Action packed realism - Kodak

Volume 8 

Read more about 

• Kabir Lal • Vijay Arora • Sanjay Memane • Gourang Saha • Krishnasamy • Dasaradhi Sivendra 

• Dil Raju • Dasari Sreenivas Rao • Soumik Haldar • Shaji 

Issue 3, 2011 

Action 

packed 

realism 

DoP Dudley 

creates a new raw look 

in Singham 

Also featured 

• K.G. Soman • R. Narayan Kumar • Tanveer Mir • Nikhil Arolkar • Siddhartha Jatla • NID Workshop 

• The Kodak Masterclass with Vilmos Zsigmond, ASC. • Post house - Prime Focus

Volume 8 

FOREWORD 

Issue 3, 2011 

Cinema began as a black and white medium and has remained so 

for some decades. . One of the key issues with color film is that of 

consistency. DoPs constantly face the challenging task of 

balancing color effectively, as despite their best efforts, there are 

still minor variations due to various reasons – exposure, 

processing among others. 

The advent of the DI process makes it possible to carry out color 

corrections with more precision and to impart a distinct look and 

feel to a film and thereby create a mood for the audiences. 

Colorists are the handful of men and women who work with the 

complex system of colors in a film. They carefully iron out the 

tiniest variation in colors from shot to shot - over 3,000 individual 

shots and 2,00,000 frames that make up a commercial Indian 

feature film. 

At the heart of a good film lies the raw material which has been 

used to shoot it on. This dictates the future of the final film and its 

look and speaking with leading technicians and colorists in this 

issue stands testimony to the fact that Kodak film offers best 

results under all circumstances and is reliable in providing the 

right latitude, exposure, saturation and density. 

It has been unanimously agreed that film has more latitude and 

richness and grading is more precise than using digitally shot 

footage. Generally all Colorist's prefer film footage as it enables 

them to get a larger berth to accommodate the DoPs and 

Director’s visions and make prints as per their approvals on the 

grading system reproduced accurately back on print. 

There is also a difference in terms of grain structure and here is 

where Kodak emerges as the preferred choice. So as we move into 

digital, time again it has been proven that the industry choice is 

film and that too Kodak! Happy reading! 

Suresh S Iyer 

Country Business Manager 

Entertainment Imaging 

Printed and Published by Suresh Iyer on behalf of Kodak India Private Limited, at Mumbai 

Action packed 

Realism 

DoP Dudley creates an 

enjoyable piece of cinema in 

Singham. 

Celluloid Painter 

DoP Kabir Lal, says, "A film is 

painting with celluloid and light". 

Cross Currents 

Vijay Arora, DoP believes in the 

total composition of all the 

elements of a shot including 

actors. 

Celluloid Lyric 

Sanjay Memane, works on a 

personal agenda to make every 

frame of his speak. 

Visual Appeal 

Veteran DoP Gourang Saha does 

not believe in copying any one 

blindly. 

Film Loyalist 

DoP Krishnasamy loves to 

capture the beauty of 'real' 

colors through his work. 

Thrilling Effects 

Dasaradhi Sivendra, enjoys the 

play between light and shade to 

create highly dramatic magic 

moments of cinema. 

No Short Cut 

Dil Raju puts his life and soul 

into every movie of his. 

Natural Born 

Film maker 

Dasari Sreenivas Rao believes 

true success lies in working 

within the parameters to do 

something different rather than 

breaking rules just for the sake 

of it. 

Eloquent Shadows 

DoP Soumik Haldar feels to be 

able to capture the mood of the 

story on screen from script is 

what cinematography is all 

about. 

1 

5 

The Right Angle 

DoP Shaji puts tremendous 

amount of hard work into 

making each film a success. 

True Colour 

A profile of colourists from post 

production studio - Prime Focus 

Young Guns 

INSIDE 

7 23 

9 

11 

13 

15 

17 

19 

21 

Tanveer Mir, Nikhil Arolkar and 

Siddhartha Jatla are all young 

and raring to go. 

Breaking Rules 

K.G. Soman, Dean of Film at FTII 

and Head of the Department of 

Cinematography encourages to 

break out from the set practices. 

Creating Images 

At the L.V. Prasad Academy, the 

approach to cinema is holistic - 

says R. Narayan Kumar - Head 

of the Department of 

Cinematography. 

NID Workshop 

Conducted by Partha 

Chakraborty, ex-NID alumni had 

eminent DoP Kamal Negi as the 

main faculty. 

Maestros at Work 

Kodak Masterclass with 

legendary cinematographer 

Vilmos Zsigmond, ASC. 

Managing Editor: 

Suresh Iyer 

Editor: 

Chesta Shah Sengupta 

Contributors: 

Jayanti Sen, Manju Latha Kalanidhi, 

Vijay George and P Murali Krishna 

Design and layout: 

Roopak Graphics, Mumbai 

Printing: 

Printania, Mumbai 

25 

28 

This is an independent magazine. 

Do write in with ideas, suggestions, Views comments expressed to kodakimages@rediffmail.com 

in the articles are those of authors alone. 

31 

32 

33 

35 

Singham 

Action Packed 

Cover Story 

Director Rohit Shetty with DoP Dudley has created a piece of 

cinema in Singham which is not only enjoyable for its strong 

storyline, but has been shot on a massive scale using large 

crowds and the entire state of Maharashtra as its real locations. 

Realism has rarely been used in mainstream cinema. But 

Dudley has created a completely different look in this film 

where the realistic touches used by him include unusual 

camera angles and dramatic lighting. 

REALISM 

A strict and honest police officer Bajirao Singham lodges an all out 

fight against corruption. This finally leads him to a clash with a 

Photo Credits: Avinash Gupta 

dangerous ruffian, who is committed to annihilate Bajirao. It is this 

intense struggle that forms the backbone of Rohit Shetty's film Singham. 

And this action-packed thriller is shot with great drama by DoP Dudley. 

From the conceptual stages of the film director Shetty and Dudley 

worked very closely together. "My approach to the camera work, which 

was also the director's aim, was to take a raw, realistic style, with no 

colors practically. I wanted to create realistic stuff that would hit the 

audience hard. For this we used all real locations, in fact ninety percent 

of the film we have used real locations, moving through the length and 

breadth of the Maharashtra border and Goa," says Dudley. "We have 

given two particular tones in the film, one in a series of scenes before the 

titles appear on screen, and the other is after the titles.” 

1 

Photo Credits: Avinash Gupta

2 Cover Story 3 

Cover Story 

Dudley feels very lucky to be able to work 

with Shetty. "Although the film is a result of a 

complete teamwork, I must say that my 

director gave me the full freedom to do the 

camera work very much on my own lines. I 

went according to the script, but at every 

point my director was very open to all my 

suggestions which he considered seriously." 

Singham is complete action no doubt, but 

within the framework of action there is a love 

story as well. The town in which Bajirao 

Singham (essayed by Ajay Devgn) works, a 

beautiful girl Kavya (Kaajal Aggarwal) comes 

to visit her grandparents from Goa. She is 

mesmerised by the hero's courage and valour, 

and falls in love with him. To portray the 

romantic scenes in these sequences, Dudley 

used a colorful visual look which is totally 

different from the general raw and earthy look 

of the rest of the film. "For Kaajal I used a soft 

look, a very soft light and no sunlight casting 

directly harsh rays on her face," says the DoP. 

"Even for Ajay to set the tone of the romance, 

I shot in soft light." 

“Kodak is able 

to show the people 

the hard work put in. 

We are happy we 

got associated with 

this brand.” 

Dudley has been using Kodak stock for all his 

films - Golmaal 3, All the Best and now 

Singham. He says, "We used a high speed 

camera for the action sequences. We shot 

using a 1,000 frames high speed camera for 

which we asked for special magazine – a 

1,000 feet roll specially ordered from Kodak." 

Regarding the lighting of the film, which is a 

main point of interest in an action-packed film 

such as Singham, Dudley says, "I used lighting 

which really depended on the kind of scene I 

was shooting and the mood of the scene. In 

some parts I used low key lighting to enhance 

the drama of the situation. In others I have 

exploited the play between light and shade. In 

most of the action sequences we shot lots and 

Photo Credits: Avinash Gupta Photo Credits: Avinash Gupta Photo Credits: Avinash Gupta 

lots of high speed shots where I have a plenty of low angle shots to make 

the visuals look really menacing. I wanted to create a dramatic look, 

hence the low angles. Throughout the film I have used Kodak Vision3 

200T-5213 for outdoors and Kodak Vision3 500T-5219 for indoors. For 

me creating the right kind of black is very important, and that is where 

Kodak really comes in a big way." 

