Why ‘Su From So' has gone from under-the-radar Kannada film to a breakout hit

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2 days ago

A lot can happen in a week. On July 25, JP Thuminad's Su From So was released on 13 screens across Karnataka. By the end of seven days, the Kannada film was available on close to 150 screens and had mopped up nearly Rs 16 crore, producer Raj B Shetty said.
'That's remarkable – it's a star number associated with superhit films,' Shetty told Scroll . Not only is Su From So continuing to do roaring business in Karnataka, especially in the capital Bengaluru, it has also been dubbed into Malayalam and was released in Kerala on August 1.
Anybody who hasn't watched Su From So will be startled by the success of a movie with mostly theatre actors and none of the usual blandishments of commercial cinema. Nobody who has watched Su From So will be surprised by the love it has received.
Thuminad's debut feature, which he has also written, is a rambunctious comedy of manners set in a village in southern Karnataka. The beautifully written, performed and staged movie tucks into a consciously chaotic and absurdist narrative a firm message about the treatment of women.
Ashoka (played by the director) pretends to be possessed by a female spirit in order to get out of an uncomfortable situation. Ravi Anna (Shaneel Gautham), the village's de facto head, is pressurised into heading the investigation. A dodgy television godman (Raj B Shetty) is called in as an exorcist.
Even as Ashoka finds it hard to keep up his pretence, it appears that the ghost of Sulochana from Someshwara ('Su From So') is actually hovering around. Sulochana's daughter Bhanu (Sandhya Arakere) gets embroiled in the goings-on, adding to Ravi Anna's headache.
The movie's chief pleasure lies in watching the villagers bumble about, hold forth and behave at cross-purposes while trying to solve the mystery behind Ashoka's behaviour. The hilarious characters include a pompous village committee member and a permanently drunk man who insists on trying to help out. Shaneel Gautham (centre) in Su From So (2025). Courtesy Lighter Buddha Films.
Jaya Prakash Thuminad's roots lie in Tulu theatre and cinema. In previous interviews, Thuminad has spoken of being inspired by Raj B Shetty, who alongside acting has directed films, starting with the comedy Ondu Motteya Kathe in 2017. Shetty's other films, which he has also produced through his banner Lighter Buddha films, include the acclaimed vengeance drama Garuda Gamana Vrishabha Vahana (2021).
Shetty had initially approached Thuminad to adapt a book by the Kannada writer Jogi. 'It was a light, comical book that was deep too,' Shetty said. Thuminad started working on a screenplay with Shaneel Gautham in mind for the lead role.
However, Shetty found out that another filmmaker had optioned the book. To help Thuminad overcome his despondency over losing the project, Shetty asked him to come up with other ideas.
'I told JP, tell me about the interesting characters and incidents you have seen in your life,' Shetty recalled. Su From So emerged out of these conversations.
This was nearly seven years ago. Thuminad kept working on the script, through and after the coronavirus pandemic. Su From So was shot in October last year, completed in February and released in July – an indie approach that Shetty says is necessary if such movies are to be made.
'The industry knew about the film's existence only a few weeks before its release through the trailer,' Shetty stated. By flying under the radar but aiming high, the production has reaped rich dividends. Su From So (2025). Courtesy Lighter Buddha Films.
Everything that the makers were warned against worked in their favour. 'Distributors cautioned us against releasing the film on July 25 – three big films in other languages were coming on that day,' Shetty said. 'For a while, I too believed in the lie that nobody would watch a Kannada film.'
But the word of mouth that had begun with the premiere on July 21 and subsequent preview screenings was too strong to ignore. 'Nobody had the power to control us,' Shetty said. 'If we had had somebody to whom we had to report, the process wouldn't have been so much fun and so smooth.'
There was also the perception that since Su From So reflects the culture of Dakshina Kannada – or southern Karnataka – it would not appeal to the state's northern viewers.
'This film is running houseful in northern Karnataka too,' Shetty said. 'For them, the culture is new, which makes the experience a bit more interactive. Audiences are more intelligent than the industry gives them credit for.'
