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Love affair with the camera

Cinematographers do not depend on feature films alone for success today, like Sadat Sainuddin, who has different kinds of photography projects up his sleeve, says PREMA MANMADHAN

BEHIND THE SCENE Sadat Sainuddin, top, seen with the director of `Thantra', Bose, and actor Siddique

Sadat aka Photography: That's what Sadat Sainuddin would love to be called, because he has dabbled in all things directly connected with the camera, whether it is stills or the moving one, whether is ads, documentaries, feature films or photojournalism.

His latest assignment, as the cinematographer of `Thantra', directed by K.J. Bose, was a challenge and Sadat believes he took it head on. That the movie did not do very well saddens him, but he talks animatedly about the angles and colours used in the movie. "It is a film which flitted from the topical to period, when electricity had yet to make its presence, so the tones are warm and the lighting patterns were difficult. Bright colours were used in such a way that the viewer would not be distracted from the subject." The ingredients were tailor made for great photo opportunities. There was black magic, dark deep secrets and also a lively present where men and women belong to the 21st century. Siddique, Aravinder Singh, of `Nandanam' fame, Swetha Menon and Aiswarya donned important roles in it. It was a cinematographer's delight, Sadat feels.

Sadat's experiences at 3D Maxmedia, a U.S. -based movie production company as a photographer in Chennai helped smoothen the rough edges and he branched out solo, doing foreign assignments and a handful of ad campaigns, one of them the ad on Hindusthan umbrellas.

His first big work was Rajesh Touchriver's `10 the Strangers'. He made movies for the Tanzanian Government on AIDS awareness, as also other African countries like Nigeria and South Africa. "These were assignments that friends referred to me," the affable 34-year-old says. Doing a tourism promotional film for the Maldives is another experience he cherishes. All those lovely locales some almost virgin territory, waiting to be photographed, gave Sadat all the job satisfaction he craved.

Winning the `Best Cameraman' in the National Short Film Category 2004 for `Padushayude Meenugal' is his biggest achievement so far. He freelanced for a couple of papers, including The Hindu, in Palakkad.

Not confining himself to one branch of photography, there are documentaries, fashion models' portfolios and short films in his oeuvre. "There was a time when I painted too. I did a couple of oils, exhibiting them, then clay modelling too, after which I took to photography," says the man from Palakkad. Photography and football may not exactly coexist in fine fettle, but it did in Sadat's life. "I played soccer for many years and there are few bones in my body as God created them. The steel extras abound everywhere," Sadat jokes, pointing to his scarred wrist, chest and legs.

He is off to Africa, he says on his next project, after which he has a few Malayalam film offers, for which discussions are on.

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