This is a film where an important part of the story is located in Goa. The 

hero, Bajirao Singham is promoted from his post of sub-inspector and 

posted in Goa, which is the main base of action for the corrupt criminal 

don whom he is fighting against. The don is determined to finish off the 

police officer, and the officer is determined to fight him out. Even in this 

changed atmosphere reeling with crime, Goa with all its wonderful 

Singham 


"Kodak gives me satisfaction.” 

I love Kodak, it gives me great satisfaction. It gives me contrast, 

colors and black with details. And it's fantastic for its latitude, you 

can go more than 2 stops over exposure and there is no problem. 

I have used Kodak Vision3 200T-5213 for outdoors and Kodak 

Vision3 500T-5219 for indoors. In the romantic sequences 

I have used soft lighting other than that I have only used 

contrast lighting. Everything I did came out so well because 

I was using Kodak. Because I am using Kodak I do not need 

special filters, I do not use them at all. 

For me, Kodak Vision3 500T-5219 is quite good for black details 

in indoors. Kodak Vision3 200T-5213 for outdoors gives me 

what I want in terms of contrast level and color and blacks. 

I like 200T Kodak stock very much. We have lots of 

twilight shots in the film where I used 500T as well. 

“In Singham the director and I 

went for a raw, realistic look. 

We have used ninety percent real locations. 

Most of the film used a raw and earthy look. 

Only in the romantic and song sequences we 

have used a soft, colorful look.” 

Photo Credits: Avinash Gupta

4 Cover Story 5 

Mumbai 

scenic beauty, the sea, the sea-beaches 

become the backdrop in which the film is 

played out. This inherent contrast between 

the content of the film and its backdrop has 

been exploited to the maximum in the film. 

"For the sea beach, sea, sky I used Kodak 

Vision3 200T-5213 which brought out the 

scenic beauty of Goa very nicely. And against 

this backdrop a lot of the action occurs. I had 

detailed discussions with director about how 

he wants the action to be portrayed. One 

good and very important thing about this 

movie is that all the action sequences have 

been designed by the director himself. He has 

been brought up witnessing action sequences 

Singham 


designed, as he is the son of the great action 

Master Shetty. There is a sequence of car 

chase in which one car follows another, in this 

I used hand-held camera to capture the action 

properly. I was there on another car, holding 

the camera to capture the action. As a matter 

of fact, there are lots of hand-held shots 

throughout the film. We have three main 

action sequences all of which are very 

dramatic," says Dudley. 

When it comes to the shot-taking and the use 

of special lenses, Dudley admits, "We have 

used wide lenses for the action sequences in 

order to make the hero look bold and 

dynamic." Regarding the shooting itself, 

Dudley continues, "Outdoors we shot in 

available light. I like to shoot in the wee hours 

of the morning and in the evening. I get the 

backlight in these hours and that is why I love 

these hours to shoot. There are no saturated 

colors in this film. except the song sequences, 

I wanted the general look of the film to be 

very raw and realistic, and hence I have not 

gone for colorful shots except the romantic 

sequences." 

The Art Director had to coordinate very 

closely with Dudley because of the realistic 

look of the film. Dudley says, "We were out to 

search locations all over Maharashtra and in 

Goa. We were using two different locations in 

Goa and one in Shivgad." 


The film is a result of total teamwork and 

before they went on shoot, all the 

departments, sets, costume and so on all 

came together to discuss what or how the 

shot is going to be shot. Dudley stresses the 

wide travel the entire crew and the artists 

undertook, the strain it caused all of them to 

complete this massive film. "All the members 

of the unit including the director and the 

artists, worked very, very hard, travelled a lot 

to make the film a success." 

Technical Details 

Film 

Director 

Producer 

Stock 

Singham 

Rohit Shetty 

Reliance Big Pictures 

Photo Credits: Avinash Gupta Photo Credits: Avinash Gupta 


Kodak Vision 3 200T-5213, 

Kodak Vision 3 500T-5219 

Celluloid Celluloid Painter Painter 

For DoP Kabir Lal, a good DoP should work without dominating the story telling. 

In his experience a proficient director can judge a DoP in one shot. "A film is painting 

with celluloid and light," he says. "The light and shade are the tools to express 

through a film," according to Lal. 

S. S. Lal was a formidable cinematographer in his days with more than 60 movies to his credit. 

His son Kabir Lal, started dreaming his future not with his eyes but with the lens of a camera. "I got 

my first gift - a Click 3 camera and that changed my life forever," recalls Lal. "It was a manually 

operated still camera in 80's and I shot my first picture with that." 

Love Express 

Committed to excel in the area of cinematography not only with sheer experience but also by 

observing the maestros at work, helped Lal evolve a distinctive style, a style untainted by the 

parameters of formal education. "To accept new challenges takes you to the newer heights - that's 

my belief," he says. "I always keep myself updated learning new processing and lighting methods, 

emulsions, exposures and keep reinventing myself in context with the new and upgrading 

technologies," adds Lal. 

In the world of Hindi cinema, where there is no much difference between one film and the other, Lal 

tries to keep his work fresh with an experimental approach for each assignment. "I try to elevate 

storytelling to a different dimension: experimenting with new techniques and extraordinary locales, 

lush colors and special effects. After a dedicated span of work I always want to see the end result 

distinctive," he says. 

His body of work is impressive and covers Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, Bengali and many Ad 

films in Hindi as well. His filmography includes films such as Taal, Kaho Naa Pyar Hai, Sajan, Pardes, 

Yadein, The Hero, Apne, Yuvraaj, Yamla Pagla Deewana and many more. He has worked with directors 

such as Subhash Ghai, Anil Sharma, Rakesh Roshan, Late Feroz Khan, Satish Kaushik, Sohail Khan 

and Sameer Karnik. 

"The Indian public is more inclined towards 

the basic emotions of life," says Lal. Hence the 

theme in most Indian films revolves around 

social and cultural values. "Most of the films 

our makers design depict the basic 

sentiments of a human being like love, sorrow, 

happiness, hatred and so on, unlike our 

western counterparts where they try a very 

different hand in versatile subjects and genres 

like fantasy, horror, comedy, drama, war and 

so on." 

He is currently working on two projects. The 

first is Naughty@40 with Jag Mundra starring 

Govinda; and the second is Love Express 

attempted by a fresh batch of youths from 

Subhash Ghai's institution Whistling Woods. 

"It has been great to work with the young 

enthusiastic film makers, and you need to be

6 Mumbai 7 

Mumbai 

responsible as well as careful while working 

with them," he says. "It is not that being a 

senior you can dominate," adds Lal. "At times 

you have to be a guide and at times a learner," 

according to Lal. 

Commenting on using raw stock such as 

Kodak film for capturing cinema rather than 

hard disk digital formats, Lal says, "Everything 

has its own minus and plus sides. When I 

compare the output of raw stocks and digital 

formats then I can differentiate the grain 

structure between the two." Recently, in Love 

Express for Mukta Searchlights he ran a test on 

Kodak 16mm stock and compared it one 

simultaneously shot on digital. "The output I 

got in the film stock was quite brilliant than 

the digital output and so I decided to go for 

film. Also, a film has motion whereas a digital 

doesn't have motion. In film, the whites in 

overexposure still have the details while in 

digital formats it is very difficult to manage," 

he says. 

Today DI has become a combined tool for a 

director and DoP. "When there was no DI 

technology, different cinematographer's work 

with the same set of stocks and camera, 

processed in the same lab, was reflected in 

different manner," points out Lal. "In some 

cases a director gives a freehand to DoP," he 

says. "Once the look of the film is decided it is 

the sole responsibility of the cinematographer 

to get the output according to the director's 

vision," adds Lal. 

Naughty@40 

Before agreeing to any project, Lal considers it 

is important to have a tuning with the director. 

