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Velvety visual A scene from “Saawariya”

The trailer of famed filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s “Saawariya” is out. And one man whose two cell phones are relentlessly ringing is Ravi K. Chandran. In crammed K.K. Nagar, the country’s top-billed director of photography sits unassumingly in his 850 sq. ft. nondescript house and patiently answers every call and replies to the complimentary messages inundating his inbox. He then switches to chat mode and begins, “‘Saawariya’ is an intense love story that unfolds in the night. A major part of the film is dark. I had no reference for this film. I went through many paintings that capture the beauty of night for inspiration.”

A master of light, he continues, “The entire shoot was done indoors in a huge set. For the first time, we used Space Lights, which are cylindrical, hanging lights covered with cloth for a soft glow. It’s difficult to handle them. But they opened up a new avenue for us to explore. With Space Lights, you can’t identify the source. It suited us since we used a lot of smoke in this film. Besides, it allowed us to use light in a restrained manner to match the mood of the film.”

The complexity of Chandran’s lighting is never apparent in his velvety visuals. For they seem to flow effortlessly. “Yes, but it’s a lot of hard work and homework. I study the set and scene carefully before zooming in. You have to bring out the subtleties and contrasts in such a way that the images evoke an emotional response from the audience,” says the lens man known for his painterly approach to lighting.

Talk about colour, and the man who won accolades for “Black” explains, “At the outset, we decided ‘Saawariya’ will use rich black, sapphire blue and emerald green shades. Even costume designer Anuradha Vakil stuck to the scheme. Since the set included beautiful water bodies, these tones worked well.”

Chandran, who has defined the look of many successful films including “Boys” (remember the freeze frame), “Kannathil Muthamittal” (camerawork caresses), “Aayutha Ezhuthu”, “Yuva” (realism), “Dil Chahta Hai” (sleekness), “Black,” (beauty in starkness) and “Paheli” (celebration of colour) says, “What sets ‘Saawariya’ apart is every frame has a rhythmic quality about it. Bhansali is multi-faceted. He has not just directed the film.

He has composed a song and also edited the film. He is a good choreographer too. So his films are poetry in motion. ‘Saawariya’ has an operatic quality about it. He is open to suggestions and gives me enough freedom to experiment. He pushes his crew hard. He believes that once a film is made, it is history. You can’t undo history.”

In a serious vein, he continues, “A cameraman plays an important part in shaping the look and style of a film. After films such as ‘Boys’ and ‘Dil Chahta Hai’, I had directors coming to me and asking for similar shots. The thing is unless one is deeply involved in his craft and ready to try out different things, one can’t make an impact. The sad thing is today, many students take up cinematography – not out of passion, but because other avenues are closed to them. They just stroll into filmdom without any knowledge.

Even after taking it up, many are not too keen to polish their skill or undertake in-depth reading about the subject. Also, people must study technology, instead of copying from DVDs.”

Having worked with top-notch film makers including Mani Ratnam, Shankar, Rajeev Menon (“he’s my boss”), Murugadoss, Priyadarshan, Farhan Akthar and Bhansali, Chandran says, “Each director has a distinct style and a different way of working. Every film is a learning experience. People think I’m a master, but I believe I’m always a student.”

The cameraman, who landed his first film during a train journey, is today zipping across the globe with a diary chock-a-block with dates. But he says, “I’m still the same simple man. I like it that way. Because when your wants are limited, you can say no to even the biggest name. I like to pick-and-choose my projects. I don’t want to move into an unwieldy bungalow and end up making wrong career moves.”

The telephones are still buzzing. “Hello Chota, I’ll call back,” he says. But cinematographer Chota K. Naidu from Hyderabad is persistent. This time, I wave him to continue…

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