The audio of Raghu Thatha, a film produced by one of India’s top production houses, Hombale Films, was released with great fanfare on Saturday in Chennai.
Featuring National Award-winning actress Keerthy Suresh in the lead, Raghu Thatha marks the directorial debut of Suman Kumar, who is best known for having written the scripts of immensely popular web series such as The Family Man and Farzi.
Apart from Keerthy Suresh, who plays the protagonist in the film, Raghu Thatha will also feature Suresh, M S Bhaskar, Ravindra Vijay, Devadarshini, Rajeev Ravindranathan, Jayakumar, Anandsami, Rajesh Balachandiran, Ismath Banu, KS. Mippu, Mukesh, Janaki, Aadhira Pandilakshmi and Chu Khoy Sheng in pivotal roles.
The film, which has cinematography by Yamini Yagnamurthy and music by Sean Roldan, is a comedy drama that has been produced by producer Vijay Kiragandur on behalf of Hombale Films.
The entire cast and crew of Raghu Thatha, which has been scheduled for release on August 15, took part in the audio launch function of the film which took place at a star hotel on Saturday with great fanfare.
Speaking at the audio launch event, director Suman Kumar said, “Honestly, I never thought that I would direct a film called Raghu Thatha. I have a friend from Kanyakumari named Kingsley. We were once chilling at the home of Anand Krishnamoorthy, who is the sound designer of this film. Kingsley suddenly said, ‘My grandad pulled my dad’s leg saying he took a Hindi exam in the bank for the sake of getting a promotion. He said, ‘My dad had shouted slogans against the imposition of Hindi but had learnt Hindi for the sake of promotions’. That was when it struck me that this was a great film idea. This was almost 14 years back and here we are. It would not have been possible without my writing team – Anand, Manoj and Naveen – and my technical team – DoP Yamini Yagnamurthy, Editor T S Suresh, Sound designer Anand Krishnamoorthy and costume designer Poornima. It is a strong team. I decided that if at all I did this movie, I would do it with only this team, except for a couple of people.
“A lot of people can say a lot of things about this film but I am very proud of one thing about this film – casting. Wonderful actors came together and did such a fantastic job led by Keerthy Suresh, M S Baskar sir, Devadarshini ma’am and my good friend Ravinder Vijay. “
The director went on to say, “How this film happened is creative producer Vijay Subramaniam took me to Hombale’s office where I met the producer. There, he asked me if I had a line to narrate to the producer. I told only one line. I said, ‘There is a boy who is in love with a girl but for him to get her, he needs to learn Hindi.’ The producer was impressed and wanted to do a film on that line. We haven’t done that. We have done something else and you will see.”
Talking about the man of the moment, music director Sean Roldan, director Suman Kumar said, “Both Sean Roldan and I are crazy. When two crazy people work together, you will get to know soon what kind of output you will get. Thank you for being crazy Sean in this world of mediocrity.”
The director, who even answered a few questions from the media after his speech, explained that the film was not about opposing Hindi but about resisting the imposition of a language. In fact, the film, he said, dealt with certain impositions on women.
Music director Sean Roldan, who spoke on the occasion, said that director Suman Kumar got in touch with him during the pandemic to discuss the possibility of using his songs for the web series, The Family Man. “However, that conversation went on for about seven hours. What he said was right. That meeting was just like how it would be when two crazy people meet. Director Suman is one crazy person. The one thing I like most about Suman is that generally, writers are very serious people. I too was expecting Suman to be a serious person. But he spoke like a local person. I liked that about him and I find it really charming about him.” Sean Roldan disclosed.
The music director also said that Keerthy Suresh had come up with a memorable performance in the film. “When I watched this film for the first time without the background score, it was like watching a K Baghyaraj film. That is because his films have a political point to make but they are made in a light-hearted, comical way. At the same time, the kind of Tamil films I love the most are dramas. Be it Mani Ratnam sir, K Balachander sir, Mahendran sir… Be it anybody whom we consider big directors. All of them would have kept the story as the core and would have ridden on an idea. I liked the idea of this film. Impositions are of many kinds. There are certain impositions on women, in particular. This is a film about impositions. I am someone who personally believes that nobody should impose anything on anybody. So, this film had something that I fundamentally believed in.”
Sean Roldan said that he found working with Suman very easy as the director was a guitarist himself and someone who loved music. Roldan said that as the director had a clear understanding of music and also because the film was a period film, he got the opportunity to try out new sounds.
Stating that one did not have to be serious to make a point, the music director pointed out that they had tried to put across certain points in a sarcastic manner in this film.
The music director, who said that the film had a variety of music in it including Rock music and Gaana music, said that the film was such that even when watched 15 years later, it would give the impression that they had given a good film.
Stating that the film had a total of five songs, out of which he had penned the lyrics of two and the director had penned the lyrics of one, Sean Roldan said that the musical instrument guitar had been used as a character in the film and that his friend Vikram had played the guitar.
Actress Keerthy Suresh, who spoke on the occasion, said that the event was a happy occasion. “This (film) began with Suman and Vijay reaching out to me. When Suman narrated the script, he would narrate and laugh. Then, he would look doubtfully at us. Only then will I break into laughter. It was only after the narration that I told him that I liked the story, the subject and his approach. However, I also pointed out some inhibitions I had on whether I could pull off such a role. Suman and Vijay were very strong about that. It was the courage they offered me that made me do this. Thank you Suman for having me in Raghu Thatha. “
“Thanks to Vijay Kiragandur sir, Karthik Gowda and Hombale films,” Keerthy Suresh said and added that this was an album that she was waiting to listen for a long time.
She said, “As Sean said, every song in this film will be of a different genre. One will be a reggae, one will be a rock, one will be a gaana song. It is a gem from you. Thank you Sean Roldan. The song that Sean sang, Arugae Va, is a favourite of mine.”
Keerthy also spoke about the cinematographer of the film, Yamini, saying, “I have already worked on Saani Kaayidham with Yamini. That was a completely different kind of film. This is entirely different and she has brought a different colour and different tone for this film. It is always nice to have a woman in the team. We have a lot of women in the team. That by itself was a very empowering and happy thing, especially such a film.”
The actress also mentioned all her co-actors and thanked them. Speaking about M S Baskar, Keerthy said that M S Baskar sir would address her as ‘Bommai’. Stating that he was very sweet, she praised his timing and spontaneity sense.
Talking about the film, Keerthy Suresh said, “This film is about the imposition on women. It is about all kinds of impositions. We are attempting to deliver a message but this is not going to be preachy. You will understand while you watch the film.”