Thereafter, he considers the production house 

and how they will carry out the entire process, 

what are their priorities and strategies. "But 

apart from this, I do consider the script 

In the industry for the last three decades with films in multiple languages touching almost every 

dimension of shooting, Lal trusts Kodak film since the beginning of his career. "The reasons are 

very simple: Kodak raw stock generates good output, the saturation is dense and the shadow 

detail is also very fine. The overexposure up to 4 stops latitude is good." 

Lal used seven different emulsions in one song for the film Taal. The song Ishq Bina picturised on 

Aishwarya Bachchan and Akshay Khanna was an indoor shoot and he used all the stocks right 

from 50 D to 800 ASA to create a variation in the drama contained in the song. "That time there 

was no DI so it was not very easy to use multiple numbers of emulsions in a single song.” 

significantly; because I still believe the script 

to be the backbone of any project and if that is 

weak, the other factors, even being strong, 

can't make a project stand straight," he says. 

In all the films Lal tries out something 

different. "In one of my films I lit up the entire 

set with tungsten lights. People usually go for 

a tungsten stock while I used the daylight 

stock and that was definitely breaking the rule 

as the result was good," he concludes. 

"Kodak is trust.” 


Film 

Director 

Producer 

Stock 

Naughy@40 

& Love Express 

Naughty@40 - 

Jag Mundra; 

Love Express - Sunny 

Naughty@40 - 

Shristi Creations; 

Love Express - 

Mukta Searchlights 

Kodak Vision 2 50D-5201, 

Kodak Vision 3 250D-5207 

and 

Kodak Vision 3 500T-5219 

CROSS 

Vijay Arora uses black as a recurrent 

leitmotif in his camera work. He says, "Black is 

always beautiful. It is the presence of dark 

that makes you appreciate light and works 

magic into images. Very early in my career 

when I saw cinematographers making use of a 

lot of 'fill light', I decided to make my images 

different." 

As a DoP he goes very rarely for sharp and 

strong and saturated colors. He says, "Mine is 

essentially a soft and pastel palette and I 

prefer to de-saturate the colors as much as 

feasible.” 

CURRENTS 

His idea of lighting is exceptional. He says, 

"Light has always got to be directional as it 

comes from somewhere, be it an actual or 

imaginary source, within or without the gamut 

of the frame. It does not make any sense 

otherwise. I think very hard to get absolute 

clarity about what source to follow and why 

and how is that eventually going to impact the 

visuals and the drama therein, in relation to 

the script I am handling. In the end the text of 

the script has the pointers for a DoP to get 

started and build around." 

As he works a lot in the mainstream cinema, 

he uses Kaleidoscopic lighting patterns, 

psychedelic lighting to build their visual 

appeal deliberately. He says, "What else is the 

connect for the audience. Also this helps my 

films to cut the verbose flat out of the films I 

work for. It is the beauty that beholds, words 

may follow but they have to only support the 

visuals and not the other way round.” 

Vijay Arora, is the kind of DoP 

who believes in the total 

composition of all the elements 

of a shot including actors 

who he feels should be arranged 

properly before he takes the shot. 

Only then he says can a film be 

successful. 

About his personal style of image building he 

says, "Though mise-en-scene is largely the 

director's domain, I prefer to work closely 

with my directors. If something is not working, 

I mince no words to express myself. Because a 

shot has to work as a shot and it is our joint 

responsibility. And a shot will work only if the 

mise-en-scene which is the joint organisation 

of lot of elements including the actors works. 

So as a responsible and responsive member of 

the crew I just won't let go of it until the 

elements come together and deliver. 

Everything else, camera placement lighting 

and movement are worked into contextually 

confirming the mise-en-scene.” 

“I have grown up 

using Kodak. 

It is my staple diet.”

8 Mumbai 9 

Mumbai 

To Arora, "Compositions are the ideologue of 

cinema". So a lot of thought goes into his shot 

compositions with very beautiful, nice 

backdrops. He continues, "You are necessarily 

telling audiences where to look and what to 

look at. So as per the demands of the 

narrative I work my Imagery. The dynamics 

constantly keep shuffling between real and 

surreal. Otherwise it gets too mundane." 

He says, "The art of cinematography derives 

all its inspiration from all the related art fields. 

Be it painting, sculptures, music and so on. 

There are strong cross currents and cross 

pollinations. My work is no different and I am 

happy to note that the notion of inspirational 

elements get reflected in there. I am a 

commoner with good visual insights and am 

proud of it!" 

Arora stresses the aesthetics of image 

creation in his art. According to him, 

"Technicality is an ever changing syndrome 

and can only play a supportive role." 

Regarding his use of Kodak he says, "I have 

grown up using Kodak. It is my staple diet. To 

its credit till to-date it has never let me down 

even in the most extreme, arduous and 

gruelling situations." 

He makes his choice of raw stocks on the 

basis of situations he is likely to encounter on 

a production. It is always obviously Kodak. 

Generally one slow one medium and one high 

speed emulsion is his staple kitty. He says, 

"They cut seamlessly so I am not overtly 

concerned. With my back up the wall I do not 

mind push or pull processing one full stop. 

They withstand this battering without any 

grudge." 

In his work, Arora simulates the available light 

and for that he is always observant. He says, 

"The film scenario needs you to be the man of 

all seasons and I work my way in any given 

situation. But per se the newer stocks need 

very little lighting support outdoors if you peg 

your exposures correctly." 

Filming to Arora is always a challenge. That is 

the fun to him of belonging to films and with 

Kodak it is partying time always, a cakewalk. 

Film according to him scores over digital the 

way it looks. It has elasticity. Digital to him is 

more plastic. Latitudes are still very much the 

limiting factor on digital apart from the look. 

Regarding the use of his locations Arora was 

very clear, "Time and Space is all that matters 

in cinema. And from behind the lens I am 

always making choices. Most of the while it 

falls in place, but at times I also take a 

beating!" 

Although there is a growing pessimism in the 

air on the future of film, Arora says, "I would 

love to be optimistic." 

"It's always Kodak for me." 

I use long lenses, shoot full open and work with very shallow depth of field. 

It makes life miserable for my focus puller for he has to be on the dot always. 

Raw stock is always Kodak for me. I also go for stocks like 50D so that I can work 

with wide open apertures by using .6/.9 ND on the lenses for most of my outdoors. 

50/100 ASA stocks give me inherent contrast and color saturation 

On the challenges of cinematography as a 

profession, Arora had this to say, "The 

invasion of technology and dependence on 

the post are two of the biggest challenges 

which liven up the visuals. 

“Filming is always a 

challenge, that is the fun of 

belonging here and with 

Kodak it is partying time 

always, a cakewalk.” 

cinematography seems to be facing. Anything 

can be fixed in post so why do you need a 

painfully painstaking cameraperson? The 

prospects do remain if you choose to learn it 

right and are willing to work very, very hard." 

His current project is Mohalla Assi directed by 

Dr. Chandraprakash Dwivedi. 

To the future generation of cinematographers, 

Arora gives a few pearls of wisdom - 

everything from light, lens, camera movement; 

it is all a process of internalisation and has to 

grow from within cinematographer style. 

CELLULOID 

LYRIC 

Sanjay Memane, a young DoP of the 

Marathi and Hindi cinema works on a personal agenda 

to make every frame of his speak, the same story which 

the director wants to convey. His total attitude 

towards cinematography is to create images 

which have a message towards society as a whole. 

Sanjay Memane comes across a variety of subjects in the course of 

his profession mainly because of the fact that Maharashtra has a very 

strong culture and literature. Memane says, "We have very different 

village cultures in each part of Maharashtra … at the same time, we have 

metro cities such as Mumbai, Pune which reflect in the subject very 

differently and beautifully. I feel every director is representative of a 

good audience. So every director has his own vision towards his subject; 

and for a same director too, it also varies from subject to subject.” 

After his S.S.C. examinations, Memane started his career as a still 

photographer with a friend. His relationship with the camera began 

there. But he was not happy. He wanted to move to motion picture 

photography. He struggled on to make some kind of a connection with 

the film industry and six months later met Laxman Singh, who suggested 

starting off as a light man. A year and a half passed, but he was still very 

far from his dream. Ultimately, he became a camera attendant for a 

16mm. camera. This gave him some consolation. At least he was in 

active touch with a motion picture camera. A little later, he met a well- 

known cinematographer from the Marathi film industry - Charu 

Dukhande, who took Memane as his fourth assistant cameraman. 

