Uppu Kappurambu director Ani IV Sasi talks about how he finds Suhas closer to Mohanlal in terms of sensibilities, why he doesn't think of himself as a good writer, the deeper goals behind his filmmaking attempts, and more

Uppu Kappurambu director Ani IV Sasi talks about how he finds Suhas closer to Mohanlal in terms of sensibilities, why he doesn't think of himself as a good writer, the deeper goals behind his filmmaking attempts, and more

- BH HARSH

AFTER making a dreamy slice-of-life film like Ninnila Ninnila, Ani IV Sasi is returning with his sophomore project, Uppu Kappurambu.

The wacky satire, starring Keerthy Suresh and Suhas, is all set to premiere on Prime Video on July 4.

Ahead of the film's release, the filmmaker spoke to CE about the progress of his latest film, his takeaway from Ninnila Ninnila, major filmmaking influences, and his core intent behind wanting to make films.

Excerpts

How did Uppu Kappurambu come into shape?

After I made Ninnila Ninnila, Radhika Lavu of Ellanar Films got in touch with me about making a series.

We worked on the script for six months.

At the same time, Radhika was talking to other writers, one of them was Vasanth Maringanti (writer of Cinema Bandi and Subham).

He sent three synopses, and one of them was Uppu Kappurambu, which I found very new and exciting.

Vasanth wrote the first draft in a month, and then we improvised upon it.

How did Suhas and Keerthy Suresh come on board?

I watched Suhas' work in Colour Photo and Hit 2 and found him very versatile.

He has many aspects similar to actors like Mohanlal sir, especially the flexibility.

He also has a great understanding of characters.

Keerthy's character in the film is close to her real-life persona.

She is very easygoing and talks with a bit of sarcasm in her demeanour.

I knew she would be in a comfortable space with this part, and I am glad she did it.

In an interview, you mentioned how Keerthy Suresh's character came in much later.

How did that work out?

In our first synopsis, we only had a graveyard keeper character, whom the village goes against.

We then thought of bringing in another character to share the protagonist's weight—that's how the village head figure, played by Keerthy Suresh, came in.