When does a simple question begin to feel heavy? For Arunlal Ramachandran, it’s when no one asks it at all. His directorial debut Sukhamano Sukhamann, hitting theatres today, draws its title from something we say almost without thinking: Sukhamano? (Are you okay?) “In most of our lives, there’s at least one person who asks us that,” Arunlal says. “It sounds simple, but it carries so much emotion. This film is about three people who don’t have anyone to ask them that question.”
The story follows Theo (Mathew Thomas), Iype (Jagadish), and Charu (Devika Sanjay) — three people from very different worlds, connected by loneliness and, unexpectedly, by death. “Loneliness is the core of the film,” Arunlal explains. “We’re looking at how such people move through life. But it’s not heavy or preachy. We’ve told it in a way that’s engaging and, at times, even entertaining.”
Interestingly, the title didn’t arrive fully formed at the writing stage. It clicked during filming. “There’s a scene, which is present in the trailer, where Spadikam George’s character, Vallyapachan, asks Theo, ‘Eda, sukhamaano?’” Arunlal recalls. “When I wrote it, I didn’t completely grasp how powerful that line was. But on set, when Theo replies, ‘No one has ever asked me that, Vallyapacha,’ something shifted for me.” That moment became the emotional spine of the film.
The initial spark of the idea came from a story by MT Vasudevan Nair. “There was a small element about a house of death,” Arunlal remembers. “In cinema, death is usually treated with intense sadness or sometimes even humour. But I was struck by a different thought. What if death and a funeral home simply became part of someone’s everyday life? Not tragic. Not melodramatic. Just… an addition.”
When he connected that idea with loneliness, the story found its direction. He knew the theme could easily feel bleak, so he chose a lighter touch. “I wanted to approach it with warmth and gentle humour, without losing its emotional depth,” he says. He describes it as a "feel-good slice-of-life dramedy," one that doesn’t shy away from difficult feelings but doesn’t drown in them either.
The trailer hints at supernatural elements, but Arunlal offers clarity.“It may feel that way at first,” he says. “But it’s not magical realism in the conventional sense. As the story shifts into the protagonist’s perspective, what initially seems magical gradually feels grounded and real.” Writing the film pushed him into new emotional territory. “I hadn’t written in this space before,” he says. “That made it challenging, but also exciting.” He revisited his favourites like The Holdovers, Million Dollar Baby, Nebraska and the Korean film Broker while shaping the script. “When I rewatched Million Dollar Baby and Nebraska, I was deeply reminded of how emotionally honest they were. That honesty guided me.”
Sukhamano Sukhamann, as a project, came together unexpectedly. In 2022, through a friend working on Neymar, Mathew heard about the story and expressed interest. Arunlal narrated a more developed version, and Mathew committed to the film. Delays arose from Mathew's other films like the Vijay-starrer Leo and Dhanush's directorial Nilavuku En Mel Ennadi Kobam. However, this proved beneficial for the team. "That delay turned out to be a blessing in disguise," Arunlal reflects. "It gave me ample time to further refine and strengthen the script."
For the role of Iype, he needed someone who could balance lightness with an undercurrent of pain. “Iype is someone with a backstory he doesn’t openly display. Jagadish ettan felt right, as he can carry humour while letting you sense something deeper,” he says. With Devika as Charu, the priority was freshness. “I was very particular about one thing: her mannerisms should not come across as something the audience has already seen through familiar faces,” he explains. “Charu moves through the story in an unconventional way, and I wanted that freshness to remain intact.”
Though Sukhamano Sukhamann marks his first outing as a filmmaker, Arunlal’s journey in cinema began much earlier. He debuted as a screenwriter in 2013 with 10:30 am Local Call and later penned Thank You, Happy Journey, and Vettah. But direction was always at the back of his mind. “I’ve always felt that every writer has a director within them,” he says. “To write for cinema, you need to understand its technical grammar. Over time, that understanding naturally pushes you towards direction.”
The final nudge came during conversations with Dulquer Salmaan about a project that would have been Wayfarer Films’ first production. The film never materialised, but something important came out of it. "When I narrated that story to Dulquer, he gave me that initial push to seriously take on the responsibility of direction," Arunlal recalls. "I had always dreamed of it, but he made me believe I could do it." In the years that followed, he narrated different scripts to Mammootty and Suresh Gopi as well, though those projects too remained unrealised before Sukhamano Sukhamann finally took shape.
Before cinema, there was journalism. After studying print media, Arunlal worked at Kairali TV before joining as Shaji Kailas' assistant on Mohanlal’s 2009 film Red Chillies. That background still shapes him. “Journalism taught me to observe, to pay attention to people, to social dynamics and to situations,” he says. “All of that feeds into my filmmaking.” He also credits John Brittas with encouraging him to move towards visual media, advice that ultimately set him on this path.
What does Arunlal hope audiences take away from Sukhamano Sukhamann? "The film makes us reflect on how grateful we are for our lives and how happy we truly are," he says. "It brings out those subtle moments that define life." In a world where loneliness often goes unnoticed, perhaps the greatest gift is having someone who cares enough to ask: Sukhamano...?