Issue 2, 2010 Volume 7 - Kodak

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Stills from Anwar
Your films belong to the mainstream category and exhibit offbeat
trends. What were your influences as a student of cinema?
I used to watch all kinds of movies right from my school days. A
mainstream Tamil movie and Antichrist by Lars von Trier can impart
equal amount of excitement to me. I was a member of the Cochin Film
Society, which screened a number of classic movies. And, there was a
video library called Video House in Ernakulam which had almost all
volumes of Bergman, Visconti, Godard and Bunuel. That way I was an
avid film watcher right from the VHS era. Even after joining the Institute,
I used to go out to the theatres every second or third day though there
were regular screening on the campus and the school had a vast video
library.
So you do not differentiate between the genres?
I had always tried to escape from being branded as an intellectual
filmmaker. That is how mainstream cinema and public usually consider
film institute products. That cap will become a handicap when they
enter the mainstream industry. I believe in the power and brilliance of
mainstream cinema. I will tell you an example. Any other director can
plan a different film with the subject of the next film I am making. I
mean, the same theme can be converted into an art house type movie. I
have seen the kind of crowd in Nandan theatre in Kolkota. I will not be
excited if my film is received by that kind of an audience only. I don’t
want to entertain those people. I can very well sit with them and talk
about great films. I want to be part of popular cinema and communicate
to the masses.
What is your new film Anwar all about?
Anwar is different from my previous films. My first two films had their
thrust in cinematic elements. They were cinematic from the very first
shot. Anwar is going to deal with a more realistic and contemporary
issue. At the same time, I have no plan and intention to preach anything
to the masses. I want to prove that many “rights” and many “wrongs”
exist in our world. The concept of right and wrong is never the same for
different people. The main characters in my movie belong to different
realities and have separate concepts of truth. Anwar is all about the
evolution of these characters. And, I want it to be an absolutely
commercial movie.
You are a trained cinematographer. But you employ others to wield
camera for your films. Is it because you believe more in donning the
mantle of director?
That may be my way of taking revenge. (Laughs) After coming from
SRFTI I had spent two years here with the hope of becoming a
cinematographer in Malayalam movies. I have grown up watching
Stills from Anwar
excellent cinematographers like Venu and Santosh Sivan.
Cinematographers from Kerala still have that legacy. In Mumbai,
Malayali cinematographers have a place of their own. It is almost like
bearing an ISI mark. I still remember Bharathan’s Thazhvaram and
Padmarajan’s Innale, both cinematographed by Venu, released almost
simultaneously in my city. According to me that is the ultimate
versatility in cinematography. Those films were different from each
other. I do not believe that the cinematographer should have his
signature in cinema. That is the reason why I like Innale and
Thazhvaram. You will never say that these films were cinematographed
by the same person. The cinematographer must behave like a meek and
obedient wife who can help in the progress of materializing the director’s
vision of the film.
A number of film school educated Malayali technicians, mostly
cinematographers, go to Bollywood and other filmmaking lands after
trying their luck in Malayalam cinema. That had caused deterioration in
the quality of cinematography in Malayalam at a particular period. I will
be very happy if ten new cinematographers come up in Malayalam
because of my films. The historic significance of my first film, Big B, is
that it had an altogether fresh crew. Usually when a director makes his
debut, the technical crew will consist of experienced hands. But it was
the vision of a handful of newcomers that made all the difference in Big
B. Like any other part of the country, there are fresh cinematic talents in
Kerala too. Given hope, care, space and technical assistance these
youngsters too can work as excellently as the technicians we import
from other industries providing luxurious facilities. For me, a first time
cinematographer who is willing to do anything for his maiden venture is
more acceptable than some one who is established in the industry. Even
I don’t want to be a professional cinematographer. It is like doing any
other ordinary job. Satheesh Kurup, the cinematographer of my new
venture, spent an entire month for location hunt. I won’t get a
professional cinematographer to do this job for me.
How do you view the advent of state of the art gadgets and devices in
cinematography?
I believe in the strength of celluloid despite the advent of digital
technology in different formats. My first film was shot in super 16. The
next one was shot in Super 35 mm. But in Anwar, I am using a mix of four
formats. As for the stock, I have used only Kodak. I am a hundred per
cent orthodox Kodak believer right from the film school days. I propose
to use their Vision 3 for Anwar. Even for the advertisement films I shoot, I
use Kodak. It gives the satisfaction of portraying Indian skin tones to
near perfection. I am a cinematographer who insists on printing in Kodak
positive itself.
Ravi Yadav has certainly
created a record. His direc-
torial debut Maro Charitra is
the first movie in the Telugu
industry to have director who
is also the cinematographer.
“A Finger in
Every Pie”
What is your current movie
Maro Charitra about?
Every movie buff in India must
have heard and seen Ek Duuje Ke
Liye. Maro Charitra of 1978 is the
original Telugu movie, directed
by veteran K. Balachander which
was made later made as Ek
Duuje Ke Liye. It was one of the
biggest hits of Telugu cinema
and is among the best romantic
movies of all times.
As I was passing through Times
Square in New York a few years
ago, I suddenly had a brainwave:
What if we could shoot an
emotional scene or song about
two Indian lovers here? That
thought became a fire and I
decided to debut as a director
with this great love story. That is
why I chose Maro Charitra as the
base and developed a similar
story. Only this time, the lovers
are based in the US and it is a
‘now’ generation movie.
I h a v e a l s o d o n e t h e
cinematography for the movie. It
was an astounding experience
to be the director and drive the
movie ahead and also be the
cinematographer and give my
thoughts a vision. It was all so
surreal.
Normally, any other director
would have asked me why I
chose to shoot from a particular
angle or direction. I would have
to explain, even defend, and
perhaps give up on it, even if I am
convinced it works out great for
the movie. This time, I just went
ahead and tried a lot of shots
that I have always wanted to.
As a cinematographer, can you
tell us a few technical aspects
about Maro Charitra?
I shot the entire movie in super
35 format using subdued,
minimal and almost nil lighting
throughout the movie. I shot the
entire movie only one stock –
Kodak 200 ASA 5217 stocks. I
used an Arri Master Prime lens
with three perforations. I have
used so less lighting in some
shots that even those in the
industry will be zapped. I have
never used even a single direct
light; but opted for soft, diffused
light – atmospheric, mood
lighting to bring out the
emotions. We shot for 90 days
across four countries.
I personally liked the scene
where we shot a 360 degree
scene around a house in Dubai.
The house did not have space
Even after having worked as a
cinematographer for Hindi,
Telugu, Kannada, Tamil and
M a l a y a l a m , e v e n a n
occasional English movie,
Yadav is still not content. He
wants more.
Ravi Yadav talks to Manju Latha Kalanidhi about his dreams and ambitions.
“I know that
Kodak reproduces
my vision
impeccably.”
around it for camera navigation,
but it was crucial that we run
the camera around the house. It
was very dark and we could not
place lights because of lack of
space. I used the shadows of the
dark light to bring out the scene.
I also love the opening shot of
the movie where we used a
helicopter about 200 ft above
the ground for a grand shot. The
shot at Niagara Falls also is
among my favourites.
Since we were working on a low
budget and a super small crew,
it was important to keep costs
low while still making the
product rich and on a bigger
canvas. Perhaps, being a
cinematographer really helped
me as I could choose my
l o c a t i o n s w i t h o u t m u c h
difficulty. I chose New York for
its sheer vibrancy which
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