Su From So (Kannada)
Anyone walking into JP Thuminad’s Su From So expecting a simple brain-rot comedy will get just that, albeit along with a healthy dose of emotional intelligence.
Brimming with life and a kind of energy that one only feels on a drunken night out, JP Thuminad’s debut outing is endearingly silly at first encounter and deceivingly layered when dug deep into. It kicks off in the intimate small town of Marlur, where everyone knows everyone and each of those everyone comes with an ‘anna’ or an ‘akka’ suffixed to their name.
There’s Ravi Anna (Shaneel Gautham), the much-admired troubleshooter of the town who can solve any problem, with brain or brawn. There’s Chandranna (Prakash Thuminad), who drives an auto less to make a living and more to accommodate his friends’ shenanigans. Satishanna (Deepak Rai Panaje) stands as Ravi Anna’s sidekick, but he can barely stand on account of being nearly perpetually drunk, while Yadhu Anna (Mime Ramdas) fancies himself as the wisest among them all. Also in town is Bebi Akka, along with her husband Rameshanna, their son Ashoka (played by Thuminad himself), and a school-going daughter.
Ashoka is like any young bloke who gulps down beer at social gatherings and loves watching seedy sex videos on his phone. He also seems prone to committing faux pas when least expected, and one of those bungles of his may cause a mysterious woman spirit named Sulochana to come to possess him.
For Thuminad, our knowledge of all these characters and their peculiarities isn’t just a means to his world-building, but also a method to make a larger point without ever drawing attention to itself. We must understand that Ashoka and his friends aren’t particularly ashamed of peeking into bathrooms while women bathe. It is essential that we recognise Ravi Anna, beneath his cuddly yet tough exterior, may be hiding insecurity/grief over still being unmarried. It is also important for us to understand how madcap or unruly the collective existence of the townsfolk is; otherwise, a woman specifically named Sulochana would have never entered their lives. Everything serves a dual purpose of being intentionally frivolous as well as a device to communicate something more meaningful, but Su From So never falls into the trap of taking itself seriously about carrying that weight.
And in being frivolous or silly, the film does a bang-for-your-buck job. If it’s a funeral gathering, the rituals are carried out amidst confusion, banter and some booze later. If it’s the wedding of someone they know, the event will have no dearth of food, drama, dance, games - and, of course, some booze. Between tea shops, community meetings and general chaos, life unfolds with a matter-of-fact cackle in Marlur, and an unspoken rule binds them all together to live through thick and thin, day and night, and friendship and fear. So, when Sulochana comes knocking, the whole town, led by Ravi Anna, gets busy finding a bizarrely comical solution.
It is with this sleight-of-hand approach that JP Thuminad (also the writer) pleasantly subverts our expectations and lends his film a sense of maturity that we don’t really spot at first sight. What could a story about a man being possessed lead to, that he comes of age at the end of it all? How does this journey help him in forging a most unique and tender relationship with a stranger? More importantly, why does an unknown woman’s spiritual takeover trigger an introspection about masculinity among some of the men? Su From So packs it all in seamlessly, and it delivers answers without being preachy, without ceasing to engage or entertain at any point.
It is only natural, then, that the film boasts numerous memorable performances, and Shaneel Gautham fittingly leads the way here. His Ravi Anna is gutsy yet charming and hilarious, and even though the writing doesn’t do anything special in his case, the character reveals depth and nuance. Sandhya Arekere, in yet another supremely measured performance, enters the story at a crucial point and nearly steals the show from thereon - her scenes with JP Thuminad and Shaneel Gautham are one of the highlights. Similarly, well-known actors Prakash Thuminad, Deepak Rai Panaje and others prove their dependability once again, as they blend into the glorious ensemble without ever seeking the spotlight.
S Chandrasekaran's visuals, much like the performances, do not intrude and perfectly capture the essence of the interior Mangaluru-Udupi region. Sumedh K’s songs are hummable while Sandeep Thulasidas’s background score infuses some fun and vigour into the narrative, just as Nithin Shetty’s editing maintains the right rhythm throughout.
The only snag about Su From So would be that some of its humour feels forced and, at times, it is also a tad repetitive (instead, it could have afforded a few more genuine scares). But that would be to nitpick, because none of the scenes really cause any harm in the large scheme of things, and some of them even align neatly with the tone or ‘spirit’ of the film. All in all, this is a crackling, long-overdue delight for the Kannada viewer, and one is sure to walk out feeling uplifted in every sense of the word.
Swaroop Kodur is a freelance film writer, critic, and fledgling filmmaker.
Disclaimer: This review was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the film. Neither TNM nor any of its reviewers have any sort of business relationship with the film’s producers or any other members of its cast and crew.