Volume 7

Issue 4, 2010

INSIDE

Rathnavelu Prime Focus Jayanan Vincent

Sakti Banerjee Dhananjay Kulkarni Yogaraj Bhat

Arjun Jena Vijay Ulaganath Lal Jose

Sayak Bhattacharya Avinash Arun Kodak News

Robot (Hindi), also Endhiran in Tamil and Robo in Telugu is the costliest
Asian film ever made with a budget said to have touched Rs 150 crores. This sci-fi extravaganza directed by Shankar, like all his movies, is glitzy,

Volume 7
INSIDE FOREWORD

Issue 4, 2010

lavish and larger than life. Big stars, exotic locales, awe-inspiring action sequences and graphics coupled with a never-seen-before marketing blitzkrieg has made this one of the biggest grosser of the year. The technical team is a virtual casting coup that includes the best in the industry music director A. R. Rahman, cinematographer Rathnavelu, art director Sabu Cyril and graphics by Hollywood technicians.

Sci-fi Splash
The story of the making of Robot, reconstructed by Divya K.

Prime Focus
Parminder Singh Chaddha, Senthil Kumar and K. Madan Mohan Reddy talks about their work.

2010 was a pretty low key year in terms of production activity as the industry witnessed an overall dip in the number of productions; concurrently there were also very few films which did well at the box-office. In spite of this, Kodak had multicity launches of our new film Kodak Vision 3 200T which was accepted very well by cinematographers across the country. We also introduced our new Kodak Intermediate Recording 5254, thereby signifying our committment to the industry. Film usage has been traditionally very strong in our country and continues to do so, in spite of all the hype created by digital capture. While the CAS event in Mumbai contributed a lot towards clearing many of these misconceptions, on our part we too did our bit by spreading our "Film: No Compromise" message across all platforms. Hopefully, the increase in the infrastructure of 16mm and 2 perf cameras should help us continue with our tradition of film usage. This issue of Images focuses on Endhiran/Robot, the Shankar blockbuster starring Rajinikanth what went behind the making of this sci-fi action film! Prime Focus has been a pioneer in setting up post production activities in our country.We take a look at their operations and the people behind the scenes. As always, there is a round-up of cinema from all centres... along with our Young Guns series. Happy Reading!

Family and Destiny

Jayanan Vincent opens up about his life, work and dreams to Manju Latha Kalanidhi

12

Witness to an Era
Sakti Banerjee has worked with the best, and shares his experiences with Jayanti Sen.

15

Road to Happiness
Dhananjay Kulkarni talks to Aarti Babul Bhasin on his life and times in the industry.

17

Hit Back
R.G.Vijayasarathy speaks to Yogaraj Bhat about his successful journey

Endhiran

The release of Endhiran in Tamil Nadu was sheer Rajinikanth mania as his fans thronged theatres as early as 5 a.m. to catch the first show of their idol. For his fans, he is no less than a deity and there were milk abhishekams over his cut-outs, not to mention the copious amounts of garlands and crackers. The film took a huge opening and is running packed houses weeks after the release.

19

Poetic Brilliance
Divya K. catches up with Arjun Jena in Chennai

21

Prepared for Challenges

Vijay Ulaganath tells K.B. Venu he does not like gimmicks

23

Fresh As Rain
Lal Jose talks to K. B. Venu about his approach to his work

Suresh S Iyer Country Business Manager Entertainment Imaging

Volume 7, Issue 4, 2010 Cover Credit: Sun Pictures

The story of the making of Robot, reconstructed by Divya K.

The storyline in simple words is that of a scientist who creates a robot just like him and it falls in love with his fianc. It also falls into wrong hands and wrecks havoc until the scientist manages to subdue it. Rajinikanth plays the roles of scientist, good and bad robot and his love interest is Aishwarya Rai. Hansraj Saxena, CEO, Sun Pictures who produced the film reveals the for

25 26

Young Guns - Set To Soar

Sayak Bhattacharya speaks to Jayanti Sen Managing Editor: Editor: Design and layout: Printing: Suresh Iyer Deepa Gahlot Roopak Graphics, Mumbai Amruta Print Arts, Mumbai

the behind-the-scenes story. This film is Asias biggest budget film. There was a risk but Mr. Kalanidhi Maran agreed to do this project with Shankar as his vision was strong that this project would come out well. Thanks to Shankar whatever money he was given he showed it on the product. A Tamil film has not touched this kind of budgetits spectacular; no other film has touched this barrier. And we are also taking a Tamil film to Andhra Pradesh and Hindi. Earlier films made

Young Guns - Raring To Go

Sandeep Hattangadi talks to young FTII graduate Avinash Arun

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Kodak New Film Stocks Launch

Multi-City Launches of Kodak Vision3 200T 5213
Printed and Published by: Suresh Iyer on behalf of Kodak India Private Limited, at Mumbai Do write in with ideas, suggestions, comments to kodakimages@rediffmail.com

inroads in Andhra but not the rest of the country.

DOP Rathvelu

This is an independent magazine. Views expressed in the articles are those of authors alone.

Endhiran

Talking of financials, we have not finalized budgets, and revenues have not come in too much as not all places are computerized. We are also spending on advertising. Rs 50 crores were spent on graphics alone. The pattern in viewership was that the first week was male dominated especially by the Rajini fans. During the second week, if about two lakh people saw the film, a lakh and sixty thousand were women and kids. Mr. Marans

vision of taking this film and making it the biggest Asian film has elevated the Tamil film industry. Tomorrow if anyone want to make a 150 crore plus movie, they should not be scared and have confidence that it can break even. We are putting a Tamil film on the international graph in terms of quality. The stupendous success of the film pan India is the conglomeration of legends. Rajini, Aishwarya Rai, Shankar, A.R.Rahman, Sabu,

Kalanidhi Maran. Each one elevated the film in their own style. Each one did their part. When it came to marketing and strategy and promotions, Sun Pictures jumped into the bandwagon, it was huge. No one else thought of an audio release in Malaysia or a trailer release this big. The promos were unique we used promotions on a huge battery of channels and radio stations.

The challenges during production was that no one was willing to compromise. We wanted to release it on a set time but there were constraints, Aishwarya Rai had her own constraints with shooting dates, Shankars locations each one was unique in its own way and the songs were shot for 10 to 12 days each. If you take the post production graphic part, till a week before release we were still working on the graphics part. Each day given
Endhiran

We had song locations at Brazil, Machchu Pichu, one song was a set in Hyderabad. We shot in Poona, Lonavla, Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad. Rajini as the scientist the good robot and the bad robot is a unique thing. The bad robot has taken off in a big way children are loving it. Ash is looking gorgeous as ever. Danny plays the perfect villain role, Santhanam and Karunas fitted in well as lab assistants. The captain of the ship Shankar coined it well so in this science fiction film, visuals were new, grandeur was there, it was a fitting reply to Hollywood films in a regional language on par with one. We used the Hollywood technicians from Stanwinston Studios. People are exposed to so much of Hollywood now, that if you say robot and show a small machine with red lights blinking people are going to laugh at us. So thats why Shankar chose to do things this way. The person who designed costumes had designed for films like Batman Forever, so the quality is there. Pure science fiction like Close Encounters of the Third Kind can be only understood by the educated but this is for the mass and kids to enjoy. Foreigners call it an answer to Avatar and Shankar James Cameron. We have produced about 16 films and this

to them is quality.

Kodak will be able to show the people the hard work put in. All the prints are Kodak. We are happy we got associated with this brand.

Endhiran

Endhiran

Endhiran

includes medium films and big films. We have used all kinds of film stock for these but when it came to this film, Asias biggest film, we said we are not compromising, we will use

We have used all kinds of film stock for these but when it came to this film, Asias biggest film, we said we are not compromising, we will use only Kodak.
Endhiran

Endhiran

Endhiran

World Class
Parminder Singh Chaddha, tells Sandeep Hattangadi why Prime Focus is so popular with filmmakers

Prime Focus is one of Indias leading post production studios. Parminder Singh Chaddha, Chief of Film Technology and Colour Science,
has worked with the company for 12 years, handling innovative special effects projects. He was also instrumental in setting up of the digital film lab at Film City.
What is the history of Prime Focus? How was it started and how did it reach its prime position? We were incorporated as a private limited company on June 24, 1997. We went public on April 4 2000. The company was founded by Naresh Malhotra and Namit Malhotra. The main aim of the company was to provide various technical services involved in feature films, television and commercials. The founders have been active in the industry for the last 30 years. Now we have offices abroad too. Why is your studio most preferred by filmmakers?
Lafangey Parindey

Endhiran

The advantage of animatronics is that it makes the character look realistic. This robot was being operated by puppeteers and it even had a lip sync and only Kodak. Mr. Maran, said the hard work put in by director Shankar, Rathavelu and all of them Kodak will be able to show the people the best. All the prints are Kodak. We are happy we got associated with this brand. The making of the film was as adventurous and exciting as the film. The Kilimanjaro song was canned in Macchu Picchu, South America. Another was shot at a stunning locale in Brazil in the middle of a New Mexico desert where amidst the desertscape, there were beautiful lagoons in aquamarine colour. To reach the place they had to travel on the Amazon River for two and a half hours in the forest and two hours in a jeep, and by boat. The animatronics was developed at Stanwinston Studios, USA they have worked for blockbusters like Jurassic Park, Terminator and Avatar. They scanned Rajinis entire body, his profile, straight face and jaw and made a robot that looked exactly like him. It took them nearly 10 months to make it and put all the gadgets into it. Cameraman Rathnavelu says, Ro b o t i s te c h n i c a l l y a n d physically most demanding and draining film for a cinematographer. The hero's lab was lit up like an Apple iPod with Whites, Greys and Metallic sheens. While the villains' lab was more grey,black and cyan. Almost every scene the hero eye expressions. A team of about 12 specialists worked on this for 40 days.

