‘U Turn’ is a universal subject: Pawan Kumar

Director Pawan Kumar is happy with the response to ‘U Turn’ in Telugu and Tamil.  In this interview, he talks about the mystery thriller, how the project happened, why the ghost in the film punishes innocent people and more.  

Have you made the film based on real incidents?

The flyover on which people take the U-turn in the film is akin to what is there in Bengaluru.  I used to observe certain incidents that happen on the flyover.  I developed a story based on the observations.  That’s all that’s there in real life.  Nothing beyond that.

Wasn’t the process of remaking your own Kannada film boring?

It’s not a remake that we have done but an adaptation.  The last 30 minutes is different in Telugu and Tamil.  The rest of the film is almost the same.  In Kannada, we had budget constraints and adopted an experimental approach.  In Telugu and Tamil, the film became a bit larger-than-life.  We couldn’t make a similar film in Kannada with a low budget.  The Telugu-Tamil versions are technically superior in comparison.  If you ask what I think about the original and the remakes, I would say that the remakes are better.  

It was Samantha’s keen interest to do this film with you.  How was it working with her?

When the Trailer for the movie’s Kannada version released, she watched it and called me up.  She asked me to send her the script. When she read it, she felt thrilled.  Naga Chaitanya too met me in Bengaluru in the meanwhile.  Ten days before the release of the original, he and Samantha met me once again.  They participated in the film’s promotions. That’s when she told me she will do the film’s remake.  Since she was busy with other projects, it took time.  

Did you make any study on souls?

I see the soul as guilt.  If we have done any sin, we feel guilty.  We call it as a ghost in common parlance.  

It’s said that ghosts punish only the sinner and not others.  But in your film, it’s not the case.  How fair is it for a ghost to punish people randomly?

We are never ashamed of jumping signals and committing other traffic violations.  Even when we are caught, we never feel ashamed.  But we have to feel remorse for violating traffic rules.  That’s why I have tried to instill fear through ‘U Turn’.  We don’t behave properly unless there is some or the other fear.  My film is a fictional thriller.  It’s a universal subject, now that the Telugu and Tamil audiences too are loving it.  

Why doesn’t Samantha’s character talk about her ideas with her editor at the newspaper?  Journalists do it very commonly.  Isn’t it?

The entire story of ‘U Turn’ takes place in five days.  That’s why she is not shown talking with her editor.  She wants to come up with a solution to the problem she is reporting on.