18 Pages is not a feel-good romance alone, has a wide variety of emotions, says director Surya Pratap Palnati

Palnati Surya Pratap, who made his directorial debut with Sushanth’s Current, made his mark as a storyteller with Kumari 21F, the romance drama starring Raj Tarun and Hebah Patel. Despite scoring a success, Surya Pratap was missing from action for over five years. He’s now back in the news with 18 Pages, another romance drama with a unique premise headlined by Nikhil and Anupama Parameswaran, set to hit screens this weekend. In a chat with the media, the director spoke on his 18 Pages experience.

Taking time to direct after Kumari 21F

After finishing Current, I joined director Sukumar’s team as a writer. When I had the idea to make Kumari 21F, I wrote the story along with Sukumar garu and directed the film. I had scored a hit as a director, yes, but I felt assisting Sukumar garu on films like Rangasthalam and Pushpa would work in my favour. Associating with him is a special experience and I learned a lot through this process.

On 18 Pages

The characters in the film will transport you to a different world. 18 Pages is a potpourri of emotions and I felt I had to tell this story. You can’t call this a feel-good film alone; there are a wide variety of emotions. The audiences will introspect and reflect a lot during the film. There’s an intensity in the narrative, but it’s equally relatable and funny. You’ll be curious about the trajectory of the story. The ending will certainly stay in your heart for a long time.

Not altering the plot despite Karthikeya 2’s success

Irrespective of Nikhil and Anupama’s sucess with Karthikeya 2, the way we treated the story didn’t change at all. We truly believed in the story. The story is bigger than anything else - that’s what Sukumar sir has told me all along. Just because Nikhil tasted a success on a pan-Indian level, we didn’t change anything with 18 Pages. Even Nikhil insisted me to tell the story I had narrated and not be distracted by his pan-Indian popularity.

On the decision to reveal a major chunk of the plot in the trailer

When we eat a sweet, we’re quite aware of its taste and despite that, we still enjoy it as much when we finish it. Audiences may be aware enough to understand the story of 18 Pages from the trailer but the narration is equally beautiful. I’ve just offered a glimpse of it through the trailer.

Associating with Geetha Arts, his future projects

When you come back from a project with Geetha Arts, you gain immense respect within the industry circles. Allu Aravind and Bunny Vas don’t compromise on the script at any stage. I need to do a film for Mythri Movie Makers and Sithara Entertainments next. Out of the five scripts that were finalised with Sukumar Writings team, we finished two of them and are working on the rest.