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Photo: K. Ganesan

Meticulous Puts things in right perspective

For those who are not familiar with the name, Anand is a popular cinematographer, who had created ripples with his brilliant visuals. His work speaks volumes of his professionalism and intense work ethics.

Some of the films he let his camera do the talking are national award winning debut Malayalam movie ‘Thenmavin Kombathu’, ‘Kadhal Desam’ (Tamil), ‘Josh’, ‘Khakhee’, ‘The legend of Bhagat Singh’ (Hindi) and ‘Mudhalvan’ (Tamil) dubbed in Telugu and remade in Hindi.

Coming back to his pessimistic approach… He immediately corrects: “Don’t project me as a gloom merchant. Of course, I have my own apprehensions about my work. Can you believe director Shankar too approach things with the same mindset. On the sets of Sivaji, we never had a peaceful sleep. For, both of us would be preoccupied with the outcome of the shots. In fact, such a feeling has a catalytic effect on me. It invigorates me and propels me to put that extra effort. Ultimately, that works out in my favour and brings accolades from all quarters.”

He started as a freelance photojournalist for leading newspapers and magazines. Within a short span of time he was able to impress his colleagues with his spectacular visuals. Soon his pictures found place in the front covers of many magazines. His wide experience in industrial photography gave him enough freedom to experiment different photographic techniques and that helped him to become a wholesome cameraman.

“Right from my childhood I was interested in photography. In fact, I was interested in mountaineering. During several trekking expeditions I wished to retain the beauty of nature for ever and there I developed interest in landscape photography,” he reminisces.

But his career received a big jolt when a popular magazine turned down his application for the job of a photojournalist. The pain of not making it to full time journalism irked him the most and that proved to be the tinsel world’s gain as he turned his attention towards films.

His acquaintance with ace cinematographer P.C. Sriram ended in his appointment as apprentice.

The experience of working under Sriram in movies such as Gopura Vasalile, Amaran, Meera, Devar Magan and Thiruda Thiruda provided him with enough substance to learn the art of filmmaking.

Anand got a major breakthrough when Sriram recommended his name to Priyadarshan when the director was on the look out for a cinematographer for his Malayalam movie. From there started his film journey. “Thenmavin Kombathu gave me enough freedom to work. I brought in what all I visualised right from the childhood days. If you see the movie you can feel the landscape effects. The theme and tone of the cinematography won critical acclaims from all quarters. I was happy to see my effort acknowledged with a national award,” he humbly accepts.

His subsequent movies brought him laurels for the richness. ‘Kadal Desam’, ‘Josh’ and ‘Mudalvan’ provide ample evidences for his brilliance.

“I was of the idea that only heroes and heroines attract fans, but I had to correct myself soon when I saw hundreds of fans applauding P.C. sir’s work on the screens. I am really thrilled to see so many people now recognise the effort put in by the cameraman in the movies.”

He is very particular to take up one movie at a time. “I am very possessive about my film. I cannot divert my attention simultaneously to too many assignments,” he says citing that in 12 years, he has done only 14 films in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi.

Sincerity to work being his forte, Anand sees to it that he puts 100 per cent effort in his work.

During the post laboratory works for the movie Sivaji, Anand was right there at the lab meticulously going through every single print. “Yes. I feel that my job does not end with the cinematography. I should also ensure that the final output is up to the standard. For the film Sivaji, we actually worked on the colour contrast of the film to suit three different categories. The film had different colour depths to be screened in multiplexes, city theatres and xenon projectors. Besides, we had also earmarked 100 prints for overseas screening, for which I had a different colour set up,” he explains.

Being a science graduate, he is able to comprehend the scientific aspects behind the colour composition.

Anand has also worked in more than 50 commercials with leading advertisement agencies in the country.

Having etched his mark in the cinematography, Anand wielded the megaphone with ‘Kana Kanden’, again receiving widespread encomiums for the choice of subject and casting.

He terms 2007 as one of the golden years of Tamil cinema with films belonging to different genres and categories achieving success.

“It is really difficult to gauge the success of any film. It is amazing. ‘Pokkiri’ and ‘Mozhi’ are entirely different in content and treatment, yet both are blockbusters of the year. If your content is strong enough you can succeed in the tinselworld,” he admits.

Anand is now busy with his own subject, which is due for release this year end.

“I have already fixed Harris Jeyaraj as my music director and asked actor Surya and he immediately accepted,” he signs off.

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