Thereafter, he got a break in a TV serial and started working as an 

independent DoP 

“Film cannot die… It's an asset for a lifetime… 

digital is more a machine based way of 

filmmaking. There is less scope to play with 

different kinds of textures.” 

There has been no stopping since then. From 2000 till date he has done 

14 films in Marathi and Hindi and 45 TV serials, winning several awards. 

He responds somewhat differently to cinematography as a profession. 

He says, "If you are really interested in it, it's a great profession. The 

most essential thing is to have the passion in oneself. It is not a cakewalk 

surely. You need to be in it 24 x 7. Not just physically but also mentally. 

You need to have a creative drive in you. You give your 100% to this 

profession and it will give you more than you can imagine." 

To him, the best part about Kodak is that they are very user-friendly. He 

says, "It has vibrant colours, various types of stocks to suit the situation. 

Therefore a good cinematographer can utilise it as per their 

requirements. It is very compatible.".

10 Mumbai 11 

Mumbai 

About planning his camera work he reacts, "Every film has a different 

subject, a different feel. A romantic film would have a different lighting 

pattern as compared to an art film or any other serious issue-based film. 

The look of the film depends on its subject. Personally, my agenda is to 

make my every frame speak, the same story which the director wants to 

convey. I definitely have lots of script sessions with the writer and 

director both, before we go on the floors. As I said, every director has his 

or her own ideas or demands about the visual look but together we 

decide the final look of the film." 

"It's Kodak for me.” 

Vision 3 200T 5213 stock has a natural balance, 

and the high resolution gives a very smooth texture. 

The stock's contrast range deals with dark, 

black skin tones very efficiently. 

When there is a mix of artificial light and available light, 

I use Vision 3 250D Color Negative Film 5207. 

This stock is best for experimenting with both 

artificial light and available light." 

His choice of stocks depends on the structure of a scene, 

the requirements of the scene. However, for different moods 

and available lights, different stocks can be used. 

Gho Mala Asla Hawa 

For him lighting a film becomes a blend of the mood of the story, it's 

time and spatial locate, the subject and the psychological conflicts and 

moods of the characters. "It is a chain", he says, "If one happens it is 

followed by the other factor automatically. The audience should feel and 

connect to the subject/ situation." 

For him, "Filmmaking is teamwork - one complements the other. The 

director, editor, writer and cinematographer - all have to be in sync 

together always. The audience or critic feedback should be - 'It was a 

nice film as a package' … it shouldn't be "Just good camera work film or 

just a very well-directed film or a well-edited film." 

Commenting on digital he says, "Digital is coming up these days. It is 

good for shooting in candid situations, good for subjects with special 

effects or lot of CG work. But the texture and latitude of the negative 

does not come up very nicely in digital, as it can be seen on film. Film's 

texture, its graininess is the beauty of cinema. Digital is easy since you 

can see seventy percent of the result on the spot which makes you rely 

more on the machines than your skills." He continues, "Film cannot die … 

It's an asset for a lifetime … digital is more a machine based way of 

filmmaking. There is less scope to play with different kinds of textures." 

On the future of film he said, "Looking at the developments, coming 

years will surely bring very interesting changes in film and cinema 

techniques. It would be much more advanced. However, films would still 

continue to shoot on film, whether it is Hindi cinema or any other 

regional cinema. So film is surely here to stay." 

On his personal mission as a DoP, he says, "Though it depends a lot on 

the subject of the film, I personally like to select my projects if it has 

some kind of a message in it. Although I do entertaining cinema, also, 

but doing a film which has a message in it, makes me feel good and 

satisfied. I feel more responsible towards society and feel more proud 

about my work and profession." 

Memane concludes, "Changes take place over the time which is a 

positive sign. That is how we grow. The kind of filmmaking we follow 

these days is totally different from what we did in the past. What we will 

do tomorrow, would be very different from today. However, the basic 

essence will always remain the same. One needs to think himself and 

take decisions in the field.” 

Gho Mala Asla Hawa 

VISUAL APPEAL 

Gourang Saha as a DoP likes light and shade photography more and his main source of 

inspiration is his guru V.K. Murthy who recently received the Rashtrapati Award. Saha as an 

independent DoP has a massive number of Marathi, Bhojpuri and Hindi films to his credit. He has 

worked on a very wide variety of subjects from the usual romantic comedy pictures, family drama, 

action films to parallel cinema. "I try to make things as different as possible. It does not matter on 

which films I am working on, the visual style of my camera work does not change." 

Although he works in a multilingual circuit, according to him the basic film grammar does not vary 

from language to language. He says, "The subject has nothing to do with language. I have done all 

sorts of films like romantic, family drama, action films and parallel cinema in different languages 

and I do the photography as per Hindi films. As a cameraman, I do have to work according to the 

mood of the scenes." 

It is interesting to note that his attitude to image creation does not vary with the languages. So he 

says, "The attitude to image creation has nothing to do with the languages. It all depends on the 

particular director whom you are working with. I have not faced any specific problems working in a 

multilingual circuit as such, but, yes, I do face language problem while working in Marathi films as I 

am not fluent in it." 

For shooting songs in mainstream films, Saha uses graduation filters. Regarding his camera work he 

says, "Lighting and camera framing is the most interesting part of my work as a DoP." Budget 

constraint is a problem that continually plagues him and he says, "The budget for lighting poses a 

problem as we have to give the best results using fewer lights." As the budget is low, he cannot give 

requirements for as many lights as he would love to. So he has to come to a sort of compromise and 

use a small number of lights. Yet this is where his creativity gets challenged. 

Veteran DoP Gourang Saha, 

working in Marathi, Bhojpuri 

and Hindi films, believes that 

while shooting he should do 

only those things which create 

images that appeal to his eyes 

alone. He does not believe in 

copying any one blindly. He 

has his entire faith only on 

Kodak and never goes for any 

other stock. 

“Anything may come but 

films would always remain. 

In a year 1,000 films 

are being made and 

that too not digitally. 

I strongly believe that Kodak 

has the best quality film.”

12 Mumbai 13 

Chennai 

As a DoP he prefers film much more than digital. He says, "I definitely prefer film over digital as we 

get better output regarding sharpness and depth." 

It is quite clear that Saha works in a kind of market where there are so many challenges to his 

profession. Regarding this he had to say, "In less time, I have to give best results and that too in low 

budget, but I put all my efforts to give a good quality output." 

When he was an assistant cameraman he says he learnt a lot from the directors he worked with but 

now he works entirely on his own, drawing from his own past experiences in films. 

The concept and attitude to the lighting of a scene is distinctive in him. He said regarding lighting, 

"During the night scenes I try to use light and shade and during the day scenes I match indoor and 

outdoor light and prefer the light from the windows. As there is less time, the younger generation 

wants to complete 7 to 8 scenes in a day so they do not concentrate more on the lighting part. I 

would advise them not to neglect it, as it is one of the most important aspects of camera work to 

create an impact during a particular scene." His emphasis on lighting shows his skill and originality 

as an expert DoP, because lighting indeed is the most important and interesting part of a DoP's 

repertoire of the visual tools he uses to create an exciting piece of cinema. 

For day time outdoors, I use 100ASA and 200ASA, 200ASA and 500ASA both for the mix 

As a veteran DoP Saha has this to say to the upcoming DoPs of tomorrow, "They must concentrate 

on the lighting of a scene. They should be able to perfect lighting, framing along with learning the 

varied uses of Kodak negatives." 

As a final message to the film lovers of today and tomorrow, when different ways of seeing a film 

through you tube, internet or even mobile viewing is happening, Saha had this to say : 

"Anything may come but films would always remain. In a year, 1,000 films are being made and that 

too on film and not on digital. I strongly believe that Kodak is the company which has best quality 

films and does not even have nearest competitors, let alone the question of surviving in the market." 

His current projects are Aisa Fasli Nanachi Taang and Dholki cha Talawar and some other as yet 

untitled films. 

"Kodak is one of my 

basic necessities at work.” 

light during the indoor shoot and 500ASA for night exterior and dusk and twilight. 

