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Supriya Menon: Prithviraj and I have our differences, but we both believe dissent is important



It’s clear that Supriya Menon pulled out all the stops for the films, 9 and Driving Licence, in which she was involved as a co-producer this year. That’s the impression you get from the gusto with which the former journalist talks about her films. A day before the release of Driving Licence that has husband Prithviraj playing a superstar, Supriya talks about her banner Prithviraj Productions, what she enjoys most about her stint as a co-producer, the changes she would like to see in Malayalam cinema and more.

You started this year with sci-fi, psychological thriller 9, which was a unique project in Malayalam in terms of its content, locations and production. More than testing waters, was it more like taking a deep plunge as a co-producer?

I would agree with that, but it was interesting as we had somebody like Prithvi helming the whole thing. 9 was a really good experience, it had a unique storyline and was a genre-bender. I feel that we tried to bring something new to Malayalam cinema – be it in terms of the story or trying to push the limits of what computer graphics can do and what we can achieve within the timeframe and budget of a Malayalam film. In that sense, 9 was challenging.
But in hindsight, I feel 9 was a lot easier because Driving Licence is a much bigger project. While we were shooting 9, I was a bit worried because we were in Spiti and Manali, which aren’t the most hospitable of places when it comes to filming. So, 9 posed a lot of challenges vis-a-vis the locations more than anything else. It was a learning experience and I am really glad that we could partner with Sony Pictures on our first film and get them to be interested in a regional film in India.

How different was it working in a film like Driving Licence after that?

9 had a more intimate team considering that we had to travel out of town to do it and we weren’t taking the whole team per se with us. The movie for most parts only had Prithviraj, Wamiqa Gabbi and Alok; so we didn’t have a major cast to deal with. In that sense, Driving Licence is a much bigger film with a lot of stars including Prithviraj, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Salim Kumar, Edavela Babu and Vijayakumar. I really got a taste of what it is like to film in Malayalam. We also had a bigger crew and to top it off, we had the monsoon that never let up this time. It gave us a bit of a heartache as we had to stop shoot in the middle of the rains and all that adds to the budget, because you are keeping people waiting.

Also, in Driving Licence, (its director) Jean (Paul Lal) knew who he wanted to work with and brought all of them on board. It was his team and entire crew, only the production was ours. So, I feel in that sense, 9 was possibly more collaborative because we were there right from the start with (9 director) Jenuse (Mohamed). As far as Jean was concerned, he was already comfortable with his team. Also, Driving Licence was tougher because on any given day, we were handling about 2,000 junior artistes on sets, and that is not easy and definitely not cheap.

Earlier in Malayalam films, a producer would be someone who just signs the cheques without much creative involvement.

I really don’t know what it was like earlier to be a producer. Now, I am doing everything hands-on; I run the company completely. Prithvi once in a while signs the cheques when I am not in town, so he plays the role of the quintessential producer you mentioned. I like being involved and that’s how our team is. I hear scripts and in fact, I heard the script first of the next film we are going to produce. I then told Prithvi to hear it and told him I think we have a great story here. He agreed and came on board. In that sense, I feel my script sense is validated because I could spot a project. I think the excitement lies in that.

Also, making a film is a collaborative effort. I can’t really say that one person is right and this is the final decision. One needs to hear people’s voices. If only one department excels, we aren’t going to do great. Everyone will have to put their weight behind the project. I think I am very hands on and I can’t think of myself any other way.

Is there any particular aspect of production that you enjoy the most?

The part where you fix the project and when the story is being developed. I think that’s the most creative part. It probably comes from being a journalist. The whole idea of being a journalist is to tell a story, of what’s happening on the ground at that point in time. It’s the same here.

