S L PURAM JAYASURYA | The director, who is known for movies like Speed Track, Angel John and Youtube trending Jack & Daniel, which has garnered more than 47 million views in six months, speaks with SUPRIYA RAMESH about his journey as a director, what paved his way for scriptwriting and upcoming work

When did your journey as a director begin?

I started my carrier as an assistant director with legendary south Indian filmmaker Mr Fazil, who happened to be a multilingual director. So naturally, I got a chance to work in Telugu, Tamil as well as in the Malayalam industry. This helped me a lot to understand the different styles of making, the usage of technology and the treatment based on cultural differences present in these states. Later, I switched over to the director’s card by directing Speed Track, my first movie with star actor Mr Dileep. It was the first complete sports movie in the Malayalam film industry ever. Well begun is half done. I changed genre to fantasy in my second movie Angel John, with legendary actor Mr Mohanlal. Finally Jack and Daniel, the third one, again with Dileep and Pan Indian actor Mr Arjun, which was an action movie. Nowadays, it's a trending movie on youtube with a historic achievement of more than 45 million views in just six months.

You are a postgraduate in English Literature. Did that anyway bring out your love for scriptwriting?

Yes, naturally literature helped to develop my span of imagination and writing skills. But when we talk about scripting, it was Fazil Sir's school, I mean the days with him, that molded me as a scriptwriter. Scripting is a technique that is derived from aesthetically joining literature and visual sense to maintain the stream of consciousness. Moreover, my heritage was a boon to me.

Your father S L Puram  Sadanandan was a renowned screenplay writer. What did you get to learn from his experience in the industry?

My father had a drama troupe named Suryasoma, where I got an immense chance to observe his writings and directing skills. His dialogues in drama as well as in cinema were extremely sharp and powerful when dealing with social evils which in turn influenced my writings and thought process. I still cannot write a script or anything without addressing social issues. But in every aspect cinema has changed a lot. In some way, I am blessed to witness the transition process in cinema. 

Does direction and screenplay writing go hand in hand? 

Both are easy for me. Being a writer-director, I have good control over the length and budget of my movies. I can change or correct a script aesthetically to meet its budget at any point in its making process. Director and screenplay writer are not twin brothers, but they are lovers and I enjoy them.

According to you, how much has directing changed over the years?

The direction has changed a lot with the development of technology. The advent of computer-generated imagery has increased the span of visualisation to be more effective and easy. Previously, the screenplay was considered to be an annex of literature. Dialogues were the prime means of communication. But now it is not. Now cinema has its language, ie, visuals. As a director, I can create any range of visual treats with the help of technology if the script demands it. Today's velocity of life also has a great influence on cinema in its editing rhythm and cutting pattern.

 Where do you see yourself in the next five years?

In the next five years, I hope to see myself in world cinema. Nowadays, Malayalam cinema has been privileged to become Indian cinema and in turn, Hindi cinema has transformed to the status of world cinema. Now the gateway is open. There are a lot of platforms too. So, only our effort is needed to prove the class.

What are your upcoming projects?

A couple of films are under planning which include a Tamil as well as a Hindi movie.