Unlike most youngsters, I didn’t enjoy ‘Romancham’, ‘Leo': Producer Suresh Kumar

Film producer Suresh Kumar said he did not find ‘Romancham’ as amusing as most youngsters did and said the movie hardly made him laugh. He also observed that today's generation does not approach Malayalam movies in the same way they do movies made by Lokesh Kanakaraj. Suresh Kumar was speaking with director Kamal and actor Maniyanpilla Raju on the subject of "Malayalam cinema of the 80s" at the ‘Smriti Sandhya’ event, as part of the Legislative Assembly’s International Book Festival, held recently.

“I have produced ‘Vishnu Lokam’, ‘Butterfly’, and ‘Aaram Thampuran’. I witnessed a huge rush of people on the first day of these films. Now, you are following Lokesh Kanakaraj, Nelson, and others. It is uncertain whether you are following Malayalam cinema in a similar manner. If I were to watch Romancham, I would not find it as interesting. You might enjoy a good laugh with the film, but personally, I didn't laugh when I saw it. I am not saying that the movie is poorly made; it is just that I could not enjoy it as much. You might have a different experience. It indicates a change in people’s mindset,” he said.

He added that he gets confused when listening to stories these days. “I am an old-timer. Nowadays, I get confused when listening to a story. If someone comes to narrate a story, I ask my daughter to listen to it. I am not sure if I am judging it correctly. That is why a change is needed. We also have brilliant directors like Lokesh here,” he said.

According to him, Tamil cinema has a huge audience in Kerala. “After watching the movie ‘Leo,’ I felt no emotion. In the climax fight, one person knocks down 200 people. Are there people with such superhuman powers? However, after witnessing the applause from the audience, I realised everyone enjoys scenes like that. I could not digest it. There is a generation gap between us," said Suresh Kumar.