I mostly prefer to work between 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. in the morning and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the 

evening. Kodak is one of my basic necessities at work. It has good technical color tone 

clarity and has all colors available which no other product has. When the weather is bad, 

even if it is cloudy, Kodak always gives me the best results. While shooting I concentrate on 

the lighting of a scene very much. During night scenes I try to use light and shade and during 

day scenes I match indoor and outdoor light and prefer the light from the windows. I like 

light and shade photography more and my source of inspiration is my guru V.K. Murthy. 

Hailing from the lush, green town of 

Tenkasi at the foothills of Western 

Ghats in Tamilnadu, cinematographer 

Krishnasamy's stint with colors 

started at an early age. The young, 

lanky Krishnasamy who loves to 

capture the beauty of 'real' colors 

through his work believes growing up in 

the lap of nature helped him to 

understand the nuances of 

cinematography like lighting, colors 

and the art of arresting the exact 

expressions, much better. 

Film 

Loyalist 

"I grew up in Tenkasi of Tirunelveli district 

of Tamilnadu. My childhood revolved around 

the marvellous beauty of Western Ghats till I 

moved to Chennai for further studies. I was 

left with two career options after I finished my 

schooling. My father hoped I would choose 

engineering, but it was my cousin Senthil 

Kumar, who introduced me to the art of 

cinematography. It fascinated me and I landed 

in cinematography course at Film and 

Television Institute of Tamilnadu (previously 

called Adyar Film Institute) for a three year 

programme," he says. 

The three year course at the famous film 

institute which earlier produced legendary 

actors like Rajinikanth, Chiranjeevi served as 

the best training ground for Krishnasamy. 

"The days at the institute not just 

taught us about cinematography 

but made us fully aware that 

making cinema is an art. The 

training was tremendous, 

t h r e w i n l o t o f 

challenges and the 

emphasis was on 

s h a p i n g u p 

students as real 

professionals," 

he says. 

Even before he graduated, Krishnasamy 

assisted the team of cinematographer 

Saravanan. "In my final year, cinematographer 

Saravanan was shooting for the film Vallarasu 

in our institute campus. My senior Vetri was 

assisting him and he introduced me to 

Saravanan. I later went ahead working with 

Saravanan for the films such as Madurai, 

Thirupaachi, Pammal K Sambandham, etc," he 

says. Krishnasamy after working for various 

films in South Indian film industry later joined 

his batchmate Ayanaka Bose and worked for 

Hindi films such as Main Aisa Hi Hoon, Umaaro 

Jaan, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, Tashan and so on. 

"Each and every cinematographer has his own 

style. The first lesson I learnt is to catch 

absolute facial expressions and always show 

hero and heroine in beautiful angles, even in a 

fight scene." 

After assisting senior cinematographers for 

v a r i o u s f i l m s , K r i s h n a s a m y t u r n e d 

independent cinematographer with Tamil film 

Pattalam in the year 2009. The story of 

Pattalam revolves around the school children 

in their adolescence and teachers guiding 

them through petty fights. Krishnasamy 

explains the real challenge came up while 

shooting the climax scene of the film, an 

annual day song with lots of children dancing 

on the stage. "The art director came up with a 

colorful set which has rare colors - peacock 

blue, fern green, flame red, mauve etc and 

there was a huge crowd of children dancing. I 

went in for 500T stock, shot it for three days 

with two cameras and needless to say, the 

song was runaway hit for the 

spectacular visuals.”

14 Chennai 15 

Hyderabad 

"I trust Kodak.” 

Krishnasamy says he has immense trust 

in Kodak and is loyal to film than going the 

digital way. "For the film Kanda Kottai, 

I had to shoot a scene in open, daylight. 

I went for 250D as it controls highlights, 

and also shows shadow regions well. 

And for night effects I depend on 

500T stock," he says. 

"The moment I signed Pattalam I knew 

the film has a colorful theme and would 

attract both children and adults alike. 

I did a test shoot with Kodak and the 

result was fantastic! I worked with stocks 

like 500T, 200T to enhance colors, 

especially red colors," he says. 

Krishnasamy describes himself as a loyalist to 

the film than the digital world. "Film has great 

tolerance levels and it can capture natural 

colors. The digital technology may be 

advanced but if we over expose it is tough to 

get back the natural colors," he opines. 

Kanchana 

He also believes to be a successful 

cinematographer; an excellent chemistry with 

director of the film is needed. "A fabulous 

rapport with the director of the film works 

wonders. Their relationship is like of a husband 

and wife. Both of them should work together for 

a successful product. It is the job of the 

cinematographer to make the director's dream 

come true and also capture the scenes, exactly 

the way director visualises it. A DoP should also 

have great co-ordination with other technicians 

on the sets like art director, choreographer and 

others."Krishnasamy says a cinematographer 

should a fearless soul and always ready to 

venture in to adventures. "For many it may be 

scary to perch at great heights on the cranes 

and capture right moments. But for a 

cinematographer it is his job and one should be 

fearless and careful at the same time.” 

Krishnasamy is currently working for the film 

Kanachana with choreographer turned director 

Raghava Lawrence. "Kanchana is a different film 

and it was my senior DoP Vetri who introduced 

me to Raghava Lawrence. The film was shot on 

250D, 500T on a Super 35, ultra prime, 2 

perforations camera. The story has a little bit of 

humour but it is a horror, thriller film." 

Kanchana 

“For many it may be scary 

to perch at great heights 

on the cranes and capture 

Technical Specifications 

Film 

Director 

Producer 

Format 

Stock 

right moments. 

But for a cinematographer 

it is his job and one should be 

fearless and careful at the 

same time.” 

Kanchana 

Raghava Lawrence 

Raghava Lawrence 

Super 35 

5201, 5207, 5219 

Kanchana 

Dasaradhi Sivendra, 

cinematographer from Hyderabad 

enjoys the play between light and shade to create 

highly dramatic magic moments of cinema. For him, 

his source of inspiration comes from thrillers. 

This is the genre he loves most to create interesting 

visual imagery which moves his audience 

and makes him popular among the masses. 

He believes in an efficient balance between 

the play of light and shade. 

Sivendra, the veteran cinematographer based in Hyderabad, is, in his 

own way very special. Because he loves shooting thrillers, which shows he 

is one person who finds inspiration not in light, but in darkness. That deep 

black makes him create images where the silence of darkness is eloquent. 

For him, it seems words seem too much. "The supreme moments of 

cinema should be wordless", Satyajit Ray, the great maestro of Indian 

Cinema, said about the art of filmmaking. Sivendra perhaps follows this 

principle, even if he does not actually say it out in so many words. 

To him, lighting, its planning and use is very important. He says on this, 

"Not only me, any cinematographer should have the knowledge, 

understanding and admiration towards lighting. I do play with light and 

shade in a sensible balance to create that particular mood of a scene or 

character. How efficiently you balance them, that creative you are as a 

cinematographer." 

As a DoP, Sivendra uses special equipments, or filters only if the 

situation demands, otherwise he does not prefer. But where DI is 

concerned, he feels that DI does help him. Especially for color correction 

and the visual look of a film, he makes full use of Digital Intermediate to 

create a beautiful final visual look of the image. 

effects 

Sivendra's career started with Kodak and he has remained a loyal user of 

Kodak ever since. He says, "What I like in Kodak is its intense rendering 

of color, its strength when it is underexposed, and its ability to reach into 

the highlight. I use Kodak Vision 2, 50D-5201, Kodak Vision 3 200T- 

5213 and Kodak Vision 3 - 500T - 5219. For day exterior I use 50D, for 

night exterior 500T for dusk or twilight I use 200T, where I can get 

shadow details.” 

In his long career as DoP, there were many occasions when the shoot 

became particularly challenging, and because the stock was Kodak, he 

could come out of the problem not with just ease, but with flair. He says, 

"Especially when it comes to a thriller, it becomes much more 

challenging. I had a tough time while shooting for a scene, of my first 

movie Mantra. Kodak helped me to get out of the problem easily. I got 

the exact black shade through it." 

Sivendra thinks digital is good, but he says, "No comparison with films. 

Films are all the time finest in terms of visual quality." He feels digital is 

fine for easy shooting or instant viewing, but to all and sundry film has 

that wonderful picture quality which one can never achieve through 

digital. The resolution of images, the total visual look of a film is

16 Hyderabad 17 

Hyderabad 

"Darkness becomes eloquent 

with Kodak.” 

