Photographer KR Sunil has all the time been a fascinating story-teller. And he finds his tales in the unlikeliest of locations — the streetside, a temple pageant, a random dialog with a stranger, a police station. It was one such story that led to Mohanlal-Tharun Moorthy super-hit revenge drama, Thudarum.
Twelve years in the past, at his hometown Kodungallur, Sunil noticed an aged man anxiously trying over the wall of the police station. Intrigued, he started to watch him and it appeared that the man’s gaze was mounted on the automobiles parked inside the compound of the police station. The expression on the man’s face, a wierd mixture of fear and willpower, says Sunil, sparked a sequence of ideas in his thoughts.
“What if he was looking at his vehicle that was intercepted by the police and was wondering how to retrieve it? What if that vehicle was his possession? What if it was the one thing he truly valued in life? It was all so visual, I had to write it down as a screenplay,” says Sunil.
The story, which revolves round Mohanlal’s character Shanmugham (a taxi driver fondly often called Benz, owing to his obsession with his classic Ambassador automobile), remixes actuality with filmy twists and turns.
For the photographer whose startlingly honest frames have consistently pushed us to ponder over the human expertise, writing for a movie was new. “Though I didn’t have experience in scripting, I have nurtured some friendships in the industry, especially with stalwarts such as Kamal and Lal Jose. I have also assisted Rajeev Ravi on the camera in two films (Quotation and Rasikan) . These helped me shape my cinematic language,” he provides. Even throughout his early days as a pupil at the Fine Arts College, Thrissur, Sunil was once an everyday at Film Society screenings; he would watch industrial movies, too.
K R Sunil with Mohanlal
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Fuelled by the vitality of his contemporary script, Sunil learn it out to producer Rajaputra Ranjith, who discovered potential in it. “He could easily relate to a character who was so obsessed with his car, he would go to any length to take care of it.” Ranjith ultimately spoke to Mohanlal and producer Antony Perumbavoor, who had been equally impressed with the story. “They had seen and known people like Benz who were obsessed with their cars,” says Sunil.
But cinema, with its uncertainties and vagaries, took its personal time. It was in 2022 when Sunil occurred to look at Saudi Vellakka, written and directed by Tharun Moorthy, that issues took a flip. “The film had a simple story told so compellingly that the scenes stayed with me. It struck a chord,” Sunil recollects. When Tharun heard the story, he knew too that it had all the makings of a great movie.
K R Sunil with Tharun Moorthy
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Tharun met Sunil in 2023, at Mattancherry, the place he was showcasing his works. They determined to work collectively on the script and what adopted was a joyfully inventive change, says Sunil. “Communicating with Tharun was easy and he offered quite a few suggestions, which I felt were suitable for the narrative, and we began work on a new script.”
Sunil, who was current at most of the taking pictures areas, says it was an inexplicable expertise watching Mohanlal emote the characters he created. “We know Mohanlal as an actor. But as a person, he is extremely down-to-earth. People come from different places just to get a glimpse of him.” Sunil recounts how an aged lady who was operating an eatery close to the taking pictures location in Thodupuzha introduced a day’s meal for Mohanlal, who gladly relished it.
Sunil admits he’s a bit overwhelmed by the response the movie has been getting. “The film has resonated with people across generations and the feedback is truly heartening,” he says. Sunil has fairly a number of tales in his head, however for now, he’s concentrating on his upcoming images reveals in Goa and Mumbai.
Published – May 05, 2025 09:59 pm IST
