Friday Review
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Yet another high
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Ratnavelu, ace cinematographer, has done a remarkable job for Yograj Bhat’s Gaali Pata
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Photo: Bhagya Prakash K.
TEAM EFFORT Ratnavelu: ‘We all worked very hard in tough terrain and weather conditions’
In an industry where egos are immeasurable, Kannada cinema’s hottest director Yograj Bhat plays down his contribution to his films. “Cinematographer Ratnavelu is the star of Gaali Pata,” says the highest paid film personality in the
history of Kannada cinema. “His enthusiasm, involvement and innovations are infectious,” says the director with unbridled pride. Ratnavelu himself is extremely involved in the project. “A director’s narration of the script should fire my imagination otherwise I don’t take up a project. I work in only one film at a time so it has to be worth it,” says the unassuming cinematographer who was not over awed by the success of “Mungaaru Maley” or the director’s reputation. He asked for a detailed narration of the screenplay and agreed immediately. Now he has no regrets.
“We all worked very hard in tough terrain and weather conditions. I really pity the boys who lug the equipment, lights and camera. They are the unsung heroes,” says Ratnavelu, with rare compassion. “I don’t know Kannada but Yograj’s lines made me laugh. There’s something to his lines. I think Ganesh has done a fine job. His dialogue delivery does justice to Yograj’s lines.” The film is in the final stages of labour. If the computer graphics is done in time it should get released on January 4. The audio cds have been released and the songs are pretty good though one song sounds very similar to “Anisuthidhe…” from “MM”.
Ratnavelu is being offered Kannada films but as usual he’s careful. He’s just wrapping up Gautam Menon’s ambitious “Vaaranam Aayiram” and has been offered a film with a Superstar in Bollywood.
“I’d love to do one film with Kamal Hassan,” says Ratnavelu who missed doing “Dashavatharam”. He’s still a little peeved at not receiving the State award for “Cyanide” but I’m sure the deafening applause from the public for “Gaali Pata” will more than compensate for that.
*** Another year has passed by without anything path-breaking happening in Indian cinema.
Yes, there are some films that stood out. In Hindi there were the small multiplex movies like “Bheja Fry”, “Cheeni Kum” and a few others. Budgets are inconsequential. Content has remained king. There was a lot of experimentation by way of narration. The quality of cinematography has improved by leaps and bounds.
The immensely talented Ramgopal Varma disappointed with mediocre fare. His remake of “Sholay” was blasphemous. The highly over-rated and self indulgent Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s “Saawariya” was a dud. The best film of the year was “Chak De! India”. Shahrukh is still King Khan. Everybody thinks Rajni’s “Sivaji” is a massive hit but informed sources say that except in a few cities distributors lost money.
It was a bad year for Telugu superstar Chiranjeevi, professionally and personally. While his “Shanker Dada” flopped miserably, his son’s “Chirutha” too failed. Another blow was his daughter eloping and making a media spectacle of it.
For me, the director of the year was Shekar Kammula. His “Happy Days” was a charming take on college kids with some splendid performances by untrained youngsters. The disappointment was “Kalloori” directed by Balaji Shaktivel who made the remarkable “Kaadhal”.
In 2008, the one film I await is “Dashavatharam” starring the master of masquerade, Kamal Hassan for the sheer effort he’s put in like he always does.
S.Shiva Kumar
sshivu@yahoo.com
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Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
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