Reddy at a recent press conference about his film. INSET:  P Suneel Kumar Reddy.

By Anand Holla


In search of narrative fuel for his next movie, P Suneel Kumar Reddy has been on a whistle-stop tour of Gulf nations. The writer-director-producer from the South Indian state of Andhra Pradesh seems to have gained some fascinating nuggets of insight from Qatar as well.
Centred on the issue of migration of Indians to the Gulf, Reddy’s new and 15th film seeks to address the problems associated with this phenomenon and also create awareness for the new crop of migrants headed this way.
“Just from the two Telugu states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in South India, there are around [2 million] people working in the Gulf. They are sending almost [700,000 million Indian rupees] every year in remittances, but they are not getting the respect that they deserve,” he says.
Titled Gulf, the film is currently in the stage of pre-production; shoot begins in September, mostly in Hyderabad and other parts of the two South Indian states, apart from Muscat and Dubai.
“Most of the workers get cheated by the middlemen and the brokers, who mint money at their expense. A lot of misinformation is peddled and these workers are given promises that are a far cry from the realities of life in the Gulf. Quite some of them aren’t treated well once they start working,” says Reddy, “We must acknowledge their massive contribution and also understand their problems,” says Reddy.
However, Reddy insists that he is intent on conveying both sides of the story. “By no means is my movie about showing the Gulf countries in a negative light,” Reddy explains, having dropped by in Doha after touring UAE, “I have come to Qatar solely to understand the migrants’ issues, meet people from all folds and engage in a discussion. I went to the Telugu Kala Samiti here. I have met workers, successful people, and also some Qataris, so as to understand the big picture.”
Reddy wants his movie to be reflective of the experiences that the others have gone through. He says, “I wanted to understand the magnitude of this issue and hence I didn’t write the script in one stretch. That’s why I travelled to four Gulf countries – UAE, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain. The Gulf is contributing a lot to our economy, and our manpower is contributing a lot to their economy. It’s a mutually beneficial setup, and the film must reflect that, too.”
Under his banner of Sravya Films, the movie is structured such that it stitches up multiple stories or a “collage of experiences” to tell the story of the Indian migrant who comes to the Gulf “with a lot of dreams and expectations, and the realities he faces, the lessons he learns, and what he finally feels, which is also what the audience will leave the theatre with.” The actors are newcomers.
Pushing for safe migration policies, Reddy’s film focusses on “a sincere, human story.” For his research, Reddy visited 10 districts of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana that have the highest numbers of migration to the Gulf, and also went to Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
“I don’t want to betray any of those experiences of the people I met,” he says, “After 34 years, we finally had an Indian Prime Minister visiting the UAE. When it comes to supporting business ventures or interesting initiatives, our government must respect the Gulf NRIs just as they respect the NRIs based in the US and the UK. There are many inspirational stories of very successful Indians in the Gulf such as Yusuffali MA, the Managing Director of LuLu Group.”
Reddy set off on his film career 15 years ago. A mechanical engineer turned journalist turned filmmaker, Reddy took to films “to discuss social issues with the society.” He says, “I found film to be a more powerful medium than the magazine and the newspaper I used to run, as by using fiction in the visual medium helps emotionally connect to the audience.”
His first was a silent movie – Silence… Please! – a love story between deaf and mute boy and girl. “It was inspired by a real-life experience when I came across deaf and dumb students communicating amongst themselves,” Reddy recalls, “Love has no language, and communication is more important than language. We unnecessarily give too much importance to language and fight over it. The idea was that silence is so universal and divine.”
Reddy has made 14 films thus far and almost all of them have been commercial movies with a social undertone. He has won 18 state awards, of which are 11 Andhra Pradesh State Nandi Awards. “It hasn’t been easy,” he says, “But I believe in Paulo Coelho’s line – When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”