Exclusive! Kunchacko Boban’s Padmini will be a no-nonsense fun entertainer: Senna Hegde

Katheyondu Shuruvagide maker Senna Hegde has had a good start to his innings in Malayalam cinema. His film, Thinkalazhcha Nishchayam, won Best Second Film and Best Story at the Kerala State Film Awards, after which it got a public outing on SonyLiv to favourable feedback.

Last evening, the filmmaker announced what will probably be his next directorial, a Malayalam film called Padmini, with Kunchacko Boban and Aparna Balamurali in the lead. After two feature films based on his own scripts – one each in Kannada and Malayalam – this will be Senna’s first directorial based on a story that’s not his. “It’s been in the pipeline; I don’t want to stick to the whole write-and-direct process forever. Yes, I do prefer writing my own scripts when I have certain ideas; if I have a thought, it is difficult to get it written by someone else, because it flows in a different structure in my mind. Padmini, on the other hand, was a bound script that came my way. I have known Deepu Pradeep, the writer of this film for a while. He was trying to get this movie made for the last couple of years, but somehow, it had not taken off. Later, I was invited to be a part of it and read the script. I quite enjoyed the premise in general, but there were a few things that I wanted to rework, which we discussed with a lot of back and forth. It has now turned into a pretty cool entertainer, no nonsense fun film. It will put a lot of smiles on peoples’ faces. I always wanted to work on something like that. This was the right opportunity. Chackochan (Kunchacko Boban) loved the script, but this movie is probably going to happen only by the middle of next year. I may do film before that,” explains Senna.

So, is he making another one of his own stories into a film? “Yes, this will be based on my script. It is something within my comfort level – a satirical drama; which is a genre I enjoy. Of course, it will be slightly different from Thinkalazhcha Nishchayam, especially in terms of the subject. I don’t know if I will base it in Kanhangad. This one is a subject that can be placed anywhere, but it will mostly have newcomers onboard the cast. Honestly, though, I am still figuring out which of these films will go on floors first. It all depends on Chackochan’s dates and if he isn’t available soon, I will do my film first or the other way around, if he can accommodate us now,” says Senna.

Kunchacko is one of the busiest actors in Malayalam right now. So, it’s unlikely Senna will get him in the near future, right? “Chackochan coming on board is a new development for this project and we are hoping to have a clear picture by the end of the month. He is very busy now, but then stars have a way to maneuver their dates; he’s going to come back to us and we could be looking at working across multiple schedules. Right now, I am not even thinking about that. All I know is that I have two films on hand,” adds Senna.

Does that mean it is goodbye to Kannada cinema? “There’s no goodbye as such, but I’ve been clear that I intend to stay in Malayalam cinema for as long as I can. My preference is always going to be Malayalam,” he signs off.