETI (symbolically love)  a  multi millionaire’s daughter, MD of a company having a unique interest in music, antique paintings collection and MAYA (illusion), who happens to be a dream-girl to the hero. The movie is a philosophical comedy that narrates “love is an illusion”. The director found me suitable as I was very similar to the character who is tall, elegant and has a dreamy appearance with unique eyes, hence he offered me the role.

Q) Cool, so do you have other projects lined up? 

Suman: Yes, while Re’s shoot was about to be wrapped up, I got an offer to act in Mana Manthana. I got a call from Director Suresh Heblikar for a story discussion about psychiatry, as I liked the story we set up a meeting.   Apparently after 10 minutes of interaction Dr. Ashok Pai decided that I would be the right choice to play the role of Dr. Sushma, a psychiatrist, and handing over a bouquet said, “We will be working together ma.” I really felt overwhelmed ( smiles).

Q) Wow great. So what is the movie about?

Suman: The movie talks about countertransference. Countertransference is defined as the redirection of a psychiatrist’s feelings towards a client. Emotional entanglement against the psychiatric principles (a unique concept). In this movie again am very fortunate to share screen space with veterans like Suresh Heblikar, Ramesh Bhat and Co-star Kiran Rajput. 

Q) So what is your reaction to the roles you have managed to land?

Suman: I feel that I am really lucky to have landed in roles that are dignified and women-centric. I feel my confidence plays a part in helping me land these roles.

Q) So what are your future plans in the industry?

Suman: Right now discussions are on for few projects in Kannada and Tamil which will go on floors by Feb 2017. Also, I am shooting for a couple of designer wear ethnic brands. I am also in talks with few nutrition and wellness brands to be roped in as their brand ambassador. If presented with offers to act in genres like, romantic comedy, historical period dramas and family entertainers, I would jump out of my skin to sign the dotted line.

Q) That’s wonderful, the whole team of Caustic News wishes you the best for your future, hope a lot of success comes your way. So before leaving, a final question, is there a message to people you wish to convey?

Suman: I appreciate the organized working environment and feel that if like-minded people come together, they can create a huge impact in the society.