B Suresha: I learnt all about cinema on the sets

The script writer, director and actor quit an engineer’s job to pursue his passion for showbiz

In 1976, B Suresha made his debut on the big screen as a child actor in ‘Ghatashraddha’, the much-acclaimed arthouse classic directed by Girish Kasaravalli.

At 12, he became an assistant director and worked with stalwart directors Kasaravalli and S Ramachandra. He would do everything, from writing to editing to sounding the clapboard. Three-and-a-half decades later, he looks back at his life in cinema.

Early years

Born and raised in Davangere, Suresha moved with his parents to Bengaluru when he was seven. His parents worked in ITI and lived in Hanumanthanagar. As a child, he went to A S Murthy’s Kalamandira to learn painting and theatre.

Suresha did his schooling at Women’s Peace League, a cooperative school, till class seven and joined Bangalore High School.

He later did a diploma in ceramic technology from S J Polytechnic and a BE from Jadavpur University as an external candidate. His academic achievements include an MA in Kannada from Mysore Open University.

In 1981, Suresha joined BHEL as a supervisor. His passion for theatre continued, and he wrote and acted in countless plays. He worked in the factory during the day and wrote theatre scripts and did stage roles after work.

Cinema foray

While theatre remained his first love, Suresha picked up the nuances of filmmaking on the sets.

“The practical experience was way greater than what is taught within four walls,” he says. His life in theatre gained momentum when Shankar Nag moved to Bengaluru from Mumbai and started the group Sanket in 1982.

“Shankar used to regularly come to the printing press run by my mother where I used to assist her. I met him when I was 22. We discussed cinema and theatre among other things,” he recalls. Shankar liked Suresha’s handwriting and gave him the job of copying scripts.

“He roped me in for ‘Accident’, my next film after ‘Ghatashraddha’. We later worked together in Malgudi Days, and on many plays,” says Suresha. He was not paid, he says, but enjoyed the learning experience.

Big break

In 1984, Suresha’s factory gave him a 20 per cent bonus, which came up to Rs 16,000. “It was a big amount and I decided to use it to make my first short film. I gave the script to Shankar and asked him to take a look,” he says.

Shankar was busy directing the romantic comedy ‘Nodi Swamy Naavirodu Heege’. One day, he made the time to read the script. He suggested some changes and said he would produce it. “He gave me a cheque for Rs 8,000. My film ‘Haggada Kone’, a film on farmers, was made under Shankar’s banner 'Sanket',” recalls Suresha.

The film was shown at film festivals across the country and earned good reviews. Suresha started writing more scripts. “It was at this time that my work got demanding, and I decided to quit my factory job to pursue cinema and theatre full time,” he says.

He wrote the film ‘Mithileya Seetheyaru’ which did well. In 1993, he began writing scripts and dialogues and assisting Ravichandran, whose films were then huge commercial hits.

“The job fetched me good money. I also began working for television and began directing a weekly serial called ‘Hosa Hejje’. Some of my other serials like ‘Sadhane’ did well and became super hits on Doordarshan. ‘Naaku Thanthi’ won the best teleserial award,” he says. He has also acted in more than 20 films and notable among them are ‘KGF Chapter 1,’ 'Ananthu vs Nusrath’ and ‘Slumbala’. The success prompted him and his wife Shylaja Nag to start their production company called Media House. She is among the few woman producers in the Kannada film industry. Suresha first met Shylaja on the sets of the play ‘Macbeth’ in 1988. They married three years later. The couple have a daughter Chandana S Nag, who is studying filmmaking.

Suresha forayed into film direction with ‘Artha’ and followed it up with ‘Tapori’, ‘Uppina Kagada’ and ‘Devara Naadalli’. His film ‘Puttakkana Highway’, which had Prakash Rai in the lead role, won a national award.

Favourite actors

Suresha has worked with the best names in the film industry. But Naseeruddin Shah, with whom he worked for a G V Iyer film, is by far his favourite.

He immensely admires Umashree and Prakash Raj. “If you watch Umashree’s films, you will be amazed at her acting prowess. She is one of the finest actors of our time. Whenever I write a script, I always cast Prakash. He is always my first choice,” says Suresha.