successfully only with the help o f my c a m e ra re p o r t fo r repeating the camera movement, lighting continuity, focal length, focus distance, height, angle view and etc,. My camera report alone ran to 1400 pages. When the Robot turns into a Destructive Robot after the RED Chip is inserted. I tried to create a "Light From Hell" feel with all the lights from top on a DMX Dimmer and Lightning Strikes in the background to enhance the Villainous quality. "For the indoors I used 5219500T and for the outdoors 5207-250D. Kodak delivered me a neat and soft contrast look which I wanted. I insisted that the producer to make all the release prints to be only on a Kodak print.
De Dana Dan

We have the best technical equipment possible like Arri consoles, scanners, editing consoles, colour tone restorers and DI (Digital Intermediate) facilities. We have the best repeat clients and big production companies like Ashtavinayak Films, Bhansali Films, Karan Johars Dharma Productions, etc. We have worked on Guzaarish directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Mukesh Bhatts Vishesh Films is a regular client and our work in his Tum Mile directed by Kunal Deshmukh was much appreciated when we created the Mumbai deluge floods on screen. Our charges are reasonable and we offer good credit facilities to even the small producer who has to release his films to get his money back and pay our bills. But I wouldnt know much details of that since I dont handle the commercial aspects of my studio and I only handle the technical aspect, right from deciding on which latest machines to buy, to overseeing that everything goes all right in the studio's technical suites.

Kodak delivered me a neat and soft contrast look which I wanted.

had to play a dual role with lot of camera movements. But we used only six days of Motion Control Camera for the entire film. This was achieved

Anjaana Anjaani

Pyaar Impossible Endhiran

What are the facilities that you offer? Prime Focus offers 4K, Super 2K and 2K scanning on Thomson Spirit DataCines, and both Northlight and Arriscan pin registered scanning. For conforming Prime Focus has a tried and tested workflow using Autodesk Smoke, which allows the team to conform and hold an entire feature with immediate access to any section of the film. This view is one that readily reflects the timeline of the offline making it user friendly for directors and editors. It also has the huge benefit of allowing the director to see shots in context, be they VFX shots or clean ups. The ease with which data can be moved between Smoke and the Baselight grading suites has further benefits, in that changes to the grade, changes to the shot and revisions shots can be moved quickly and efficiently between the suites, allowing the changes to be seen in context very quickly. Colour Grading is the most important part of the DI process. All of your image content is made available to the world-class Prime Focus colourists as data, allowing supreme flexibility and unfettered creativity in the suite A member of Prime Focuss experienced and professional production team will guide you through the whole DI process, providing a single point of contact throughout the various stages of the production. They are experts in the field and have a full overview of each aspect of bringing your production to the market, keeping a watchful eye on budget, timings and delivery. Our scanners are the best in the world and the transfer to film has the best effect on our machines as regards to the restoration levels, colour tonal quality, and especially the special effects that we provide can be considered as the best in the world as evident from the global iconic James Camerons hit Avatar, where we contributed to the post production in a big way. Is that why are you so popular with producers, cinematographers and editors? Prime Focus offers everything a feature film production needs from negative development and rushes transfers through to 35mm rerecording, digital cinema mastering and international video deliverables. The integrated, collaborative Prime Focus DI facilities in Los Angeles, London, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Chennai work closely with the worldwide Prime Focus VFX studios to ensure that all feature film production requirements are catered for. The Prime Focus international VFX offering is second to none, offering some of the most creative and experienced VFX talent in the world and a VFX pipeline which ensures seamless working practices across the international facilities. What is your opinion about Kodak film stock? From our experience with leading cinematographers we can surely say that Kodak film is preferred to other stocks and our technical crew is also confident that film shot on Kodak gives the best colour tones, picture luminosity, higher resolution content, etc. as compared to other stocks.
I Hate Luv Story Ajab Prem ki Ghazab Kahani Badmaash Company

Fantasy
Prime Focus, Chennai Station Head and Visual Effects Director, Senthil Kumar talks to Divya K.

Flight of

Prime Focus, Chennai is a space buzzing with activity, as fantasies

come alive on screen! Throbbing with dozens of creative minds, in the short span of three years since it was set up, it has made a mark in the industry by being associated with some of the biggest films shot here and the latest one was Maan Mahaan Alla. Besides catering to the Tamil film industry, it also caters to the Malayalam and Kannada industry. Chennai Station Head and Visual Effects Director, Senthil Kumar says, We are a one-stop-shop for the entire post production, telecine to DI. We are adept at handling challenges and never say no to anything. We have state-of-art equipment calibrated by Mumbai technicians keeping us on par with our other branches. With a strong techno-creative team, we achieve excellence. We do a lot of pre-production work like creating storyboards and 3D pre-visualizations whenever necessary. Dasavatharam was a challenging project shot with a motion control camera. There were complex shots like a single shot where there were five Kamalhassans and there were interactions between them. With this film, we took VFX to the next level. Kandaswamy was a pure fantasy with a flying superhero played by Vikram. There was a lot of CG work. We have worked on more than 600 shots of VFX in the blockbuster movie that involves use of complex set extensions, skin grafting techniques, 3D tracking and match moving, crowd multiplication, rope and green matte removal. Ayirathil Oruvan goes back to the history of the Cholas and Pandyas. We worked on 1800 shots in this movie directed by Selvaraghavan, starring Karthi Sivakumar, Reemma Sen and Andrea Jeremiah and Parthiban. The story depends fully on VFX as it narrates a journey of three people in search of a lost kingdom. A fantasy and adventure story, it had many CG snakes, sea creatures, set extensions, quick sand, mystic rocks, environment matte paintings, lava and a war sequence. Creating the CG snakes was a big challenge; the sequence was shot in the night and lit with lots of torches and a halogen lamp. We managed to match the entire sequence with the original lights and the animation turned out very realistic. Almost 60 percent of the film has been worked upon at the post production table of Prime Focus and it took about two years to complete. We started working with 3D models and props at the time of production itself. As we had a clear story board and script in our hands we knew whats going to be in the final output. And once the shoot was over, we were ready with almost 50 percent of the 3D content that was going to be in the film. Data and photographs were being continuously sent from the spot so we could work on with our props and models.

Happydent White

Paa

Top Line
of the
K. Madan Mohan Reddy, the Business Head of the Hyderabad branch of Prime Focus gives Manju Latha Kalanidhi the inside story.
Mujhse Shaadi Karogi

The top 20 movies produced every year in Tollywood the Telugu movie industry roll out of the stables of Prime Focus, says K. Madan Mohan Reddy,
Taare Zameen Par

Destiny
Jayanan Vincent opens up about his life, work and dreams to Manju Latha Kalanidhi
What was the event or experience that inspired you to take up cinematography? Did you have formal education degree or diploma in cinematography or did u learn on the job? Unfortunately, I turned down the offer of film school and preferred to assist my dad instead--a decision I regret to date. Being a quick learner on the job, I rose in rank in dad's camera crew. I was mentored by late K. S. Prakash Rao and the late U. Rajagopal and above all by dad, which I consider an honour. My decision to quit films in 2001 and to migrate to Canada presented a wonderful opportunity to pursue my film studies and digital filmmaking in Vancouver in the latter half of my career. I never missed the industry during my eight year hiatus. Tell us about your work for the current movie in Telugu. My current film is a remake of Love Aaj Kal in Telugu scripted by writer-director Trivikram Srinivas, directed by Jayanth. C. Paraji and produced by Ganesh Babu. The cast consists of Pavan Kalyan, Trisha, Kirti, Mukesh Rishi and a host of yet to be finalised well-known actors of H yd e ra b a d . Th e te n t a t i ve release date is early 2011.

Familyand
An 8 mm cartoon film projected in the garage of late director Sridhar, as part of a birthday celebration, fascinated me, invoking interest and passion for films. I still vividly remember the whirring of the projector, the coloured stream of light flowing out of it and the changing images on the white wall piqued my curiosity. I saw it as the writing on the wall... light and camera will be my passion and it was... Being an avid filmgoer, I never missed any preview of dads films and others as well. I still remember the long walks back home after movies ruminating about the film. Also loved the film shows at school which exposed me to the great western movies of John Wayne.

the Business Head of the Hyderabad branch of the global visual entertainment services group. This years most-talked about movies such as Puli, Khaleja,
Tashan

With more than 34 years of hands-on experience, innumerable

movies and several awards later, Jayanan Vincent is a name synonymous with good cinema for over three decades. Born into a family of photographers, his grandfather, George Vincent owned a photo studio namely Chitra Studios in Kozhikode, Kerala. It was here that his father Aloysius Vincent learnt the rudiments of photography before heading out to Chennai to seek a career in films. His paternal uncle too is a still photographer/camera mechanic. During his childhood, he had the opportunity to visit film sets with his father and interact with filmmakers. He loved the never-ending creative discussions at home about filmmaking and free flowing tea and snacks and preferred overhearing discussions to playing with kids his age.