In journalism, the gratification is instant when you see your byline or yourself on television; but in films it takes longer. So, for me the most exciting bits are the beginning, when you first hear a mind-blowing story and you are thinking that people are going to like it, and the end, at the cusp of the film's release, like in the case of Driving Licence right now. We have been working on Driving Licence for over a year. While we were shooting for 9, Driving Licence was just something I was starting to develop as our next project. So, now is the moment where I am hoping there would be gratification when it reaches theatres, and more people like it as much as I did when I first heard the story.

How did the idea of transitioning from a journalist to a film producer come about?

The company was something we were toying with for a few years now. My career has always been in Mumbai and other places, and I felt going back to Mumbai and re-joining the BBC wasn’t feasible for me, with the baby and Prithvi being in Kerala. I was very keen that we have our own thing and when we formed this company, we had clear mandates and boundaries – he does the acting, we are both on board for the creatives and then it’s my baby. I started work when I was 23-years-old and being a working professional always, it’s a no-brainer (to continue so).

9 was a sci-fi thriller and Driving Licence is an entertainer. Often good content doesn’t necessarily translate to revenue at the box office. Is Prithviraj Productions willing to make that trade off?

In that case, you already have your answer. I could have done Driving Licence first and 9 later. We had the script of Driving Licence ready but we chose to open with 9. We chose to say what Prithviraj Productions stand for. We got into 9, fully knowing not everybody may identify with what we are portraying. But if everybody thinks like that, who is going to push the boundaries of the industry? One has to look at the larger picture.


It’s not necessary that amazing content has to bring in great revenue, but I think we will get there slowly. We have to build up the audience’s tastes as well. Also, the films we are selecting are not done by design. It just happened to work out that Driving Licence is an entertainer. What we will maintain as a company is that we want the audience to have a takeaway at the end of the film; 9 had a different payoff and at the end of Driving Licence also, the audience will get to take back home something else.


How is it working with someone like Prithviraj in the team?

Am I to answer that really (laughs)? It’s not easy, but it’s not very difficult either. We have differences, but we both believe dissent is important, in creative spaces or any other kind of space for that matter. There are lots of decisions where I don’t agree with him and vice versa, but we try to take a path that is unanimous or where we can amicably settle our differences.





Mostly, where I have a problem is that he doesn’t think like a producer. When he is shooting, he is completely an actor and he says, ‘We need this’, and I am like, ‘This costs so much money. Can we not do it this way?’ I wish he was more inclined towards the producer’s side but I think that’s just the selfish me speaking. The professional me sees that what he is doing is right. He’s an actor and he can’t be thinking about the cost; he should be thinking about what is best for the movie. I, obviously being the producer, am thinking where we can cut the cost without affecting the film.

Both 9 and Driving Licence had a bankable star like Prithviraj attached to it, which is sort of a safety net. Could we see that change going forward?

Absolutely! Right now, I can only afford to work with him, simply because we are just getting on our feet. I am not paying my main star now and that’s why we have Prithviraj headlining the films. I would love to work with other actors and that’s what I see as the future for our banner – not just in Malayalam but in other languages as well. That is my aim. The whole idea is to develop new talents, hone existing ones and give people a platform. Hopefully, next year, we will have other actors under our banner.





You are one of the very few women producers in Malayalam right now. What are the changes you have brought in and would like to see in the future?

It is a very sad statement, isn’t it that I am one of the few women producers? That itself I am hoping will change. There are others, I know, who are entering the industry. As more aware women enter the industry, one of the main things I would talk about is the safety of women on sets and the fact that people get to see cinema as a regular profession and not as something that girls can’t be part of.

I would like to see more female talent. In my own way, I am trying to bring in more female technicians, co-producers or line producers into the business; but it takes time. It’s not that just because I am a woman I can hire the next woman. If somebody has the qualifications and drive, then yes.

I think there is a need for sensitising the rest of the male population, but what I can see is that it’s not easy. Change doesn’t happen after making just two films. It’s still an old boys’ club, let’s be very clear on that. So, you keep hacking. There are so many things that when women say, they don’t take it well. I feel that I need to do a lot more to earn my right to sit at the table, but at the same time, I am already in this room. So, they have to hear my voice – whether they like it or not. I am not going to keep quiet just because it’s unpleasant or it’s something they don’t want to hear. I think we would be very foolish to think that it’s going to change by four or five women coming together.