Cinema has the power to transcend geography, Shetty added. 'Watching a film is like going on a trip,' he observed. 'You want to go to a place that is new rather than already known. When you watch Sholay , you want both the heroes to survive not because they are from your part of the world, but because they are human.'
This is the case with Su From So too. 'The characters are funny and relatable, they are people from our own families, lives and villages,' Shetty said. Danks Anthem, Su From So (2025).
Thuminad expertly handles a sizeable cast of actors, many of whom are new to filmmaking. One of his tricks, he told Scroll through Shetty since he mainly speaks Kannada, was to narrate only those scenes to the actors in which they were involved.
This part-of-the-whole approach ensures that even minor players are memorable. 'Take the character of the drunk – he thinks that he is very responsible and very important to the occasion, although everyone else thinks otherwise,' Shetty pointed out.
Shaneel Gautham was among the few actors who knew the entire script. Gautham is likely to known as Ravi Anna in the conceivable future for his terrific turn as the saga's reluctant knight in shining armour.
'I played the character with great joy,' Gautham told Scroll . 'I was the one person who had heard the complete story, I knew it from top to bottom. I thought it would be easy to play Ravi Anna. But JP fought a lot to make me get under Ravi Anna's skin.'
Gautham had no references for the role. 'I imitated what JP told me to do,' he said. 'The villagers view Ravi Anna as someone who is daring or dashing. He is somebody people turn to. He needed to look huge and separate.' Thuminad deliberately surrounded Gautham, who is six feet tall, with actors who were shorter than him to make Ravi Anna appear imposing.
The shoot was a source of 'great joy', Gautham said. 'I had been mesmerised by JP's writing right from the start,' he added. 'When we are making a film, we tend to lose judgement. But when we watch the film with audiences, we can recollect what we felt when we were making it.'
Thuminad didn't just write and direct Su From So but also played a key character – triple duty that Shetty himself had performed on his own Ondu Motteya Kathe .
'I didn't want JP to feel the pressure I felt when I directed my first film,' Shetty said. 'He got all the support he needed.'
This included recruiting experienced technicians such as cinematographer S Chandrasekaran and editor Nithin Shetty. The assistant directors were well-versed with the script, and knew exactly what to do when Thuminad was in front of the camera for Ashoka's scenes.
Su From So 's miraculous run isn't just great news for its makers. The movie's popularity is a shot in the arm for Kannada cinema too, Shetty said.
But he is leery of holding up Su From So as an exemplar of the recent wave of offbeat Kannada films. Like Malayalam cinema, Kannada productions with strong scripts and clearly delineated characters have long been attracting attention outside the state – Pawan Kumar's Lucia (2013), Raam Reddy's Thithi (2015), Shetty's own films and Natesh Hegde's Pedro (2021), among them.
There have also been box-office hits, such as Prashant Neel's K.G.F movies, Rishab Shetty's Kantara (2022) and Kiranraj K's 777 Charlie , starring Rakshit Shetty.
'We see water and we call it a river – whatever is termed as a wave or a revolution is too vague and too thin at the moment,' Shetty observed. 'There are good films and bad films. New good films will come and new bad films will come. The only thing that we can do is keep on making films, rather than taking three to four years for a project. Filmmakers who are successful need to produce more, or perhaps be of help to newcomers.'
The perception in Bollywood that unconventional films don't run – yeh nahin chalegi – isn't shared by Shetty. 'I crossed that stage with my first film itself,' he said. 'The attitude always was, yehi chalegi.' This will definitely run.
'Fortunately, I am in a position where I am not dependent on distributors the way it is in Bollywood,' Shetty added. 'I have my own production house where I can produce a film that I believe in.'
Su From So was made from the heart without any expectation of massive returns. 'Our intention was to make a film that was entertaining, engaging and had a quality of goodness to it,' Shetty said. 'That doesn't mean that the film should get preachy. A preachy film is like the anti-smoking ad that is shown in cinemas and that nobody watches. The movie should be experiential, not word-based.' Su From So (2025).