I use 50D for day exterior. For night exteriors I use 500T. For 

twilight and dusk I use 200T where I can get shadow details. What 

I like in Kodak is its intense rendering of color, its strength when it 

is underexposed, and its ability to reach into the highlight. In my 

debut movie Mantra, I was planning a scene with a candle light 

effect at night, but I had a doubt of capturing the subject which 

holds the candle. Kodak made it possible. 

In shooting this film Mantra I really had a very tough time trying to 

create the darkness, the quality of night effects. But because the 

stock was Kodak, not only could I face up to the challenge, the 

results when we saw them on screen were really wonderful. I could 

get the exact shadow details which the director wanted in the final 

visual output of the film. Darkness becomes eloquent with Kodak. 

Solo 

Solo 

Solo Solo 

incomparable when one looks at digital. "As of now digital does not pose 

a menace to the lasting of film. I do not think it will," he says. 

Sivendra does not believe a film can either be good or bad. He says, "No, 

a film cannot be really called a good film or a bad film. It's really all about 

how you expose it." So according to him, the quality of exposure can 

vary from person to person, and the audience response to it can either 

be favourable or unfavourable. Which means the quality of a film would 

really depend on the outlook of the person visualizing it. If the quality of 

visualization is good, the audience would always accept it. Of course 

that also depends on the capacity of the DoP shooting the film. If an 

efficient DoP works on a film, the quality of his visual imagery can really 

result in a film being very well made. 

“I do play with light and shade in a sensible 

balance to create that particular mood of a scene 

or character. How efficiently you balance them, 

that creative you are as a cinematographer.” 

For the up and coming DoPs of tomorrow Sivendra said, "A young DoP 

should have good command over lighting. He or she must have 

appropriate composition skills." But the aspect he most stresses on is, 

"A huge enthusiasm is must." 

Sivendra personally feels being based in Hyderabad is something that 

helps him a lot. He says, "It's a great comfort shooting in Hyderabad as 

it's our local place. And it has fabulous locations too." 

His current project is Solo, with director Parashuram and actor Nara Rohit. 

To conclude, Sivendra's own enthusiasm towards creating wonderful 

visual images is an outcome of his attitude towards continuous 

experimentation and his spirit to explore new avenues of image making. 


Film 

Director 

Producer 

Stock 

Solo 

Parasuram 

Vamsi Krishna Srinivas 

Kodak 

No short cut 

Dil Raju has earned the suffix 

not just for his successful debut with Dil 

but also for putting his life and soul into 

every movie of his, for having the heart 

to encourage new talent and the 

courage to make good movies even if it 

means taking a huge risk. 

It's not just a mere coincidence that he is 

known as 'Dil' Raju after his first successful 

production titled Dil in 2003. Raju has earned 

the suffix to his name more because he is 

known for embracing the new and for being 

receptive to new ideas. Raju has introduced 

one new director ever year since 2003. He is 

credited for identifying new talent - from 

director Sukumar for Arya (2004) to Bhaskar 

of Bommarillu (2008) and being successful in 

almost all of his 14 productions till date. He is 

also among one of the few producers who 

takes active interest in the movie and keeps 

track of every component. It is his all- 

consuming passion to make meaningful films 

that makes him tick in the industry according 

to this man behind Sri Venkateswara 

Creations. 

"I was always fascinated by films and always 

wanted to be a part of the process that makes 

them reach the audience from their origins 

and also make some money. My association 

with movies started off as a distributor. 

During that phase, I often felt that even the 

films which flopped could've worked with 

some slight changes. This feeling bothered me 

until I decided to produce films". 

Raju's story begins at RP Road, where he ran 

his automobile business. The area also 

happens to be the hub of film distribution 

offices. "There used to be a drop-a-coin 

phone box near our shop where many film 

professionals used to frequent and discuss lot 

of things regarding films. I used to hear their 

stories, their successes, their failures and this 

naturally aroused my interest in films. I 

started thinking of venturing into some 

business in films. One of our relatives was 

already a successful film distributor. I 

partnered with them, but tasted failure had to 

get back to the old business of automobile 

spare parts. But the film bug would never 

leave me. I tried again as an individual 

distributor and this time my cousin Shirish 

and buddy Laxman came forward to partner 

with me. Together we faced colossal failures 

but eventually tasted sweet success." 

Raju believes that his belief in the strength of 

script, the opportunity of marketing a novel 

idea and encouraging new talent has paid off 

big dividends. "We already had a grip in the 

distribution of films which gave us a better 

understanding of what clicks and what not. This 

factor helped us to make a better judgement in 

selecting and implementing new ideas." 

With a team comprising his partners Shirish 

and Laxman, honesty, is the cornerstone of 

his business. "In business, one cannot avoid 

taking decisions which we personally not like. 

But we need to be generous to those who 

work hard." His production house's motto is 

also unchanged in the last eight years - to 

encourage young and new talent, but that 

comes with a rider. "A person who 

approaches us with something in hand should 

be sure of himself and what he has. Clarity in 

filmmaking and judging capability of the 

market situation is a must."

18 Hyderabad Bangalore 19 

Raju has been a keen follower of the trends in 

Telugu cinema, both as a passionate movie 

buff, then as a distributor and now as a 

producer. "Films of yesteryears were more 

tilted towards family drama, revolution, 

counter-revolution while today's ones are 

Natural Born 

those which provide high dose entertainment 

without much focus on scripting. This implies 

you have to cover that flaw with graphics and 

other costly gimmicks. I'm not saying that we 

Film maker 

should not leverage new technology, but that 

combined with proper scripting will surely will 

be a winner." 

Digital is the mantra now and his productions 

optimise technology to bring out a technically 

superior product, he says. Raju believes DI is 

becoming as important as script, the star cast 

and music for the success of a movie. "DI is 

important as it gives more clarity to every 

frame. "We can manipulate the colors like 

never before and can thus overcome 

limitations," he says. The basic quality of the 

input given to the DI process depends a lot on 

the choice of raw stock. Though one can 

manipulate a lot through DI, nothing can 

compare to an originally exposed film. 

However, Raju believes there is no reason to 

panic about the transition from film stock to 

digital media for shooting and archiving. "It 

“A person who approaches us with something in hand should be 

sure of himself and what he has. Clarity in filmmaking and 

judging capability of the market situation is a must.” 

“Kodak is preferred.” 

Most of my DoPs prefer Kodak as it 

reproduces true colors, whatever the 

location, and temperature or lighting 

levels. With Kodak, it is easy to forget the 

nitty-gritty of the roll and focus on 

capturing the scene on camera. The 

quality it offers makes it easy for the DoP 

to work on the creative aspects. As a 

producer, I am always trying to get value 

for every rupee I put in. Naturally, I would 

personally like the cost of film to come 

down while the quality is maintained. This 

will reduce the costs of production, so 

that even low-budget filmmakers can 

shoot with film stock instead of 

the digital alternatives. 

remains and will remain as the most preferred 

medium for shooting and archiving as the 

quality of the output is still much better than 

the digital alternatives. But it's for everyone to 

see that digital technology is making great 

strides and trying to match up the quality of 

the film. I would like this competition to go on 

as the ultimate user is the winner." 


Film 

Director 

Producer 

Stock 

Oh my Friend 

Venu Sri Ram 

'Dil' Raju 

Oh My Friend 

Looking back at his challenging projects, he 

says, Brindaavanam was challenging as it had 

a huge star-studded cast (NTR, Kajal, 

Samantha, Prakash Raj, Sri Hari etc.) with a 

young director whose first film (Munna) was 

not exactly a success. But his belief in him 

paid off. Then Gaganam (based on a hijack 

drama) was a challenge as it was with a hero 

known for his commercial flicks and huge fan 

following (Nagarjuna Akkineni) and it was a 

bilingual film. The recent one Mr Perfect was a 

challenge as the director did not have a hit in 

years and the protagonist Prabhas never had 

done a family-oriented film before. 

The last eight years have not been uneventful. 

Despite taking calculated risks, he had faced 

tough times. The lows have taught him 

valuable lessons. "Be honest to yourself and 

to the work you do. Don't believe in short cuts 

to success. Even luck comes after a lot of hard 

work," he concludes. 

Kodak (T 5217, T 5219) 

Dasari Sreenivas Rao 

believes true success lies in 

working within the parameters 

to do something different 

rather than breaking rules 

just for the sake of it. 