Akasha Gopuram

Chandramukhi-2 and Orange have all undergone post production work at Prime Focus, and not without a reason. The Hyderabad branch houses the best digital grading tools such as baselight, scratch, lustre light, colour correction and other tools that are on par with a In 2007, CEO of Prime Focus, Namit Malhotra, was considering opening a branch in
Bislery Nescafe Classic Dostana

Aashayein

Hollywood studio. The

Hyderabad. That was the time when Spirit Media, the visual effects division of Rama Naidu Studios was also toying with other options and it decided to merge with Prime Focus. The move paid off because the Hyderabad branch today boasts around 280 committed professionals trained in a variety of skill sets. Colourists, line producers, project managers, conformists, scanning and recording processing, telecine colourists we have a professional for every skill, says Reddy. Passion coupled with commitment is the secret of their consistent success, says the Hyderabad team.

equipment laboratory also houses Spirit 4K, a high-end film s c a n n e r. I n c i d e n t a l l y, t h e Hyderabad branch has the smallest Digital Intermediary team in the country, says Reddy. The team of 10 in the city manage to work for three
Yamaha - Lord of the Street

movies a month. There have been occasions when the team has delivered bulk work in a week, he adds. Recently, the Karnataka movie industry has also started getting their postproduction work from Prime Focus. The top cinematographers in the South love working with us, he says.

Kodak complements my work and brings truthfully to the screen my visuals in their true form.

Skoda Fobia

It is a tender love story of the present and the past; pure love which never changes over time. The movie begins in a foreign locale in the present day and switches to the past in India in narrative flashbacks. Tells us about the kind of look you plan to give the movie? The idea is to give a contemporary and glossy look to the scenes shot abroad. The movie sports a saturated look... using a colour palette of blues, greens, white and blacks. Handheld shots will be liberally used, swish pans and time lapse shots. The past in Varanasi will have a typical 70s look in terms of lighting and smooth camera moves... track shots and crane shots. The colour palette would dwell more on rich colours like yellow, orange, crimson, brown and dark greens which I'd end up desaturating a touch in Digital Intermediary. The challenge is to create the 70s look in Varanasi, India and also recreating a congested marketplace set in RFC which was brilliantly designed by art director, Narayan Reddy. We are filming live sound for the whole m ov i e t h u s p re fe r r i n g a n Arricam LT over Arri Extreme with Cooke S4i lenses for the principal shoot. For the first time, I'm using the services of Kodak Cine Labs in Mumbai for the negative processing.

What has been your most challenging shoot so far? The most challenging movie was a Malayalam film, Dowthyam shot in 1987. This action thriller took us on an adventurous journey into the dense forests of Chalakudy and Ponmudi. The inaccessible terrain and inclement weather created problems for us. I used the newly launched Kodak 250 D, of those days, for all the exterior work in the deep forest. My only access to lighting was a 5 kw portable Honda generator and a 1.2 HMI and 575 HMI. I also used Mitchell camera with Todd AO lenses for some matte shots and mask shots on a dusk scene where the army crosses the river. The most unforgettable incident was my B cam falling into the water almost ruining the entire day's work. The water logged film roll was then transported to the lab with more water in the can for processing. The most amazing shots of that film were in that roll. Even today that movie surprises me. The second challenging film was Takkari Donga in 2001. We used Kodak stock with 812 filter to achieve the intended look. The grading too helped in maintaining the consistency. I g u e s s I co u l d h ave d o n e wonders with the newer technology had it been available. The tremendous effort paid off with accolades for its technical excellence. What is the kind of project you dream of working as a DOP? In a career spanning 25 plus years Ive done all genres of films in most of Indian languages. My dream project is to do a film on the Japanese steam ship Komagata Maru which involved 354 passengers from India who unsuccessfully attempted to immigrate to Canada. Why do you prefer Kodak film for your work? Kodak complements my work and brings truthfully to the screen my visuals in their true form. I love the crisp blacks, the shadow details, the rich colour saturation and extended latitude range which gives one more room to experiment. The range of stocks from 50D to 250 D and 100T to 500T provides a cinematographer ample choices and options. Do you like shooting indoors or outdoors and why? I love to film indoors and outdoors at night as it provides lighting challenges. I always prefer to work in controlled conditions; maybe an old school method of work but its easier to work with tungsten lights where one does not have to deal with f l i c ke r, c h a n g e o f c o l o u r temperature and so on.

Recently, I shot a Punjabi music video indoors on Kodak with a shutter angle of 45 to reduce motion blur and create crisp choppy images with the help of tungsten lights. Its a cinematographers nightmare to have a bunch of HMIs with varied colour temperatures making grading and DI an unpleasant experience. Im a great fan of the latest litepanels, the next generation lighting.

The range of stocks from 50D to 250 D and 100T to 500T provides a cinematographer ample choices and options
Who are your favorite DOPs in To l l y w o o d a m o n g t h e contemporaries, in Bollywood and Hollywood? I like Senthil Kumar, Sham Datt, C. Vijayakumar in Tollywood, V. K. Murthy, Ashok Mehta, Anil Mehta, Rajeev Ravi, Shanker Raman, Santosh Sivan, Ravi K Chandran and Manikandan and in Hollywood, I love the works of Freddie Young, Haskell Wexler, Conrad Hall, Nestor Almendros, Sven Nykvist, Zhang Yimou, Christopher Doyle. Any specific movie you liked in the recent movies in terms of its camerawork. The Hurt locker, Inglourious Basterds.

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Witness to an Era
"This was a general trend of the day then, all the IPTA veterans in some way or other wanted to make a dream film of their own Ritwik Ghatak, Mrinal Sen, Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Tapas Sen, Salil Chowdhury, all aspired to enter the film industry in some way or the other. They did, of course, but that happened in the later part of their careers". To continue, Saktibabu said, As I was mixing with the theatre crowd, somewhere within me. I felt a change coming in, I felt my own appearance was not suitable for an actor, I decided to take up a career which would bring me in touch with the best brains of the era; for my part I chose three maestros Debakikumar Basu, the great film director who was about to make his epoch-making film Sagar Sangame, Satyajit Ray, and Ajay Kar, the ace director-cinematographer of Bengal. Fate and fortune resulted in my going to Dhaka in 1954 it was then known as East Pakistan.

What about Satyajit Ray? Well, this was in 1961 when he was making Teen Kanya. I remember a particularly difficult shot in Monihara where the camera was placed outside the door of a room, the frame included the door, continuing to shoot the inside of the room as well to show Kali Banerjee rushing at his wifes shadow, the ghost. I knew Satyajit Ray planned all his shots before as short hand pictorial notes. But to my surprise, I found he did not follow his pre-planned shots frame by frame. In this particular case I saw he was not satisfied with the camera position. Almost in a spirit of adventure, I put the camera on a trolley. The whole day Manikda (Satyajit Ray) continued taking shots sitting on the trolley. Finally, when the climax was approaching, I suddenly, know not why, charged the camera towards the characters on my own. Then came my moment of agony, I knew Manikda would be very angry at this interference. Ready for the rebuff, I waited anxiously. But, to my utter surprise, he really gave me a big hand he was very happy with that final idea of mine, the camera charging. I was, I must say, in the seventh heaven of joy! Banerjees long lost of hits includes Ganadevata, Nimantran, Dadar Kirti, Bhalobasha Bhalobasha, Aranya Aamar, all directed by Tarun Majumdar, Chokh directed by Utpalendu Chakraborty, Strir Patra and Chenra Tamsuk directed by Purnendu Pattrea, Shilpi, Parashuramer Kuthar, Sarishreep all directed by Nabyendu Chatterjee, Barbodhu directed by Bijoy Chatterjee, Damu directed by Raja Sen, Gurudakshina directed by Anjan Chowdhury, etc He has also shot a lot of documentaries and TV serials as well.

Teen Tanaya directed by Shukla Mitra, Aamiyo Nebo Challenge directed by Tapas Chanda are his current feature films. I have received six BFJA awards, the first one for Nimantran. I have also received West Bengal State Award for Chenra Tamsuk. In fact most of the films I worked in are National Award winners. As a veteran in the film industry, Saktibabu is a goldmine of anecdotes of our great film actors. In Ajay Kars film Shuno Baranasi, one day it so happened that our great hero, Uttam Kumar. was out of mood. Shooting was about to stop. I took all my courage in my hands and approached him Dada I want to do the lights for the positions, may I? at which Uttam Kumar quipped What is position, a film is all about composition! That, coming from one of our all-time greats, was an eyeopener! The whole days shooting then proceeded smoothly with Uttambabu back to his jovial mood for shooting. In the end of the same film we had a shot in which the hero and heroine are on the train and station platform respectively, in that steady position I suggested a small crowd in the platform waving their hands to their relatives on the train to create the illusion of a passing train. Ajayda was very open to suggestions and took my suggestion instantly. Here I must also mention Tarun Majumdars name who had a lot to contribute in my career. Talking of a choice between realistic and glamour lighting, he says, Personally I feel glamour lighting is extremely important. In Nabyendu Chatterjees film Advitiya I used p o r t ra i t p h o to g ra p hy e n h a n c i n g t h e glamorous looks of the actors. You know what the critics said after watching that film? After a long time we are seeing a film with a good number of excellent close-ups. After seeing that film Suchitra Sen selected me to be her cameraman for the film Chaturanga based on Rabindranath Tagores novel of the same name. Even today I feel glamour lighting, a well-lit scene is very, very important. In Tarun Majumdars film Nimantran we had a very dark scene where Anupkumar is showing the way with his torch. The moment the torch was lit up, the audience in the house went up to greet those rays of light in the pitch dark. You must appreciate this fact, the audience abhors darkness. He has worked with ace directors, how does the visual treatment vary from director to director? A great deal each has his own way of communicating to the audience through sound and images. I remember reading Samaresh Basus story Chenra Tamsuk

Sakti Banerjee has worked with the best, and shares his experiences with Jayanti Sen.

I can take a lot of liberties, do what I like with my images and lighting, Kodak never fails me. Its colour spectrum is very well balanced. In Black and White also it is the key raw stock to be used.