Women have to get into positions of power within the industry bodies. When that happens, there will be some form of voice because right now whatever you say, the reply is, ‘This is not the way it’s done’. There is always resistance to change and when you try to do something a bit differently, people say you don’t know how it works. I have heard a lot of that over the last few years I have been working here and it will take a lot of time to change. And the onus shouldn’t just be on the women, the men have to change too. They have to make sure that it’s a welcoming and equitable space.

Prithviraj is taking a three-month break from films after a long time, to prepare for his role in Aadujeevitham.

I have known him since 2007 and in all these years of us being a couple, I have never seen him take three months off. So, it’s unchartered territory for both of us and by the end of it, I am hoping we are both sane and alive, and don’t end up killing each other for spending so much time together (laughs). Ally (daughter Alankrita) and I are both thrilled. She is not used to seeing ‘daada’ at home and she keeps asking, ‘Daada, are you going to stay today or go?’ and he says, ‘No, I am going to be here’.

It’s new but it’s also a challenge because it’s not really a holiday for him. He has to lose a lot of weight and that itself is not easy when one is at home and starving. There is a mental space also that he has to get into because Aadujeevitham is sort of a solitary film with just him as an actor. He will be trying to get himself in that zone, but it’s great to have him home for three months as he says.

What does it take to wean him off cinema, apart from cars?

Cricket. I always say there’s three C’s in his life – cinema, cars and cricket – and we compete with all these. But cinema is his first love.

 

Cine Maniac‏ @cinemamaniacss 5m5 minutes ago




#DrivingLicence Firsthalf:- A good 1st half with ample amount of humour and thrills with @PrithviOfficial & #Suraaj scoring in each scenes The conflict gets introduced and ends on a thrilling note Good so far

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ഡ്രൈവിംഗ് ലൈസൻസ് ആദ്യ പകുതി ::::::::::::::

ആക്ഷേപ ഹാസ്യത്തിന്റെയും ചില intense ഇമോഷന്സും കൊണ്ട് നന്നായ ആദ്യ പകുതി.
ആരാധകന്റെ (സുരാജ് ) ആത്മാഭിമാനത്തിൽ കേറി അരി വറുത്ത താരത്തിന്റെ (പ്രിത്വിരാജ് ) തിരക്കഥയിൽ മിന്നി സച്ചിയുടെ എഴുത്തു നന്നായിട്ടുണ്ട്. ആരാധകനായും താരവുമായി ആദ്യ പകുതിയിൽ സുരാജിന്റെയും പൃഥ്വിയുടെയും അടിപൊളി പെർഫോമൻസ് കൂടി ആയപ്പോൾ രസകരം ആയിട്ടുണ്ട്. വെല്ലുവിളിയുടെ ഇടവേളയ്ക്കു ശേഷം രണ്ടാമത്തെ പകുതിയിലേക്കു

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@Mayavi 369 Watching

 

Mohammed Suhail‏




#DrivingLicence First Half Suraj Ettan REAL BATTLE BEGINS WAITING FOR SECOND HALF @PrithviOfficial Polli ഏട്ടൻ നല്ലൊരു ക്രിക്കറ്റ് പ്ലേയർ ആണ് @PrithviOfficial

 

#DrivingLicense Interval : So far so good. Unique plot and interesting drama with good performance from @PrithviOfficial and Suraaj.

 

Athul Jaison‏




ഡ്രൈവിംഗ് ലൈസൻസ് ഫസ്റ്റ് ഹാഫ് കിടുക്കി ഈ ലെവൽ കീപ് ചെയ്താൽ sure shot hit #DrivingLicense

 

@renji watching.
Good First Half Ingane Ang pokane

 

Prithvi Is Back Padam Kollam