Issue 2, 2010 Volume 7 - Kodak

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Your recent film Sugreeva was shot in just
18 hours and is discussed for its planning,
execution and detailed homework. How was
this hard task accomplished?
I think Sugreeva will be a memorable film for
all the people who were associated with it
including the spot boys who had worked for it.
It was a victory for team work and the
artistes, technicians and workers in the
Kannada film industry showed that they can
plan and execute well to make a reasonably
good film, which can be interesting for the
audience for more than two hours. Sugreeva
had 10 film directors and 10 cinemato-
graphers working in tandem. I had worked
with film director Pramod Chakravarthy with
whom I share a good rapport. I had earlier
worked under his direction in a comedy film
called Golmaal which is yet to be released. I
had also worked as cinematographer in many
films produced by his brother Sheshu
Chakravarthy. We had nearly 18 sequences to
be shot in the main hall of Raja Rajeshwari
Hospital where the entire film was shot. We
started shooting for the film at six a.m. on
October 11, 2009 and finished our shooting
just 10 minutes before 12.00 p.m. on the same
day. Clearly it was a big achievement!
Budhdhivantha
Budhdhivantha
Can you briefly tell us about your background
and how you were drafted into films?
Frankly I am not that well educated and was
not trained in any film institute. I just worked
under cameraman-director Dinesh Babu in
my younger days. I learnt all the basics
working under him and his then assistant
P.K.H. Doss, who is himself an accomplished
cinematographer now. Working with Babu sir
was more than attending a training workshop.
He would use available equipments and also
shoot in existing light to get the best frames.
And he would also work with greater speed.
Both Babu and Doss were perfect in choosing
the lighting pattern for a particular sequence. I
think cinematographers can make a great
impact by using very ordinary equipment if
they can perfectly do the lighting work. Then I
got the first break to work as an independent
cinematographer in the film Nighatha which
was directed by my brother-in-law S.Narayan
who had also become a film producer with
that film. The film was shot in hilly areas and
also in some inaccessible terrain. We used to
go to the interiors with all the equipment and
shoot the film. It was a good experience. Later
on I worked with S.Narayan in many films,
after which I was drafted to work by other film
directors. Now, I am working again with my
brother-in-law for the big budget film Veera
Parampare which will have two big artistes like
Sudeep and Ambareesh.
Devaru Kotta Thangi
“I think Kodak is the most
trusted brand for any film
cinematographer today.”
What were some of the big challenges you had
faced during your career?
A film like Shubham was really a challenge. In
Lava Kusha which had two superstars like
Shivaraj Kumar and Upendra working for it, I
had to shoot some of the action sequences in
a limited time frame. The stunt choreographer
had done his homework and was ready with
his shots, but I had to make arrangements for
the lighting at a brisk speed. I was able to get
things right and the action sequences in the
film were much appreciated. Budhdhivantha
was another film which was memorable
because we had to shoot the songs in China
and also in Himalayas in extremely difficult
situations. Frankly there are many of them,
but I can not recount those things
immediately.
As a cinematographer you must have seen
many changes in filmmaking trends… what is
your take on these recent changes in the
industry?
In a way I think every film is a challenge in
these days when explosion of talent is seen in
today’s films. Also new innovations and new
type of cameras and equipments are hitting
the market. And well-educated trained talents
are being introduced in the camera
department. Cinematographers of today need
to learn more about all the new inventions,
equipments and even the new trends that are
seen in films today. We are seeing today how
digital cameras are entering the fray and we
can find even established film directors like
Kamal Haasan using Red cameras. There are
many Kannada filmmakers who are using the
other forms of digital cameras. I think the new
technology is spreading its wings very fast
and cinematographers should know the
contemporary trends in the industry.
You are normally using the Kodak negatives..
why this particular brand?
I think Kodak is the most trusted brand for
any film cinematographer today.
Painting Pradip Chakraborty tells Malabi Sen
Painting with
Musolmanir Galpo
How did the journey into movies take off?
Painting
Towards the end of 1975 I worked under V. Balasaheb as an assistant, and then under Dilipranjan
Mukherjee. I assisted Manmohan Singh also. In 1986 my father died and I shifted to Kolkata. My
work as independent cinematographer started in 1988, with Dr. Swapan Saha working in his film,
Chandrabati Katha. I worked with Ratan Adhikary in his films Shakti, Jibantrishna, Parichay, Anurag,
Apan Halo Par; Premee directed by Bikash Banerjee. I also worked with Salilmoy Ghosh in his film
Ekti Meye Tamasi. Now I am shooting Pranab Choudhury’s film Ekti Musolmanir Galpo, based on
Rabindranath Tagore’s story.
Did you come across the demarcation between art or parallel cinema?
There can only be a good, well-made film and a badly made film. No other line of demarcation
exists, if I may say so. In this context, I can recall, we were shooting a film Aanchal starring Amol
Palekar in Mumbai, he was also saying he does not believe in art film per se, a film can be either
good or bad. Technically all films are the same where the actual job of filmmaking is concerned. In
art cinema you get less intercutting, the emphasis is on storytelling, it is much less jerky to the
eyes. For commercial movies, the ‘commerce’ part is much more important, getting the money back
that is invested in making the film remains all important to the producer rather than thinking in
terms of quality. The money counting starts even before shooting commences. I still remember
with affection a film of mine that was left incomplete, called Jibanjapan directed by Sauren Basu.
Only three or five days of shooting was left when work got stalled due to unavoidable
circumstances. In that film my work was compared to one of my gurus, Saumendu Roy, I felt very
elated then, but the film has been left incomplete all these years.
Light
Sauren had stressed at every point the mood of the scene, the visual treatment when a guy goes
out for work in the morning and the afternoon when the womenfolk staying at home are taking a bit
of nap has an altogether different treatment visually, lighting-wise or whichever way you look at it.
Sauren stressed not only mood, but also the colour temperature to be used of the raw stock. In the
afternoon just before sunset we used 2000K, the orange tone of light we get, then Sauren tried to
visualize it. A thousand pities this film could not be completed. It is my bad luck as a
cinematographer. For a director a film is like a child unborn, in its process of making.
Musolmanir Galpo
that he does not let problems
affect the quality of his work.
Pradip Chakraborty wanted to become
an artist and get admitted into the
Government Art College in Kolkata.
But the paucity of funds held him back.
So, he decided to do a three-year still
photography course at the Jadavpur Insti-
tute of Printing Technology.
On completing this course he left for
Mumbai, and with the help of famous art
director, Sudhendu Roy, found a place at
Natraj Studios as an observer under great
cinematographer V.K. Murthy and others
like G. Singh, A.G. Prabhakar,
Alok Dasgupta and Bipin Gajjar.
“Photography
is the platform,
cinematography
is the look and eye
of the film.”
Musolmanir Galpo
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