I was involved in the camera department in the making of their first Bengali film Mukh O Mukhosh, directed by Abdul Jabbar Khan; my direct boss was cinematographer Mesbahuch Jaman (Kiron). As a regular I really settled in the profession of cinematography because of Ajay Kar. His regular cameraman Bimal Mukherjee was unwell and he called in the veteran cameraman Kanai De to help him out, I entered the scene as studio assistant, with Kanai De. My own exposure to Ajay Kars concept of cinematography shaped my own thoughts and ideas a lot in my later life.

Sakti

Banerjee the name symbolizes

flavours of a bygone era is one of the most revered veteran cinematographers of Bengals film industry. Interestingly enough, initially he did not want to enter the film industry. When asked about his first brush with cinema, he had this to say, As I left school and entered college, a passion for theatre grew inside me. I am a resident of Shibpur... I was then seeing a lot of plays, when a friend of mine took me to the Shibpur branch of the Indian Peoples Theatre Association. Rehearsals were on for Biru Mukhopadhyays famous play Rahumukta, a significant production of the era. By then I had already developed a flair for writing plays, I was particularly adept at writing interesting dialogues for my characters. I also felt I could do a spot of acting. So I joined IPTA. In the course of theatre activities, I came in touch with many important theatre personalities who are honoured names in their field even today. As a matter of fact Tarun Roy and I had planned to make a film which never happened.

When you ask about using a mathematical formula, it is given by Kodak themselves.

In all my life I have mostly used Kodak. In our profession we have to take hectic decisions and Kodak stands by me very faithfully as a raw stock.
Dadar Kirti

in the pages of the Bengali magazine Desh. I was so charged with the visual possibilities of the story that I approached a number of directors with it. Finally Purnendu Pattrea, an ace artist and designer, made the film which I shot.

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Saktibabu sees Kodak as the life blood of my cinematography. In all my life I have mostly used Kodak. In our profession we have to take hectic decisions and Kodak stands by me very faithfully as a raw stock. I can take a lot of liberties, do what I like with my images and lighting, Kodak never fails me. Its colour spectrum is very well balanced. In Black and White also it is the key raw stock to be used. Ajay Kar used only Kodak stock and nothing else. I use 200T for day, night everything. I have used 500T for increasing the depth of field in Aamiyo Nebo Challenge. According to the depth chart given to us, the depth of field you get in 2.8 increases if I go in for 8 or 16. The focus becomes crystal clear and pointed for a lot of area. When you ask about using a mathematical formula, it is given by Kodak themselves. At this point director Tapas Chanda, the director of Aamiyo Nebo Challenge, had this to add about Saktibabu, In my film Saktida uses 500T consistently for day and night because the depth is very important, for night shoots I had lot of action shoots which I had to catch in detail. Composition-wise he is a master. In a small room with no space even to place the camera and my assistants, the way he picturized four characters in that small area neat and compact composition-wise, is an eye-opener to all of us. Saktibabu is very conscious of the problems that plague our industry, time is a big constraint because of budgetary restrictions. I planned a sequence using eight shots, but when Saktida took his shots, he arranged the composition, camera angle, mise-en-scene of the shots in such a way that the whole complex sequence was managed using just three to four shots. His camera-placing is fantastic. Saktibabu added, Normally I use 35mm but a paucity of stocks occurred once when I was forced to use 16 mm. But I did not go for any compromise. I only had to avoid using wide angle lenses, I used more compact shots. One interesting fact about Saktibabu was his use of animation for Purnendu Pattreas film Strir Patra. We did the animation for 200 feet and it was very satisfactory for all of us. Those days freeze shots were not really used, but Tarun Majumdars Nimantran needed 15 to 16 freeze shots. I said Id try. Then all printers were Bell and Howell. There was only one Debris. One claw I used, fixing the negative, the claw drew the positive frame-by-frame, and the results came out very well. In Duranta Charai there was a six-channel mixing. Like alternative A and B roll printing in editing, I used the six channels each alternately and I could attain my goal. Later I found others following my method. I am used to experimentation a lot. In Strir Patra in the dark I managed with three hurricane lanterns as a source, as I did not get electricity. When you ask the difference between documentary and fiction I can say in fiction I can create, paint with light whatever I want to with artificial lights. But documentary one has to stick to and depict the reality of a given situation. I prefer artificial light, even though I shoot in available light also. At Calcutta Movietone I was shooting a wife being poisoned by his doctor husband. The Kodak General Manager in Calcutta Mr. Ghosh had brought in Digambar Chatterjee the all-India boss of Kodak. I was using 50ASA film for a dark situation with this dramatic element I had only three foot candles of light as per my exposure meter. Digambarbabu was surprised and asked if at all any thing would be visible in that low light. But because the stock was Kodak I got excellent results. The emulsion gives me a lot of latitude. Now raw stock has become so costly we cannot experiment much. But whatever I get in the end the great effect, all credit goes to Kodak. As a final message to the younger generation I should say that I appreciate and welcome heavily the offbeat ideas they are coming in with. But I would request them to come back to our rich storehouse of Bengali literature and draw from them. The audience come to be entertained and a good wholesome story with a strong plot is bound to hold them taut. As you see, a great demand is there for old classics like Ratrir Tapasya, Bhagaban Srikrishnachaitanya by Devaki Kumar Basu and so on. On the anvil waiting for release are Tapas Chandas Aamiyo Nebo Challenge, Shukla Mitras Teen Tanaya, Ullas by Ishwar Chakraborty and Tarun Majumdars Durgesh Nandini for ETV. Saktibabu has contributed a lot of masterpieces to Bengali cinema. He is a poet as well and his book of poems is
Jeta Monihara

Happiness
Dhananjay Kulkarni talks to

Road to

Aarti Babul Bhasin on his life and times in the industry.

Dhananjay Kulkarni, Director of Photography for various TV series, ad campaigns and commercial films, hails from the picturesque hill town of Mahabaleshwar in Maharashtra. He grew up amidst the beauty of nature, dreaming about capturing their serenity and sounds to share with the world outside. The visions of the lush green Sahayadris and free-flowing waterfalls that mystically emerge, making their course down the hills when the rain gods blessed the earth every year, would make Kulkarni want to seize that moment in time forever.

As I grew up in Mahabaleshwar life was good but I wasnt happy, he confesses. I aspired to be a photographer who could pause time in memory and make life a consortium of happiness. The only way I felt it was possible was through photography. I am blessed that I have an extremely supportive family with a mother, who taught me still photography. And to top it all I have my brother, who guided me in all realms. No doubts that he is my god brother. Its because of my family and friends that I am where I stand today. The science graduate started his career as a cashier with a nationalized bank in Pune. Here I was confined to a chair counting paper money while the real abundance was outside. I would dream of travelling and clicking pictures making a bouquet of various colours of life. So one day I just thought of giving it all up. Fortunately I got all the support from my loved ones. I decided to turn my passion into my profession. Photography was my calling and thus began my journey in the industry in 1991. Kulkarni has no qualms in sharing that he is not a film institute product. Passion does not need a degree or a certificate. It is self driven and there is no better driver on this road than ones own self. When I opened my channels of exploring to the universe, it paved the path of learning for me. In the process I met some of the most humble people, who unconditionally shared all their expertise with me. I have been blessed that I have had mentors like the late Madhav Nagaraj from Pune, who taught me stills and dark room work; Pintu Chaudhary, an FTII professor, who taught me basics of cinematography and lighting and Vikas Sivaraman, whom I assisted in cinematography for three years. Working with Vikas was a turning point in my life. He is not only my guru in the industry but he also enabled me to activate my inbuilt talent in the audio-visual medium.
Jeta

Whatever I get in the end the great effect, all credit goes to Kodak.

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Ganadevata

now in the press.

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Dhananjay Kulkarni started his work in the industry as a director of photography for documentaries that gave him confidence to work on moving pictures. He tried his hand on almost all shooting formats, film and digital, as he got popular with the advertising world. Maggie, Reebok, Iodex, Aerial, Baidyanath Chawanprash are some of the many commercials in his profile. Shooting corporate films gave my work a different dimension as I shot from industrial set ups to health awareness audio-visuals, he says, I enjoy every format and love doing variety of projects. Each film whether a documentary, corporate, ad or a feature teaches something new. It also gives me the opportunity to travel, which I feel is one of the most exciting part of my profession. So I feel satisfied that I took a wise decision of following my dream. Today I get to have the best of all that I desired and I enjoy my work as well. In television Dhananjay has done some of the finest shows as a DOP. Apart from these he has shot music videos and also a documentary with Sumitra Bhave. For my work in TV I also got the best videography award in 2006 and 2007 from Indian Television Academy (ITA), he says. I have been very fortunate that I could explore so many mediums and though all of them are equally exciting yet cinema is like a cherry on the cake. I was given this opportunity by Mahesh (Kothare) to shoot my first Marathi film, Pachadlela. Fortunately the film was a super hit at the boxoffice. This opened my channel to the Marathi film industry. I got some prestigious projects Made in China (Screen Award for the best Marathi film, 2008); Janma (Maharashtra State best Marathi debut film, 2009) and recently I did a Marathi film for Ramesh Deo Films titled, Jeta. On asking which project has been closest to his heart he was prompt in replying, I accept only those projects that I can vibe with instinctively. So all the projects I have done have been like babies to me. However, the one that has been really precious was a documentary I shot in 1995 on R.D. Burman. What was nice about the whole project was that I got an opportunity to work very closely with Asha Bhonsle. I hold her in great esteem so this film has been really close to my heart.
Jeta Jeta

Yo u h a v e b e e n t h e m o s t successful director of Kannada films. You are the most popular lyric writer in the Kannada film industry which has been the more satisfying job for you? You know I started my life as an assistant director working with legendary directors like Ravichandran, well-known writer and director like B.Suresha and others. Writing has always been my passion from the beginning of my career in films. I have been writing my

Though your first film Mani was critically appreciated it failed to make any impact with the audience. What do you feel were your failings in the film? Mani might have failed, but you should know many people have been telling me that it was a trend-setting film in the sense that I had narrated it in the form of a novel. There were lot of fresh elements in the film. But unfortunately for me it came a little earlier, by say five years. That was one film that I did with a lot of passion, using many of my assistants in key positions. It was a new team and we did the film in the way we believed. Mani got rave reviews in the press. Even before the release of the film, actor Sudeep who was a big star then had seen a few reels of the film was so impressed that he immediately asked me to write a script for him. And a big superstar like Vishnuvardhan had liked Mani very much and had even promoted it by writing his appreciation for the film. I dont know why the film failed, but one thing is that audiences always look at new attempts with lot of suspicion. And there is lot of viewer inertia to watch any new attempt on screen unless there is a big publicity campaign to boost the film or a big word of mouth publicity in favour of the film. I wanted to see that this lacunae was filled in my future films and started good publicity campaigns before my films. I also started interacting with the audience before and after the release of m y f i l m s . Th a t h a s p a i d dividends and all my films have been commercial hits since then.

