Sumana Kittur has a lockdown wedding

The director ties the knot with her long-time friend Srinivas, a native of Puducherry. The couple plan to settle down in Bengaluru

Fimmaker Sumana Kittur says that she always wanted a simple wedding. “And luckily for me, my husband wished the same too,” says Sumana Kittur.

One of Karnataka’s few homegrown women directors tied the knot with Srinivas, a software engineer and photographer, on April 17 in Puducherry.

“Both our families had decided the date for the wedding even before the pandemic started. Very few people attended the wedding. Even if the pandemic were not there, hardly twenty more people would have been there,” she says.

“I have been in and out of Puducherry for the last 3 or 4 years for a project that I am working on. My husband was born there and his family have been living there for more than 30 years. After all the modes of transport were stopped, we decided to go ahead with our wedding plans in Puducherry, rather than postpone the date,” she adds.

Speaking to Metrolife about how she met Srinivas, Sumana says: “I met him at work during one of my visits to the town. I hardly knew Tamil and meeting a Kannadiga outside Karnataka, for anybody, brings immense joy, and we bonded over this. When we told our parents, they were more than happy for the both of us.”

Sumana says that finding a supportive husband and in-laws for a woman in her profession had made her hesitant towards the idea of marriage all these years. But she says everybody in Srinivas’ family is proud of the work she does.

“Being a director is a 24/7 technician’s job, unlike actors who have fixed hours. Srinivas and his entire family knew what it takes to be a director, and are extremely encouraging and supportive,” she says. She admits that Srinivas wasn’t much of a Kannada cinema fan before he met her. Thanks to her and the lockdown, he is up-to-date with the industry, and has a special fondness for Rajkumar films.

“He hardly watched Kannada movies before we met and didn’t know my surname initially. However, one day, we were sitting on the beach when I got a call and I had to discuss work. That’s when we first spoke about my job. When he mentioned that he had watched ‘Kiragoorina Gayyaligalu’ with his mother, I told him that I had directed it. I generally don’t like watching my own movies once it’s made, but he forced me to watch ‘Edegarike’ together and I saw him weep,” she explains.

The duo plan to shift to Bengaluru as it will help her work, and since his mother’s hometown of Mysore is close by.

With no big party or reception in cards after the lockdown, she adds: “We are planning to visit all our loved ones in once the current situation eases. Agni Sridhar uncle and Dwarakish uncle always pestered me with questions about my wedding, and they will be the first ones I will visit and introduce Srinivas to.”