The crime-thriller Kurup, starring Dulquer Salmaan in the lead, has hit theatres on Friday, 12 November. Speaking to Scroll, director Srinath Rajendran said that the idea of the film was conceived in 2012 and it came to him randomly.
The movie is based on fugitive Sukumara Kurup, who was “either a fool or remarkably clever,” according to Rajendran. He told the publication that it required time and research to tell the story of Kurup, whose 37-year-old murder case became a folklore in Kerala.
The filmmaker also dismissed allegations about the film attempting to glorify a murder. He reasoned that today retro costumes look fashionable. “Everyone’s attracted to someone who has managed to fool the police. Conmen are supposed to have swagger,” he pointed out.
Rajendran revealed that he drew from the unlikeliest of reference points for the film—Chuck Palahniuk’s novel Rant, in which multiple characters narrate the oral biography of a killer. The novel ‘showed (him) the way to approach the story,’ the filmmaker said, adding, “We look at Kurup from the perspective of several people, which makes the film venture into different genres.”
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)