R.G.Vijayasarathy speaks to Yogaraj Bhat about his successful journey

Yogaraj Bhat is one of the biggest brands of the Kannada film

industry today. As a film writer and director his achievements remain unchallenged, ever since he directed his third film Mungaru Male which became a blockbuster. Bhats name on title cards ensures the big openings for his films and he enjoys a popularity and reputation that can be the envy of any moviestar. The biggest stars of the industry vie with each other to work in his films, but Yogaraj Bhat prefers to work on his own terms. His biggest strength has been his writing, which has remained a backbone of all his films. He is strongly rooted in the native environs and his deep interest in Kannada literature has really helped him writing the best scripts, that ensure a steady flow of family audience to the theatres. Starting from his first film Mani which failed to attract the audience despite being critically appreciated, till his recent blockbuster Pancharangi, Bhat has used his writing abilities in scripts, dialogues and lyrics to best advantage. Besides getting commercial acceptability, Bhats films have also won many prestigious awards including the State award and the Filmfare award. His has been a successful journey and transition from being a television episode director to the top film director. He says that filmmaking is not just a creative exercise in present times, but has moved ahead to a job of creating a product that reaches a large segment, for which lot of marketing tools have to be used.

always been impressed by the results. I am really happy with the skin tones and colour reproductions. If you shoot it properly you do not need to waste too much time on analyzer. Vision3 is superb.

own scripts, dialogues and lyrics for my films. When I write for o t h e r f i l m s , I h a ve b e e n specifically asked to write lyrics which have lot of popular elements. I am lucky enough to have written the most popular songs in the Kannada film industry today. Though I write for one or two songs for other films, I have made an exception in the case of the film Jackie, which has been directed by my protg Soori and which has Puneet in the leading role. I have written all the five songs of this film as both Soori and Puneet wanted it. One thing is sure, though I am an extremely popular lyric writer, I would like to reiterate that film direction is one thing that has appealed to me largely and I would like to remain a director for a long time to come. That is because the work of a director is certainly most challenging and creative.

I have also been very proud of my work in my debut Hindi film, Satyabol, by Sanjay Upadhyay. It was the story of a police cop who fights the mysterious and murky system. It got some impressive reviews for a crew of TV backgrounders getting into a debut commercial Hindi film project. Apart from this I also shot Suno Na (2009), a socially relevant subject on an unwed mother, played by Tara Sharma, who decides to give birth to the baby. Working with Amy Thanawala, the films director, was a pleasant experience. Indian cinema according to him, is going ahead on an explosive speed. We have created our own identity. Indian films are watched across and Indian stars enjoy their stardom globally. However, from an honest review I feel we need to work on deeper and perhaps more spiritual subjects. I do not imply religious subjects but I mean soulful films with an insight into life and its dimensions. I feel this is a subject for the millennium. I also feel Indian television needs to relook its scope. Initially Indian television was rich in its culture and text. Unfortunately we have put our treasures in the deep sea and forgotten about them. In fact, the concept of entertainment needs a review. We need to understand that we are impacting and influencing various age groups so we have to be responsible for what we are sending out. This can only be done when commerce gives way to conscience. Ashok Mehta, V.K. Murthy, Subrata Mitra Given an opportunity I would love to direct. But in full honesty I feel I am still not prepared for it. Direction is dedication with time commitment and a whole lot of effort in getting all the aspects of the project in sync. I will do so only when I feel I have time for such a commitment. Presently I am looking forward to the release of Masti Express, a commercial comedy shot on Kodak. He has been using Kodak films for his projects ever since he worked as an assistant. He has and Govind Nihalani are my ideals in cinematography. I am yet exploring and growing as I learn from my experiences and the works of these experts," he says, as he prepares for a new day at work. Talking about the projects that should have been in his bucket Dhananjay says, Gandhi is one film I really wish I was a part of. It is a wholesome meal for a technician, filmmaker, actor. There is so much to take home from this film even today creative and technical it is a masterpiece. Apart from this my bucket list contains names of Ashutosh Gowarikar, Rajkumar Hirani and Madhur Bhandarkar from the present times and Gulzar, Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Raja Paranjpaye and Guru Dutt from the past years. The common factor between them is that they are substantial storytellers. And I love visualizing stories. I wish I get to and would have got to work with them.

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Mungaru Male

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Mungaru Male

Why did you go into hibernation for two years after Ranga S.S.L.C was released? I won't agree with your perception that Ranga S.S.L.C. was not a profitable venture. It was a commercial hit, but I agree the critics panned it. But frankly none of my films later also received any huge critical appreciation. Mungaru Male was also criticized as just a song and music film, while Pancharangi was criticized for its lack of story content. Pancharangi has received more criticism than any of my previous films, but what counts ultimately is how people look at these films. I am extremely satisfied with the way the people have reacted to my films so far. I think it is the critics job to look at films in a larger perspective, but I think the viewer's reaction carries more weight than the perceptions of critics. Did you expept Mungaru Male to be such a huge blockbuster hit? Well, I was fairly confident that the film would be running for 100 days in at least one theatre in Bengaluru, but the film rocked throughout the state in such a grand manner that it took everyone, including me and Ganesh by surprise. Well, I think the dialogues and song picturisations and the Devadasa character (played by a rabbit) did the trick for the film. People started flocking to the theatres just to see how Ganesh delivered the dialogues. Later I made Galipata with a big producer like A.M.Rathnam and Surya Rao which also became a big hit. Comments have been made on your funny dialogues which have been used in abundance and your music video like song picturisations. Many film industry representatives also say that your films have no story content? I have heard many people commenting on lack of story content in my films. I agree that my films dont have a strong story content, but I always think it is the presentation of the film which is more important. My films may have a small story thread, but nevertheless they are very strong in the way they are narrated on screen. And my films have always generated curiosity before the release for the quality of the songs and the novelty in their presentation. I have spoken a lot on the criticism After completion of Ranga S.S.L.C., I had thought of making another film immediately. I wanted to produce a film and give a break to my assistant Soori as director. But somehow it did not materialize at that time. I did get offers to direct television serials, but I did not Most of your films are youth-centric and have lot of content that appeals to the younger generation. You also interact largely with the college students during your pre and post release promos of the film. Youngsters form a large segment of film-viewing public these days. And the new economic environment has created an intelligent cinegoer who wants to support good films in a larger way. They have loads of money about the lack of story content in my films and have answered my critics many a times on various media platforms. feel interested to take up these projects. Then Preetham Gubbi told me a story which was impressive. We did the script jointly and the content was totally fresh. But I was not able to convince regular producers. I had almost signed a deal with an established producer, but he backed out at the last minute. Thankfully E.Krishnappa was ready to make a film with a new artiste like Ganesh, who he knew from his younger days. Later I directed Mungaru Male and the rest is history. to spend on quality products, whether it is an audio album or a film. I think todays young generation looks at films quite differently and it is the responsibility of filmmakers to look at the aspirations and dreams of this par ticular segment of viewers. I dont see anything wrong in making youth-centric films. You should also understand, that but for the support of family audience, my films which are classified as class films by trade circles, would not have made as much money as they have done at the box- office. Have you thought about your new film with Puneet Raj Kumar who is a major super star of the Kannada film industry? I was supposed to do a film titled Lagori with Puneet Raj Kumar for producer Rockline Venkatesh, but somehow the project could not take off at the last minute. I did Manasaare for the same producer later. Now, I am making doubly sure to prepare a very good script for Puneet sir as the product will be a hugely anticipated one in the industry. He started his career with Kaadhal Virus in Tamil, and other films he has done include Ala Mudalaindi and Oka Oorilo in Telugu, Love Khichdi (Hindi) and Aegan (Tamil). Initially, I was a still photography enthusiast, he reminisces. There was no particular institute for still photography at that time so I used to buy books, read them and experiment with various shots using my Canon. My film career started as an assistant to P.C. Sreeram for five years. I have worked on films like Thiruda Thiruda, Thevar Magan, Kuruthi Punal and so on. His passion for photography and discipline are two things that really inspired me. I have done a lot of experiments at that time; for instance processed a film on the negative side and got a very contrasting effect and unusual texture. After P.C., I started working with Jeeva. My first independent film was Kaadhal Virus starring Richard and Preetha. I used 5201, 50 ASA for the outdoor where the highlight area would be high exposure and there would be dark areas, the contrast had to be captured. I relied on 5205, 250 D for day affect. I have experimented a lot. I have worked with low light, mixture of temperature conditions and so only where 5217, 500T came in handy. Director Kadir briefed me that this was a romantic film and needed appropriate tones and colours. For the songs he asked me to experiment and do what came to my mind. In Ooty the sun would be somewhere into the clouds, so it would be very difficult to give exposure because of the mist. Despite that, we got excellent shots that were very dreamy. I shot in the sun but used it for moonlight. We shot the song and mixed in the animation. I matched the light to it as the day progressed from morning to moonlight in the song. After Kaadhal Virus, I did Love Khichdi in Hindi. It was a very interesting film with Sada and six other characters, I have shown Mumbai as it is. It was a love story where the characters have a confused state of mind. I used a cyan tone to reflect this especially in the kitchen where most of the items like the vessels were silver in colour. I also used warm tones. I created some unique light architecture with a Big Bazaar kind of feel with tubelights.

