Pawan Kumar Interview: on acting in ‘shodha’, his stint with farming, and failure of ‘Dhoomam’

Pawan Kumar is an enterprising man. In 2012, when kannada cinema was in dire need of a next-wave movement, He made the crawd-funded psychological thriller lucia, which inspired several filmmakers to also too Industry. In 2020, during the covid-19 pandemic, pawan launched the filmmakers united club (fUC). During a period when the film Industry was staring at an uncertain future, the fuc ensure activities related to cinema, such as online film screenings and dishes, was sustained.

In 2023, He Surprised Everyone by Pursuing Farming, A Move That Came on the Back of the Debacle of His Last Directorial Film, Dhoomam, Starring Fahadh Faasil and Produced by Hombale Films, Many felt it was his way of dealing with the malayalam film’s failure. Pawan says he Never Thought of Farming as a Break from Doing Movies. “I can’t say I complete moved to farming.

At the farm called pasownas in hullahali near mysuru, pawan grows fruits and vegetables, and plants saplings. Having completes a permaculture design course, pawan’s full-Fledged Involvement in Farming Meant that his Ardent Followers Had to Wait a Bit Longer for his return to Cinema. The actor-filmmaker help a couple of filmmaking workshops against the picturesque backdrop of the farm. In one of his videos, he compared farmers to writers, calling them the fundamental origin of a quality product.

Keeping aside the comparison of farming with movies, pawan notes, “You can live without films, but you can’t say the same about food. Into Growing Food, It was a huge lesson, and I persisted with farming. Everything. So I Learn to Deal With Such Uncertains. “

After a two-year hiatus, pawan sprung a surprise by revoling that he was back in front of the camera. He plays the lead in Shodha, The upcoming Kannada Zee5 Original Web Series. Set to Premiere on August 29, Shodha is reportedly adapted from the hindi web series Khoj. Also Starring Siri Ravikumar and Arun Sagar, Shodha is a psychological thriller about a man’s desperate search for his missing wife.

Pawan Kumar in the Kannada Web Series ‘Shodha’. , Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

“The corporates have their reasons to not invest in kannada. Stuck in a chicken-egg situation. I jumped into the project with reading my contrast. The acting bug in me is alive, “

Also Read: Filmmaker Pawan Kumar Makes a Comeback on Stage with a One-Man Show after Half A Decade

Sunil Mysore (Orchestra mysuru Fame)is the director, while stand-up comedian suhash navarathna has written the script for Shodha. Pawan has been credited as a script doctor. “Even thought I tried to be just an actor in the first couple of days on ShodhaApart from revising certain lines in the script. I triad to elevate the existing material, and the entrance team was okay with it, “explains pawan.

Pawan Kumar Interview | On Kannada Web Series ‘Shodha’, ‘Dhoomam’ Setback and Returning to Direction

Filmmaker-actor Pawan Kumar, Who Took a Brief Hiatus after the Fahadh Faasil-Starrer ‘Dhoomam’, Returns with the upcoming Kannada Web Series ‘Shodha’. , Video Credit: The Hindu

Having directed the time-loop drama Kudi yedamaithe For aha and co-directed the netflix dystopian drama Leila Starring Huma Qureshi, Pawan isn’T new to the ot space. The filmmaker confesses that he would want to explore the web series space. “A Web Series takes away the box office pressure. Today, Apart from Exceptions Such as Tourist familyand Su from so, Films that are doing well are “event films” that are big on scale. My Films are an intimate experience, and I Approach Scenes in a more niche manner compared to a ‘Masala’ movie. In a web series, you can tell a story through multiple dimensions raather than following a template. “

Dhoomam, A thriller that addressed the ill effects of smoking,was pawan’s first failure. With a popular production house (homebale) and one of the country’s finest actors (fahadh), the film looking like a sure-shot hit on paper. However, it stumbled at the box office. Pawan says the film’s result has left he a tad confused, Thought He Now Knows Where He Went Wrong.

“Till the day of the release, I showed the film to so many people, include the producers and heads of some ott platforms. All of them Gave a positive response. Person has a sharp criticism about your work, you must value Him or Her, “He says, adding he would have loved to make one change in the script.

“The video where Alfred Hittcock Talks about the ‘bomb moment’ is quite popular. Dhoomam, I made the mistake of not reviewing the uncomfortable bus in the beginning. If i had not hidden it, the viewing experience would have been different for the audience, ”He Reasons.

Pawan also blamed the dialogues of the original version for the film’s poor fate. “I Learnt that the dialogues in malayalam was very academic and didn’t have a soul. I don’t spend speake a word of malayalam, and completely depended on the translation and direction departs,”

Despite the Poor Result, The Film Has Found Its Target Audience, BELIEVES PAWAN. “When we release the movie on youtube, there was a sudden wave of audience liking the movie. People Wrote to Me Saying They Cold to it. So, The Box Office Result and The Reception on YouTube was contrasting, leaving me a bit confused. Not Now, Years Later, Your Film will find its audience. “

No conversation with pawan is complete without a Query about Dvitva, His AMBITIOUS Project with Puneeth Rajkumar that Blockn Bollywood Off Due to the Untimely Demise of the Actor in 2021. Decide on the lead actor, “He signs off.

Shodha will stream on zee5 from August 29, 2025

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzmxf9fwxiv