Beyond the curve: Abhilash Pillai on Sumathi Valavu, social media reactions and a dark prequel

Sumathi Valavu, which has received a great response in theatres, continues to make headlines even after its OTT release. Alongside those who appreciated the movie, there are also critics pointing out certain aspects, and some dialogues have even sparked trolling on social media.
Abhilash Pillai, the scriptwriter of the film, spoke to Manorama Online about how he developed Sumathi Valavu and about the varied responses from the public.

How did you arrive at the story of Sumathi Valavu?
Sumathi Valavu is a story that has been known for a long time. The concept of a road curve that an entire region fears fascinated me. The idea of making a story based on this concept came to me early. I discussed this idea, which I had been contemplating since 2019, with Arjun. Later, the project took shape after Malikappuram, with six months of pre-production work.

This is not the real story of Sumathi as popularly known. It is a horror-comedy inspired by the original tale, an experiment to recreate the feel of a 90s-style movie in the present day. A thought with a fresh perspective.

What was the reason for crafting Sumathi Valavu as a horror-comedy?
Horror is a genre that always finds success in Malayalam cinema. Especially horror-comedy—it still has a strong fan base, but no notable films in this genre have emerged recently. The idea naturally took root from this observation.

Making it a complete dark horror film, however, would limit its audience, as such films are enjoyed by only a few and are unsuitable for families or children. Keeping this in mind, we crafted the film so that it could be enjoyed by everyone. I personally value family emotions deeply, and all my films are built around such sentiments.

After the OTT release, people are watching the movie more closely and subjecting it to sharper scrutiny and criticism. What is your response to that?
Earlier, people used to watch movies on TV a long time after seeing them in theatres. That is not the case now. Today, you can watch a movie on your mobile, in slow motion, and even zoom in, which gives people an opportunity to spot flaws more easily. I try my best not to dwell on the negatives posted on social media. I pay attention only to healthy criticism that can help improve my work.

Some dialogues from the movie are going viral on trolls. Can you comment on that?
The dialogue that has generated the most discussion on social media is, "My daughter, are you standing here now? Don’t you want to labour?
That line was not in the written script. It was spontaneously delivered by Manoj, who played the character, during a scene where a group of people was searching for a missing person after a long hunt.

When he delivered that line during the shoot, we all laughed, and I even wondered what he was saying. But when we reviewed it during spot editing, we felt that adding a touch of comedy to a serious situation would evoke laughter. We decided to keep it.

After this scene, a much darker and more serious scene was also shot, but during editing, we chose to include the earlier moment. Naturally, there were people who laughed at this scene in theatres and those who criticised it. After the OTT release, comments began picking up on this one dialogue alone. None of us intended to harm the film. These are merely subjective judgments—some things work for the audience, and some don’t.

There was another criticism that the horror element was strong in the first half but weaker in the second half. Was that deliberate?
Yes, that was done deliberately. Since the movie is intended to be watched by children as well, we decided to include more humour in the latter half. Director Vishnu and I had also considered making a darker version of the film. The movie will soon have a sequel, and things will change when it comes out.

Sumathi Valavu was a movie that faced a large volume of criticism, similar to Malikappuram. However, we remained hopeful that perceptions would change over time. There are audiences who come to watch our films, and when Sumathi Valavu was released, they too came to the theatres.

No movie can satisfy 100% of the audience. People have different perspectives. A film doesn’t become bad simply because someone cannot connect with it. I understand the mindset of those who did not enjoy the movie, and when I work on my next project, I will try to incorporate elements that cater to their tastes.

A positive response that you noticed on social media?
There are many. I am glad to hear that people are coming to watch the movie simply because it is mine or a film by the Malikappuram team. I have also acted in this movie, and I’ve seen some social media posts featuring my photo.

Those have been both positive and negative. Still, it is heartening that at least some people are noticing. When the negative comments were circulating, I discussed the issue with Prithviraj. He was a great source of motivation for me at that time.

Any revelations about the second part of Sumathi Valavu at this point?
The second part of Sumathi Valavu will indeed be a prequel, not a sequel. It will narrate a more serious story. Since it is a prequel, the movie will not feature the same characters as the first part. The film is planned as a big-budget project.

While speaking about the death of Sumathi in the movie, there is also a mention of the Brahmarakshas. If another murder takes place there, the Brahmarakshas will become invincible. This story also contains many mysterious elements. If the negative energy of the Brahmarakshas emerges on a full scale, the entire village could be wiped out. It is Sumathi who protects Arjun Ashokan from being murdered. But what happened before that was not shown in the first movie. The second part will explore all these aspects in depth.