Divya K. catches up with Arjun Jena in Chennai

Cinematographer Arjun Jena has done select films but

each bears his signature of brilliance and poetic aesthetics. Having worked with masters like P.C. Sreeram and Jeeva, he brings to his work a unique lighting architecture that invites you to take a second look.

My films may have a small story thread, but nevertheless they are very strong in the way they are narrated on screen.
You directed your third film Mungaru Male after a lull. This long period should have been a testing time for you. Was it a frustrating phase in your career?

From the day I was an assistant, I have been using Kodak.

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Aegan
Neelathamara

I have done only a few films because I dont pitch for work. Those who know me come to me and I work with teams who gel with me. His recent, Aegan directed by Raju Sundaram and featuring Ajith and Nayanthara was a stylish and breezy entertainer. He has created some interesting lighting patterns for this film. He says, For the opening of the film, where the heros entry starts, we have created a Hollywood kind of feel where I have added an aqua blue tone. For 50 percent of the film, we have kept that kind of the look and for the rest a more Indian look, as its an Indian story and the audience has to relate to it. Another interesting sequence was one in the car park where I used a lot of tubelights on the pillars. We also poured water on the ground to get the reflection there too. I used a lot of daylight for the face of the artiste and the whole ambience was fluorescent light. I got a neutral skin tone and a unique effect. For portions like police stations, I do not like to light up the whole place brightly as it loses the realism. Instead, I like to use a kind of smoky feel to give it authenticity. Since there will be many high contrast area, smoke helps cover the dark areas and provide printable results. The pitch black and white get picked up thanks to Kodak. For one song sequence, I used an 8KV par light and a heavy key light, the artistes and everyone had to be visible, there would be glare. That was difficult to handle but interesting. Director Raju Sundaram gave me a lot of freedom and it was very interesting to work with him. We shot some action sequences in Hong Kong. From the day I was an assistant, I have been using Kodak. I have also used it for my short film Silent Scream. This is a psychological film to create social awareness about suicide, an issue affecting society every minute. Its about someone contemplating suicide and what goes in the mind those few minutes before the act, it happens in real time. It shows what goes on in the mind after the overdose of sleeping pills. I am currently working on Kamban Kazhagam being directed by a new director Ashok Kumar. Its about an aimless youth who suddenly realizes that he can do something in life. Theres a small boy who changes the path of his life. We are planning to shoot in Pondicherry, I want to exploit the French ambience. Usually, people tend to merely match Chennai with Pondicherry but I want to capture the flavour. I may do a film with Gautham Menon in 2011. I want to experiment with all genres. I like to use huge lights and create something brilliant. I also like doing poetic, aesthetic shots. Above all, I want to do some inspiring films after you see the film, you should feel inspired. What prompted you to take up cinematography as your profession? I was interested in still photography even as a schoolboy and had tried my hand at drawing too. After completing Plus Two, I joined Adayar Film Institute to learn cinematography. My diploma film, Velicham (Light) won the Kodak award for best student movie. Then I joined K. V. Anand as his assistant cameraman. How did your training under K. V. Anand help you mould yourself as a cinematographer? At the Institute I learned theories on cinematography. But my concepts on cinematography underwent a sea change once I joined the industry under K. V. Anand. It was, in fact, a process of unlearning. I learnt how to improvise according to changing situations. A cinematographer needs to update his faculty almost everyday so as to survive in this ever developing field. Anand brings novelty to each project. I had a lot to learn from him and could update my professional knowledge. Filmmakers who have influenced you during your film institute days Steven Spielberg is a great influence. I saw almost all his movies while I was in the Institute. Christopher Nolan who directed films like Memento, Following and Inception is another favourite. And I am a great fan of Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar Wai. My first film as an independent cinematographer was in Malayalam. It was Madambi directed by B. Unnikrishnan with Mohan Lal in the lead. I am happy that I did my first film with Mohan Lal as hero. Venu did four days of shooting before I joined the project. In fact, I got the call from Unnikrishnan at midnight and was asked to join the very next morning. I knew nothing about the story or how to treat the subject. In Bollywood and Tamil, they have exhaustive shooting schedules. But in my first independent movie I got only 32 days for shooting. I could not plan the shooting beforehand. And to add to the woes, I didnt know Malayalam. Anyway, I got an assistant to help me with the language.

Challenges
Vijay Ulaganath tells K.B. Venu he does not like gimmicks
Ulaganath, a graduate from the Adayar Film Institute in 2002, learned his practical lessons in cinematography with acclaimed cameraman K. V. Anand. He worked as an assistant cinematographer with Anand for six years on movies like The Legend of Bhagat Singh, Khakee, Kana Kanden, Chellame and Sivaji. The young DOP who belongs to Tamil Nadu is now a busy cinematographer in Kerala.
How did your entry into Malayalm films happen?

for

Vijay

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Aegan

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Lal Joses Neelathamara was the film that established you in Malayalam. I simply loved the subject of the film. I heard that it was a remake of a film that was released in the seventies or eighties. I hadnt watched that movie. Lal Jose explained the subject with the minutest visual details. I could visualize the whole movie while he narrated the subject to me. I got the full English translation of the script and the chief assistant director explained everything to me. Even the meaning of the lyrics was explained. By the time I started the shooting, each and every word in the script was clear to me. This was an added advantage and it helped me a lot in executing my plans.

I always prefer to shoot on celluloid and when I say celluloid I mean Kodak.

You started working with big budget movies in Tamil and Bollywood. What difference did you find as you started working in Malayalam films? Whatre your impressions of the Malayalam film industry in general? When I joined K.V.Anand as an assistant he was doing big budget movies, which demanded big sets, sophisticated equipments and innovative visual treatment. As an assistant cinematographer I had an opportunity to explore new possibilities and new heights in technology and it was a great experience getting trained under him. We were trained to control, manipulate and get things the way we wanted. But when I started my career as an independent cinematographer in Malayalam movies, things

Director Lal Jose is known for the versatility of

subjects and locations he chooses for his movies. After the success of Neelathamara, he is setting up his latest film in a rustic atmosphere. Elsamma Enna Aankutty (Elsamma, the Boy) belongs to the hilarious genre of movies that audiences expect from the creator of blockbusters like Meesamadhavan and Chanthupottu. The movie is an attempt to grab the throbs and flavours of Keralas village life, with realistic characters and natural settings. Lal Jose who has introduced a number of heroines like Kavya Madhavan, Samvrutha Sunil and Meera Nandan has newcomer Anne Augustine, in the lead role.

Neelathamara

were completely different from the way I had worked before. The entire movie was shot in 40 days and we had an Arriflex 35- III camera with Hawk Anamorphic lenses. Most of the present day mainstream Malayalam movies are dialogue driven and demand a lot of movement shots. We shot most of the scenes in hill areas and faced problems in maintaining lighting contrast and depth. Thanks to Kodak as it never disappointed me. Shooting Malayalam movies is quite a great experience and fun. Generally, how do you prepare for a shoot? First I go through the script, then hold discussions with the director and the art director. Then the decision on the look-andfeel of the movie will be taken. For me, locations play a vital role and I believe in extensive location scouting. I always prefer to shoot on celluloid and when I say celluloid I mean Kodak. I love Kodak stocks especially 5217 200T for the way it handles the highlights, reproduces rich blacks and tonal reproduction. I prefer 5217 200T for the challenging locations, day interiors. For night exteriors I prefer 5219 500T for the subtle blacks. I trust Kodak and it never failed me. What kind of movies do you prefer working on? I would like to do realistic subjects with a romantic flavour. I dont like gimmicks with the camera. May be that is the reason why I am a great fan of Wong Kar Wai.

locations all the time. It was raining throughout. The sky was cloudy. I could manage the close shots but it was difficult to take long shots in that atmosphere. Outdoor lighting was not in my control. We waited for long for the sun to appear and the shooting was extended beyond schedule. But did it affect the results in anyway? Not at all. We could attain good result despite the unfavorable weather conditions. We got How was the experience of working with Lal Jose? Lal Jose has excellent sense of framing. He narrates everything visually. Working with Lal Jose will be a pleasure for any upcoming cinematographer. He never interferes in the DOPs work. W h a t wa s yo u r m o d u s o p e ra n d i fo r Neelathamara? For Neelathamara I used natural lights as far as possible. I wanted contrasts of black and green; for that I chose Kodaks 200T and it gave the desired result. Only one stock was used throughout. There was no intervention of digital technology. Tell us about your latest film, Elsamma Enna Aankutty? The camera movements and treatment were slow in Neelathamara because the subject demanded such a pace. But in Elsamma Enna Aankutty there are several brisk movements. There were dramatic climatic changes in the In Neelathamara and Elsamma Enna Aankutty you were handling newcomers. How is that experience? Ann Augustine, the heroine of Elsamma Enna Aankutty, is a brilliant artiste and she learned the basics of behaving in front of the camera very quickly. During the initial days we took only two or three shots a day. But later we could increase the pace. several shots with natural beauty, especially when we shot when it was raining. I used Vision 3 5213 of Kodak in this film.