“Usually big budget movies are hyped, 

but I think it is far tougher to make movies 

on a small budget simply because one needs to 

optimise resources, work within the frame, 

work fast and deliver the product.” 

Dasari Sreenivas Rao is the epitome of South Indian cinema. He hails 

from Andhra Pradesh, lives in Tamil Nadu, works in Karnataka and 

admires work from Kerala. "I am lucky to straddle across all the four 

South Indian states this way," he says. After having worked for more 

than 40 movies since 1984, Dasari has settled down to work in Kannada 

movies. He says he likes the way Kannada industry works - with less 

fuss, little hype, thorough professionalism and at a quick pace. 

"I love to experiment," he says. His creative streak, incidentally, comes 

across even in the manner he has called himself in the industry across all 

these years. He started as Seenu, then as Srinu, Sreenivas, Sreenivas Rao 

D and 46 years, has decided to settle down as Dasari Sreenivas Rao. 

Born in Ponnuru, a town in interior Andhra Pradesh, he moved to 

Chennai with his father DS Prakash Rao, who has directed six Telugu 

movies. Dasari admits he was poor performer at school and gravitated 

towards movies - both because he had an aptitude for the arts and 

because his father was already an established film maker and an entry 

into the industry was easy. 

On the advice of his father, in 1984, he joined as an assistant to 

cinematographer Bheema Rao. "In the 80s, zoom lens was a big 

technique and I was asked to handle it. I enjoyed magnifying the subjects 

on the screen. Before I realised, I had taken to the profession like a fish 

takes to water. I needed no prodding and settled down well in 

cinematography. My father was surprised because he was sure I would 

come back as a loser within a week," Dasari says. Later, he assisted 

Lokeshwar Rao, Jayaram, Ramesh Babu and Seetaram, all Kannada 

cinematographers. 

He fondly recollects his association with Seetaram, actor Ravi 

Chandran's favourite cinematographer. "I had learnt most of the 

techniques from him. He introduced me to Ravi Chandran and gave me a 

foothold in the Kannada industry. I consider Seetaram to be my mentor". 

Dasari says his work with directors such as Singeetam Sreenivas Rao 

and KV Raju has honed his skills. "While Singeetam's movies are family 

oriented, Raju's movies have action. From the former, I learnt how to 

capture emotions on screen effectively and from the latter, I have learnt 

how to make the subject appear larger than life, hero-like and 

superhuman like. I enjoyed both the processes". 

It was in 2000 with the Jaggesh-starrer Khiladi that Dasari became an 

independent director of photography. "Usually big budget movies are 

hyped, but I think it is far tougher to make movies on a small budget 

simply because one needs to optimise resources, work within the frame, 

work fast (as more time means more cost) and deliver the product. I 

have worked in several small and medium budget movies and I have 

enjoyed working in a limited budget, limited time, but with unlimited 

creativity.”

20 Bangalore 21 

Kolkatta 

“With Kodak input, 

the output is always good.” 

Currently, Dasari is shooting for the movie Tippu, starring Adithya, 

Ragini and directed by M.S. Ramesh. The movie will release in 

October 2011. Dasari has used Kodak 5207 250 D and 

5219 (500 T) and the Arri Camera and Arri 2 lens. 

A patron of Kodak, Dasari believes Kodak is the best tool a 

cinematographer can get. "If your output has to be best, 

your input has to be the best. With Kodak on my camera, 

I am always confident the output will be good," he says. 

Kodak has the ability to highlight the good elements and 

camouflage the flaws in a frame, he says. 

Dasari says he loved his work in Kanteerava and Shankar IPS. "I am 

conservative, but I do try to do my best within the framework given. I 

think my best shots are when I shoot indoors. I like to have things in 

control than be at the mercy of nature or the heavy lighting." 

What does he think about the future of raw movie stock in India? "We 

can talk about raw stock and DI only if we know about the future of 

cinema," he quips. With cinema theatres closing down to pave way for 

malls, with more and more producers looking at earning through satellite 

broadcast right, the convention way of earning through audiences in 

theatres may drastically come down, he says. "The digital era in movies 

will truly begin when both the theatres also have the infrastructure to 

support such high quality. It is a bit like having a high definition TV and 

watching a badly shot show. One has to have the technology and the 

infrastructure at the viewers end to be able to enjoy digital movies. I 

think it may take at least four or five years before the raw stock gives 

into digital stock. 

So how does he update himself about movies? "No, I do not subscribe to 

any books or online groups. The last time I read something was in my 

Class X at the behest of my nagging parents. I watch movies to learn the 

technique. I first watch a movie like an audience and enjoy it. Then I 

watch it once again to see how it was shot, which angles were used, 

which techniques. Observation leads to analysis and new methods of 

film taking," he says. 

For young and well-known DoP Soumik Haldar, cinematography is not 

just about capturing images. One has to delve into the heart of the script 

to feel the pulse and the mood of the story. And within that story, 

the lighting design is inherent. To be able to capture this mood of the story 

on screen from script is what cinematography is all about. 

A c c o r d i n g t o S o u m i k H a l d a r 

cinematography is about storytelling through 

images. In a film there is mood, feel and 

backdrop. "A good DoP should be able to do 

justice to the director's vision," he says. "Today 

images are being directed by the DoPs and in 

India the importance of the DoP with respect 

to a film is increasing day by day," he adds. 

The composition of a shot is extremely 

important. "My use of lens determines what 

my audience is going to see on screen," he 

says. "I try to capture the inner soul of the 

story through my images. The more 

successful I am in depicting the essence of my 

story, my efforts as a DoP become more and 

more meaningful to the audience." 

Chaplin 

Chaplin 

Film has a different kind of depth. "Any old 

Kodak stock has a big range - shadow range, 

highlight range - they have great latitude. 

The shadow details come out so very well in 

Kodak. My visual imagery depends on this. It 

again is dependent on the mood of the 

scenes, their brightness and contrast ratio," 

he says. "In digital, the contrast factor can 

come only through lighting. Film has this 

inherent contrast range. Look at the simple 

fact, no film classic has been made in 

anything apart from celluloid." 

Haldar has shot 26-27 features only. He 

continues, "For film as opposed to digital, we 

have to wait for the chemical treatments 

in the lab to see our results. Creating the 

proper image is much more difficult on film. 

Kodak is a stock we can blindly depend on. He 

recalls an interesting episode - "As students 

at FTII, we went to observe veteran DoP P.C. 

Sreeram on a shoot. We asked him how he 

recreated the lights in the various seasons 

when shooting out of doors. He just replied, 

"I use Kodak". 

Chaplin

22 Kolkatta 23 

Kerala 

The film which fetched Haldar a National 

Award was Somnath Gupta's Ami Adu. It is 

basically a love story with a definite anti-war 

message. For creating this hardcore reality of 

the film Haldar used a lot Kodak 250D 

extensively. There were lots of landscapes 

which had a painting-like feel, lots of magic 

hour sequences. 250D according to Haldar 

handles shadows and highlights very well 

even if he used artificial light. He says, "For 

the landscapes I was mainly dependent on 

natural light with the sun as my main source. 

There 250D is my favourite stock. I am very 

instinctive. The essence of the story, the 

inspiration comes from my own heart. My 

own visual mood is dictated by my story.” 

A very important characteristic of Haldar's 

work is his play with depth of field. In his 

compositions he tries to create a natural look 

by continuously varying the background and 

foreground focuses. He says, "Visually I do 

not want to make it look boring. By using 

varying depths of field on screen I can make it 

look interesting. It gives an additional depth to 

the story. I like playing around with depth of 

fields.” 

Chaplin 

Chaplin 

Chaplin 

“For film as opposed to digital, we have to wait for 

the chemical treatments in the lab to see our results. 

Creating the proper image is much more difficult on film. 

Kodak is a stock we can blindly depend on.” 

"Kodak makes darkness look good.” 

I use a lot of 200T, 250D, 500T. I get great results. I do not have to worry about the level of 

darkness. Making darkness visible is a great challenge for any DoP. There 500 ASA Kodak 

gives me shadow details which I do not get in any other stock. 

Any Kodak film has a range - shadow range, highlight plus a lot of latitude. It helps 

shape visual imagery. Depending on the mood of the scene, brightness, contrast ratio, 

I can choose my stocks. In digital, the contrast factor comes only through lighting. 

