Ex-Wichitan's acting career seeing action

By Judith K. McGinnis/Times Record News
May 4, 2004

Anup Sugunan hasn't exactly made it to the big time yet but having already appeared in his first feature film and directed a documentary, he's definitely a hometown boy making better and better.

"I haven't told a lot of friends from my Wichita Falls days about the most recent film," said Sugunan in a telephone interview from his home in San Diego. "Now that it's on DVD, there's actually a chance they might see it."

"Hometown" has the same meaning for Anup it does for the hundreds of young people whose parents came to Wichita Falls via Sheppard Air Force Base. While his mom and dad, Drs. Unnyampath and Patma Sugunan, served at Sheppard during the '80s, Anup attended McGaha Elementary, Barwise Junior High and his freshman year at Rider High School.

After earning a degree in psychology and neuroscience at the University of California San Diego, Suganan realized his passion for music and film was even greater than his interest in medicine. With the support of his parents, who now live in Harlingen, Texas, Suganan ventured into moviemaking.

"It was my dad who got me started in music. I took guitar lessons at Sam Gibbs. From 13 to 17, all I played was Def Leopard and Motley Cru," said Suganan, laughing. "But I had been so influenced by movies like "Star Wars" and the Indiana Jones series, I realized I wanted to tell stories on the screen."

Few North Texans would be familiar with "Trade Offs," an independent film about the rise and fall of dot-com fortunes among young Americans of Indian heritage. Suganan appears in the dramatic comedy as Sunny, one of the group of young friends who values love more than money.

"Trade Offs" has gotten considerable attention in the South Asian film community, having won the Rita Rani Images Award at the Filmi South Asian Film Festival in Toronto and being selected for similar festivals in New York, Dallas, San Diego and Fort Lauderdale.

"South Asian covers India, Pakistan and Bangladesh," Sugunan said. "There's so much talent in this ethnic community, the festivals have provided an opportunity to introduce these stories to a more mainstream audience."

As soon as production for "Trade Offs" ended in 2002, Suganan immediately left for his next acting job. As a "special ability extra" on the Academy Award-nominated "Master and Commander," he spent five weeks in Mexico, training to authentically duplicate the work of the crew of the H.M.S. Surprise, a British warship. He rehearsed scenes for the film's finale with actor Russell Crowe and director Peter Weir.

"We learned about sailing and sword fighting. It was a great experience," Suganan said. "All those weeks of work and hours of filming and my part on screen was reduced to half a second. It's come out on DVD so I'm hoping some of the extra footage is included."

During lulls in filming, Sugunan brought his own video equipment to produce a documentary about the making of the movie called "Slaves and Ensigns: The Far Side of the Border." He just completed a short film called "It's a Mismatch" and is planning a documentary about the Great New York Blackout of 2003.

"These are all important stepping stones," Sugunan said. "It's the same for anyone doing indi-films. You go project by project, looking for more funding and bigger budgets. It's exhausting but fun."