Fresh as Rain
Elsamma Enna Aankutty

Lal Jose talks to K. B. Venu about his approach to his work

Elsamma Enna Aankutty

What is your latest movie Elsamma Enna Aankutty all about? The story is set against the backdrop of a hill-side village in Kerala. Elsamma, the protagonist is forced to take up the responsibility of looking after her family when her father, a drunkard and illicit liquor trader, meets with a sudden death. Since he was the local newspaper agent too, Elsamma takes up the job of a newspaper distributor in the village. She also works as a local reporter. She is the eldest of four sisters and her irresponsible mother spends time either dozing around or visiting the village church. The younger sisters too are not serious about life. Visually the film is going to entertain the spectators with the scintillating beauty of early

mornings in Thodupuzha, the sleepy high range township bordering the Western Ghats. The hero, played by Kunchako Boban, is a local milk vendor who also has his duty hours during early mornings. The newspaper girl and the milk vendor boy together will rock Balan Pillai City, the imaginary township where the story unfolds. Anne Augustine, my heroine, has portrayed the role to my satisfaction. Why the heroine is called Elsamma, the Boy? She takes up the responsibility of an entire family despite being a girl and behaves almost like a boy. She says she doesnt like being called a boy, though she doesnt hate boys. But she is of the opinion that a majority of them are boring persons. Does the film resemble movies like Ammayane Sathyam by Balachandra Menon or Rasathanthram by Sathyan Anthikad in which girls were disguised as boys? Not at all. Some friends asked me whether this film resembled Chanthupottu in which I experimented with Dileep in the role of a young man with feminine mannerisms. We used such a cut in a song sequence but now even that doesnt exist in the movie. It is just Elsammas peculiar and unique character that matters. Yo u r p rev i o u s f i l m Neelathamara was full of fresh talents, including the hero and heroine. This time too, you have a new heroine I want to make my films in a relaxed mood. The advantage of using young and fresh talents is that I will have them with me throughout. I will be able to exploit their talents to the maximum. I dont blame the star heroines for being busy all the time. They need to work in more than one film simultaneously to maintain their career. I choose actors according to the subjects

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Neelathamara

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Elsamma Enna Aankutty

Young Guns

I choose. If the subject is suitable for youngsters I go for fresh faces and if it demands experienced hands I approach seasoned actors. Established directors can always experiment with new faces. But new directors find it difficult to survive without stars. Each film needs at least one star. It could be the artiste, director or the producer himself. Take the example of Manjil Virinja Pookkal which was a big hit in the eighties. Actors Mohan Lal, Shanker, Poornima Jayaram and the director Fazil were newcomers. But the production house, Navodaya, was a big name.

To what extent do you experiment with your medium? As in any field, technological advancement is rapid in cinema. Now we have several versions of digital media to choose from. But I will make my films on celluloid so long as this medium exists. Because only celluloid can impart the romantic mood I expect to create in my movies. Celluloid is superior to the digital medium because it is capable of highlighting only those images that the filmmaker and the DOP want to show the spectators. The digital medium is incapable of providing even the exact darkness that we

Set Soar
to
My interest in photography began during my college years in and
around 2002. One day while I was at the Kolkata Book Fair, I chanced upon a book of photography by famous French photographer Henri Cartier Bresson. His photographs that captured the world in its actual state of movement and transformation hooked me. I started taking photography more seriously and bought an SLR still camera. It is this interest in capturing images that gradually propelled me towards cinematography. After passing out from SRFTI, I have assisted cinematographer Ranjan Palit and Savita Singh in two of her feature films. Currently I am assisting veteran cinematographer Anil Mehta in a Hindi feature film. In a film school, you are given the basic inputs up to a certain level. We carry out exercises and projects under a certain budget and thus concentrate our skill on whatever we have in our hand. Working in a big project gives me the opportunity to work with the latest technology and handle elaborate set-ups or to light up a big zone. It is a unique exposure I am enjoying working under Anil Mehta. It enriches me everyday to be able to see closely how a veteran cinematographer like him tackles different cinematic situations. Like cinematographers, every director comes from a different background and thus they have different sensibilities towards filmmaking. Some of them would like to cover an action from every possible angle and later in the edit room will juxtapose them to build up atmosphere. Some of them will follow the simple set of long establishing shot, over the shoulder and close up to visualize a scene. Some of them believe in fluid movements of camera, and some of them in juxtaposition of self sustained series of shots to evoke a certain kind of emotion. I enjoyed a lot while shooting my diploma film at SRFTI with my student director Snehal Nair. He would shoot a scene with keeping the structure of the whole film in mind. With him, it was always a self-sustained series of shots that were complete. Making meaning in this way is really interesting. I had to be very cautious as no single shot should overplay or be too striking to unbalance the emotion of the scene as a whole. Kodak stocks in general give great latitude to you to feel well cushioned. Whatever you see by your naked eye is almost going to be reproduced by the high speed stocks of Kodak. It has also improved its grain structure tremendously, so much so that I sometime miss the grains. I use Kodak Vision3 250D for day interior and exterior. It is a wonder of a stock with great latitude and faithful reproduction of colours. For night interior I use Kodak Vision 2 200T and for exterior work I use Kodak Vision3 500T. With 500T you can venture in the sphere where your light meter reads error and still come out satisfied with the image. Lately, I have started liking the result of the new Kodak Vision3 200T (5213) stock. I personally like the presence of black in the frame. It helps me to direct the concentration on the characters or the subject of concern and to create a sense of depth at the same time. I also like the edginess of subtle degree of grain complemented with handheld camerawork. Given

Sayak Bhattacharya, a promising young graduate from the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute, speaks to Jayanti Sen

I am a strong advocate of Kodak. I had dropped a project when the producer refused to provide me with this stock.

a chance I would like to try out this look once. Speaking of that, todays Kodak stocks are increasingly becoming post friendly (DI) with greater latitude and almost invisible grain structure. I feel there should remain a stock that presents us a possibility to use graininess as an artistic tool. I strongly believe that film is a directors medium. We are here to translate their ideas into images. Therefore I would like to be absolutely clear about the intentions of a director behind each scene and the film as a whole. I like to plan beforehand, so I would like to do intense recce of the locations and would like to get involved in all the prep work. Other than this, every film or script has a particular nature. I will try to best portray them through lensing, framing, lighting and movement. At the end of our third year at film school, we are supposed to make a half an hour-long diploma film in 35mm format using spherical lenses. Snehal Nair accidentally found some old passport size images lying on the street. Those were black and white photographs and appeared quite old. Our Institute is located on one of the fastest growing landscapes in the Kolkata metropolis, in terms of commercial and residential buildings. Often these buildings seem to generate from the earth itself. My director wanted to document this transformation of landscape and somehow link those found photographs through a narrative structure. We zeroed in on using black and white stock instead of colour. We needed to use it to achieve an abstract quality that will help us to connect the graphic qualities of those photographs and that of the landscape. I chose Kodak Double X (5222) film and used it to produce a degree of contrast in the look of the film. For some parts of the film I have pushed (overexposed) the stock to introduce some amount of grain into the images. I used Carl ZeissUltra Prime lenses and an Angenieux 25-250 mm for some shots. I really enjoyed shooting this film. A lot of credit goes to my director Snehal Nair. He was very clear about what he wanted and how much should we venture into the abstraction in terms of visuals. We were shooting buildings, bridges and construction sites and moving towards barren landscapes in order to find a space where our human intervention in nature has not taken place.

Elsamma Enna Aankutty

What is your evaluation of Elsamma Enna Aankutty? I underwent severe mental strain during the shoot. I went about shooting the film without studying the climatic pattern of the place. Now I understand that Thodupuzha, where I shot the film is Keralas Cherrapunji. We had unexpected rainfall all the time. I had to shoot for almost two extra weeks because of this. But it was a blessing in disguise. You can see the scenic greenery of the land and the black rocks and roads neatly washed in rain. I have also made use of almost eight waterfalls in the locality which are seen only during rainy season. I owe much to the rains for the visual beauty of the frames. The only constraint was that I had to be tense about meeting a deadline. expect in movies. We can exclude whatever we dont want to project on the screen. But in digital films you might see objects or images which the director actually wants to avoid. Digital films fail to provide the three dimensional effect that celluloid always promises. My first love is celluloid. In this film I have used the latest version of Kodak. I am a strong advocate of Kodak. I had dropped a project when the producer refused to provide me with this stock. DOP Vijay Ulaganath has done an excellent work He has used natural light to the maximum to explore the scenic beauty of the location. There seems to be a flurry of movies with young actors in the lead roles after the success of Malarvadi Arts Club and Apoorva Ragangal. How do you evaluate this trend? When filmmakers depend on superstars like Mohan Lal and Mammootty, the themes revolve around them so as to suit their age. Now we have a group of young heroes. Filmmakers who are planning to go for plots with the same success formula of Malarvadi Arts Club are sure to bite the dust. If different subjects are chosen with the new talents there will be wonderful movies ahead.
Elsamma Enna Aankutty

Many films are remade with the support of latest cinematic technology in other languages.

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Multi-City Launches of

Young Guns
Kolkata

Raring to

Go

Hyderabad
The 5213 was successfully launched in July at Prasad Lab preview theatre. It was attended by about 110 guests. The audience included cinematographers, associate/assistant cinematographers, lab and post house technicians. Initially the FNC dvd was played, followed by a brief talk on the benefits of film by M.T. Amuthavanan and then the technical presentation of 5213 and a demo of the 35 and 16mm. The demo was well received by the DOPs and a few of them have already tested the film and have given a positive feedback. In fact, two DOPs are using 5213 for their productions. Seniors like Jayanan Vincent, Jairam, N. Sudhakar Reddy and youngsters like K. K. Senthil Kumar, Jaya Krishna, P.G. Vinda attended the event.

