Filmmaker Suman Kumar, who gained fame for co-writing the Hindi web series Guns & Gulaabs , Farzi and The Family Man, recently turned to direction with the Keerthy Suresh-starrer Raghu Thatha . He is now a far cry from the ‘broke and depressed’ Suman, who started in stand-up comedy in his 30s before evolving into writing with the famous filmmaker duo Raj & DK. (Also Read: Manoj Bajpayee reveals if there will be a crossover between his The Family Man 3 and Shahid Kapoor's Farzi 2 ) “Telling stories has always been my forte,” explains Suman in an exclusive chat with Hindustan Times.
“Making strangers laugh is one of the toughest things in the world. But in 2015, when I was broke and depressed, I thought, why the hell not, and went to an open mic in Bengaluru that changed my life. Of course, stand-up comedy took a back seat once I got busy with series and films,” he adds.
‘Keerthy impressed me with her performance’ When Suman wrote his debut directorial, Raghu Thatha, he had no one in mind for the lead role - a feminist who writes stories under a male pseudonym. But once Hombale Films (KGF, Kantara, Salaar ) picked up the Tamil film, they thought Keerthy would be perfect to play Kayalvizhi Pandian, aka Kayal. “The producers knew the film needed a big star in this role and thought of Keerthy,” he says.
But Suman was more than happy to be on board with this casting as he loved Keerthy’s performance in Saani Kaayidham (2022). “She broke the mould as a commer.