Sitara Suresh, the grand-daughter of popular producer K. Balaji, speaks about how extensive conversations with her grandfather nurtured her interest in the production department of films. In this interview, she elaborates on the specifics of her job

Indian cinema is no longer an all male domain, behind the scenes. It’s a pleasant surprise to see girls representing various departments, walking on the sets barking orders. The bane of the film industry is bad planning, financially. The production manager, hired to spend prudently is known to mostly skim off the surface. That’s where Sitara Suresh comes in. She stems the fiscal haemorrhage. She represents her father Suresh Balaji’s company Wide Angle Creations who design, package and execute a film for willing producers. Granddaughter of the late actor turned prolific producer K. Balaji, she’s caught the discerning eye of Kamal Haasan who’s been profusely praising her on every platform, having worked with her in ‘Papanasam’ and hiring her services for ‘Thoongavanam’. “I guess I’m lucky to be praised by someone like him,” says Sitara, but the industry knows Kamal doesn’t believe in luck.
You have dabbled with dance and modelling. For someone who hails from a film family, the natural progression would be acting.
Yes, I have learnt a bit of classical dance and have modelled. I have appeared in a couple of ads but nothing serious. Acting offers have been coming in since I was in school. I did think about it when I was in college but once I entered the field, I realised I could never do it. I started off as an assistant director to Jayendra who made ‘180’. I realised how difficult an actor’s life is as compared to the glamour projected. Your privacy is invaded and you have to always look your best. You’re also constantly being judged and I didn’t want to lead such a life. Also, my granddad was protective and I could sense he was not too keen. I also feel I’m not talented enough.
You moved away from the direction department too.
I’ve always been interested in production. I used to spend a lot of time with my granddad and the conversation would be about cinema. My father wanted me to become a director. I too wanted to learn filmmaking in New York but my father told me there’s nothing better than hands on training for a director. As soon as ‘180’ got over, my dad’s company was producing ‘Billa2’. He said this was a good opportunity for me to learn. I guess he also didn’t want me to leave but I too was hooked. My dad’s company then produced a French film ‘Son e’pouse’ and I was excited. I think my training as an assistant director helped me understand every department of filmmaking. The director’s department and the production team are always at loggerheads about cost. I used to fight with dad about the director’s demands urging him to meet them. I realised the problems when I switched over to production. I understood that creativity comes at a cost which is not always met.
What is the nature of your job? This ‘line producer’ is a new term in Indian cinema. Are you a glorified ‘production manager’?
I think that’s what I am (laughs). At Wide Angle, my dad and Mr. George are the executive producers. We take on a project right from the scripting stage until censoring. We don’t get involved in promotions. We collaborate with Corporates who need someone who can execute entire projects. We don’t invest money but treat it like our own baby. They come to us because we have a team which will execute it within a certain budget. My job involves co-ordinating with all the departments. Mr. George handles the money and I safeguard it spending prudently. There’s always some issue and I love it. Otherwise, life would be boring. I ensure that schedules are maintained and we don’t end up paying double wages to the crew unnecessarily.
You mentioned about being onboard right from the script stage. How are you involved creatively?
Well, if a director has an interesting script and approaches us we put him on to a Corporate and play matchmaker. We put together a team for the director if he doesn’t have one. It could be vice versa too.
So this is purely genetics I guess. You didn’t attend a course.
No, not at all. I wish there was a course to train people like us. I was lucky because the long conversations with my granddad were good enough.
Your company was hired by Kamal for ‘Thoongavanam’ while you produced ‘Papanasam’. Do you promise to finish a project within a certain budget?
Yes, ‘Papanasam’ was the only film we co- produced. Otherwise Wide Angle is the executive producer of other projects. This is how it works. When we’re given the premise, my dad and Mr. George work on a budget. We put a cost to everything from hotels to locations. We give a budget and strive to stick to it. When we stick to it we’re saving money for the producer.
Is this something like producing a film for someone on a ‘first copy’ basis?
It’s not. The producer is in sync with us and knows where the money is going on a day to day basis. We send him a report every week and warn them about areas where we’re going over-budget. That’s our job and till now we’ve not gone over-budget.
You must be missing your granddad a lot,especially now.
A lot. It’s because of him that I’m here. I feel his presence because anywhere I go, I hear about his days as a producer. The whole work culture in his days and the relationships were different. It was personal. His work ethics were laudable. I wish he were here to guide me.