Sandeep Hattangadi talks to young FTII graduate Avinash Arun.

A Pune resident, Avinash Arun grew up with

awareness of cinema and the Film and Television Institute of India. Eventually, he got admission there and studied cinematography. He is now ready to enter the world of cinema as a young professional.
How has the FTII cinematography course helped you? My stint at the FTII helped me to evolve as a student of world cinema and on the campus there is always talk of good cinema be it national, regional or international, which has helped me understand the aesthetics of cinema. The faculty that teaches cinematography has some wonderful teachers like Prof. Naria and Prof. Soman, who painstakingly have taught me everything to know about cinematography. I am really grateful to them. Was it difficult for you to get admission into the prestigious FTII? Not really. Because as a 17-year-old staying in Pune I often used to visit the FTII campus and assist the senior students who were making their diploma films. I assisted senior cinematographers like Manoj Lobo and others. Then I did my graduation in English Literature and studied medicine for a while, but luckily I got admission in the cinematography course and now I am almost at the end of my course and I will be making my diploma film in February. But now I am assisting Umesh Kulkarni, exFTII alumnus, who has made popular films like Vihir, and Valu in Marathi, on a short film. Who are the cinematographers who have influenced you? Guru Dutts regular cameraman V.K.Murthy has been a huge influence on me and I have admired his work in Pyaasa, Kaagaz Ke Phool and Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam. Satyajit Rays cameraman Subrata Mitra is a major influence too. I am now assisting Manoj Lobo but looking out for good independent work which I know will take some time but I am willing to wait and earn some money by assisting cinematographers. But I would like to concentrate on feature films and not television or commercials. Whats your opinion about Kodak film? We use Kodak film all the while for shooting and it gives fantastic results especially stocks like 250 D and the new Vision3 5207 stocks. But my only request to the Kodak people is to provide the low contrast stocks which they have stopped, especially since its useful for us students because we dont have advanced lighting post-production facilities and this low contrast stock was really helpful to students with low budgets. I would advise youngsters to get a complete knowledge of cinematography taught by senior professionals in a prestigious school like the FTII, but there is no hard fast rule that by learning in a film school one can be a brilliant DOP. But anyone with a camera can learn cinema techniques just by learning by himself and reading books and watching films. 5213/7213 will be the stock which the DOPS will like to shoot on and no What next after finishing your diploma? doubt it will have a wider acceptance in the Eastern region. The guests left with a Kodak goodie bag consisting of product brochures and Kodak premium. Among the contemporary cinematographers? I liked Tassaduq Hussains work in Omkara and Rajeev Ravis work in Dev D. Would you recommend learning cinematography in schools to budding cinematographers, or to learn on the job by assisting senior cinematographers? The launch was kicked off with a welcome speech by Chirag Gandhi and then Rajesh Jiandani, took over and started the proceedings. It started with FNC dvd presentation followed by demos of 5213 and 7213 .The demo was well taken up by the DOPs and they are very eager to shoot on 5213 and 7213. DOPs like Rana DasGupta, Arindam, Pradip Bhattacharya, Sudipto and veteran Baidyanath Basak attended the screening and had high appreciation for the stock, specially the extra stops the stock has.

It was Kolkata's turn to launch 5213/7213 at the SRFTI Auditorium. It was a perfect launch with 61 guests that included 36 DOPs, assistants, lab technicians and film school students. It was a 100 percent attendance. A few DOPs took time out from their busy shooting schedule for the Kodak launch.

Bangalore
The launch of the new film was held at Arjuna Arts, Malleshwaram, Bangalore in August. About 130 guests including cinematographers, producers, directors, lab technicians and other industry partners attended the launch. It was a jam packed event The launch commenced with a speech by Mr. Suresh Iyer, who spoke briefly about Kodak Entertainment Imaging and its contribution to world of cinema, and how Kodak - EI is accessible to customers in general.

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Then Mr. Rajesh Jiandani, took over and started the proceedings with power point slides followed by the demo prints and concluded with a Q&A session. The short and very informative demo was liked by most of the guests, who were appreciative of the demo material for its content. Most of the guests were impressed by the 16MM part of the demo. DOP Vishnu who is already using 5213 for his latest project was particularly impressed by the demo and was happy to get the highlighted features in his negative which was exposed and developed under "Local conditions". Another leading DOP Chandru, just said "Simply Super" after the show. The best part of the launch programme were three DOPs ( P.L. Ravi, H.C. Venu, and G.S.V. Seetharam) committing to using 5213 for their new projects which will start in the next few days. The rest of the important DOPs like Sathya Hegde, Santosh Rai, R. Giri, B.S. Basavaraj were impressed with the stock and have promised to use at some point of time. There were few questions about new intermediate 5254 and a few DOPs asked about availability of the same across DI houses in India. The lab technicians were also impressed by the demo. I have done my MBA from Pune University. I joined Kodak in 2008, where my job responsibility The guests were served with tea and snacks before the screening and a full course lunch after the screening. The lunch provided leisure time to discuss the whole programme and other general stuff. The guests left with a Kodak goodie bag consisting of the product brochures and a Kodak red T-shirt. includes revenue enhancement and maximum valet share of business, strategic planning and partnerships, competitive market analysis, planning product growth opportunities within big ticket corporate accounts, relationship building and market trend analysis. I enjoy working at Kodak and find the atmosphere friendly Here I got a chance to interact with topnotch filmmakers, DOPs, post production houses and labs, which helps me to understand cinema more deeply. Before Kodak, for me movies were just popcorn, friends and partying, but now along with this, it is also image, colour, sound and resolution. After all I am into in a business where we convert Negative into positive (stock). In my free time, I like internet surfing, playing cricket and badminton. Ankit Sharma Deputy Manager, Film Distribution Products

Thiruvananthapuram & Cochin

Vision3 5213 200T was launched in Kerala in August in Thiruvananthapuram and Cochin respectively. The Thiruvananthapuram screening was held at the Prasad Film Lab. This event was well attended by senior DOPs, assistants, lab technicians (KSFDC and PFL) and directors. There were about 40 guests. The biggest challenge this time was the venue for the launch-Prasad Lab, which is more than 15 km away from the city and transportation was an issue; rains that day also caused some trouble but ultimately there was a decent turnout. Alagappan, who is one of the prominent DOPs in the Malayalam Industry, K.G. Jayan, who usually does non-commercial films, and has won awards including last years state award, Shivan (Sivan Studio), veteran Indian DOP Santosh Shivans father, Ajit P. George (Manager PFL), Anil Gopinath, Lal Kannan and Sasi Ramakrishnan were some of the guests. A total of 15 DOPs attended the session. All the technicians from Chitranjali Lab also attended the event. The launch kicked off with the FNC demo by Visakh. After the FNC Prasanth took over for the Launch Presentation followed by the demo. The 5213/ 7213 demo was well appreciated by Alagappan and K.G. Jayan. Alagappan confirmed that he will use 5213 for his next project. The Thiruvananthapuram launch was a great Success. The Cochin screening was held at Little Shenoys. It was started with the FNC demo, and Launch Presentation followed by the demo. The total turnout was around 60, including senior DOPs, assistants, media school students and directors. The presence of S. Kumar and director Anvar Rasheed added extra glamour to the event. Some of the other prominent DOPs who attended the function were Madhu Neelakantan, M.D. Sukumarn, Jibu Jackob, Vinod Illmapallil, Jomon and Prakash. Everyone liked the demo of 5213/7213. Some of the DOPs had already used the stock and experienced its great improvement and were delighted with its results. The EFX representative Mohana Krishnan and Vijayakumar were also present during the screening. After the launch (in Cochin), there was full day training session for upcoming and assistant DOPs and film students, organised by Kodak in association with CUMAC, the cinematographers association of Kerala and the Prasad Group. The sessions were conducted by Mohanakrishnan of the Prasad Group and Prasanth.

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R AT H N AV E L U
My fascination for photography started when I was just 10. My fledgling steps in photography were inspired by flickering fireflies sparkling in a dark Horlicks bottle with holes in the lid. I followed the traveling light in the dark and captured this with my brothers range finder camera with the last few frames. The result was an awesome play of light and dark, and this made my interest in photography surge. My passion for cinematography grew after I joined the Film Institute (FTIT). The immense exposure to international films opened my eyes to the visual impact despite their national and cultural boundaries. After working with my favorite DOP Rajiv Menon for two years, I started learning the importance of cinematography in storytelling. To me, the most inspiring time is while traveling in my car, I observe light which reveals the landscape, infuses character to faces, life to architecture and so on. I like contrast in every frame and despise flatly lit things. A cinematographer should know where to put a light and where not to. Controlling light is a great technique. A cinematographers job is to help the director in storytelling. This is a very intense process and a relationship that moves far beyond the boundaries of profession. There must be a good collaboration that is based in a sound foundation of mutual trust and friendship. Visually creating beautiful images is easy, but to create realism that will support the story is difficult. Before I start shooting a movie, I fix the visual style and look. While shooting I follow my instinct and heart to create the mood and leave the rest to the negative. From my first film up to my recent film Endhiran, I have used only Kodak stocks. Kodak has become an integral part of my movie career. The cinematographer is an artist, not a mere technician. He brings his lifes experience into the job with technique and aesthetics. Sethu, Nanda, Jayam, Arya, Cyanide, Thirumalai, Peralagan, Gaalipatta, Jagadam, Varanam Aayiram and Endhiran (Robot). He has won several awards for Best Cinematographer including State Award, Film Fare Award and Film Critics Award.