Film has this inherent contrast range. 

In Chaplin I used mostly 500T for night shoots. I am very happy with the output. 

500T gives a very natural contrast. 500T holds a 4 stop shadow detail. I used 

up to 3 stop. I got perfect black. I got my desired shadow details as well. 

He feels he has been very lucky in getting 

good scripts but digital projection is not 

standardised. "Projection systems here have 

to be properly calibrated to appreciate good 

cinematography and darkness," he says. 

"Every theatre should maintain correct lumen. 

Quality of the screen cloth has to be 

maintained. And the type of projectors and 

the lens used have to be up to the mark." 

His current projects are Atanu Ghosh's as yet 

unnamed next film and another by a 

newcomer Sayantan, also unnamed. 


Film 

Director 

Producer 

Stock 

Chaplin & 

22 Shey Srabon 

Chaplin - 

Anindyo Banerjee; 

22 Shey Srabon - 

Srijit Mukherjee 

Chaplin - 

Orion Entertainment; 

22 Shey Srabon - 

Shree Venkatesh Films 

5207, 5213 and 5219 

The Right Angle 

DoP Shaji accepts a film 

after listening to the script. 

Once involved he is completely 

immersed in the project and 

tremendous hard work goes into 

the making of each film. 

"We all do whatever we can 

to make it the best," he says. 

A rare kind of commitment and 

sincerity, Shaji experiments 

with the genre of films 

that he is doing. 

“It is really important 

to keep track of 

what is the zing thing 

today in the world of 

technology. For that we 

watch the latest films. 

We enquire about 

the latest lenses and will 

try using it in our films, 

if that adds to the effect.” 

As he begins to take a trip down the memory lane, the visuals seem to appear in bright colours 

for cinematographer Shaji. He has indeed come a long way in his career before finding his place 

among the finest technicians in the business, especially in Malayalam cinema. 

Shaji thinks that his love affair with the camera started just by chance. "I was fifteen when a still 

photographer in our area asked me to take pictures for a wedding. He couldn't make it to the 

function and though I had no real idea about how to do it in a professional way, I still took pictures 

but was not sure about the result. I didn't have the courage to face him after that but was surprised 

when he congratulated me. That gave me confidence," he smiles. 

He started assisting cinematographer Vipin Mohan for almost eight years. It was in Uthaman, which 

came out in 2001 with Jayaram as the hero that Shaji made his debut as an independent 

cinematographer. Films such as Valkkannadi, Pakalppooram, Adbhudadweepu, Sathyam and Vesham 

followed, which announced his arrival into the industry. 

But it was the 2005 film Naran, directed by Joshiy with Mohanlal as the hero that catapulted Shaji 

into the big league. "Yes, Naran was indeed a challenging film to work, with a fabulous backdrop, 

action sequences and it had big names associated with it. Being part of such a project was so 

exciting and it did wonders for me," he says. 

Naran became a blockbuster and the rest, as they say, is history. Shaji has cranked the camera for 

several high profile films after that, which includes Yes Your Honour, Nasrani, Veruthe Oru Bharya, 

Pokkiri Raja and the current sensation, Seniors. He has just completed shooting for Dr.Love, directed 

by debutant K Biju with Kunchacko Boban and Bhavana in the lead.

24 Kerala 25 

POST HOUSE 

“Kodak never 

disappoints.” 

On selecting the film stock, 

he believes that "it is all dependent 

on the subject of the film. 

We choose the kind of stock from 

our experience. But one thing that 

I can say is that Kodak has never 

disappointed me," says Shaji. 

Ask Shaji what his USP is and he feels it is his 

willingness to adapt to the way that the story 

demands. "I listen to the story and it is usually 

the teamwork before setting the best possible 

environment that suits the subject," he says. 

Shaji prefers to do experiments with the genre 

of films that he is doing. "I always believe that 

we have to keep experimenting as a 

professional and never allow ourselves to be 

repeating the same kind of subjects. If we do 

the same kind of films, there is the risk of 

being typecast. I keep all this in mind while a 

project is offered to me and it keeps me fresh 

and interested," he explains. 

But that is really important these days when 

virtually everyone seems to have an opinion 

about all the technical aspects. "You can't 

blame them actually. People are watching lots 

of foreign films and also there is the high 

quality films made on a huge budget in Hindi 

cinema and also in the regional languages as 

well. The internet also gives them a fair idea 

about the best in the world around them. Not 

many had operated a camera until some years 

back. Now with the cell phone cameras in 

everyone's hands, people find it easier to 

communicate through visuals. They 

experiment with the cameras and of course as 

it true in most cases there are positive and 

negative aspects here too. These days, people 

are eager to shoot with their mobile phone 

cameras even when an accident happens near 

them. Not many will come forward to take 

care of those victims, but they will soon be 

armed with the mobile cameras. I feel that 

from a very young age, people are aware about 

the technical aspects and the possibilities of 

the lens. While doing films, we have to keep 

this in mind and will have to try really hard to 

live up to the expectations," says Shaji. 

As it is applicable in every field, updating the 

knowledge about the latest developments is 

quintessential for a cinematographer. "It is 

really important to keep track of what is the 

zing thing today in the world of technology. For 

that we watch the latest films. We enquire 

about the latest lenses and will try using it in 

our films, if that adds to the effect. Companies 

such as Kodak for instance, keep us updated 

about the latest happenings in the world of 

technology which is really helpful. Remember, 

we usually work in a tighter budget in 

Malayalam when compared to, say Tamil films." 

How does he manage to give the best to 

viewers even while working on a minimal 

budget? "It is indeed a great challenge. We 

use minimum lighting and often the budget is 

fixed for each day's expenses. But we put our 

heads together and try to present the best to 

the viewer. And we have been really 

successful in this. Especially, the young 

directors in the industry are more aware about 

the technical aspects and are more updated 

about what they want which makes things 

even more easy," he says. 

"I accept to do a film after listening to the 

script. Once I decide to do it, I get involved in 

it completely and usually there is lots of 

camaraderie in Malayalam sets and it gives 

you more energy. Tremendous hard work goes 

into the making of each film and we all will do 

whatever we can to make it the best," he says. 


Film 

Director 

Producer 

Dr.Love (2011) 

K Biju 

Joy Thomas Shakthikulangara 

– Jithin Arts (banner) 

One of the main challenges with color film is that of consistency. In spite of their best efforts, cinematographers often find that 

there are minor shot to shot variations in color balance. Since about the past seven years or so, color correction and color grading 

has been done digitally - a process called digital intermediate or DI. What the DI process provides is to be able to carry out color 

corrections with more precision and impart the film a distinct look and feel. 

Here we profile colorists from one leading international post production studio - Prime Focus. 

A global visual entertainment service provider, all post production services are offered under one roof. 

Their strength is that - the team works together to create miracles. 

COLOR 

Rohan Desai 

DI Head and Chief Colorist, Prime Focus 

Rohan Desai is the DI Head and Chief Colorist at Prime Focus and has been with the company for 

over a decade. His primary responsibility entails managing the entire business and creative aspect 

of the DI division, keeping in sync with market trends. "I lead a large team of employees and it is my 

job to motivate and guide them to deliver world class quality projects within stipulated deadlines," 

he says. Desai is considered to be an industry expert, both creatively and technically and has a 

huge relationship base with most of the industry's prominent cinematographers and directors. It is 

largely through his efforts and his grooming of his team that has ensured Prime Focus's position in 

the post production industry today. 

Paresh Acharya has been associated with Prime Focus over a decade in the capacity of DI 

Producer. Currently Executive Producer - Feature Films (India) he handles production of DI, VFX, 

and Mastering and Restoration businesses. 

"The scope of DI has changed to a great extent over the years as there are different camera and 

different approaches of making a film," says Acharya. "As we are entering the digital world the 

expectation from production houses and film makers have increased to a great extent, and we 

require to match up to the expectations as they are looking for better approaches and formats 

towards film" he adds. 

According to Acharya, the DoP and Directors' brief is most important when it comes to deciding 

the look of the movie. "DI is an emerging trend and today filmmakers are using it to enhance and 

manipulate the look of the movie," he says. 

Paresh Acharya 

Executive Producer - Feature Films (India)

26 POST HOUSE 27 

POST HOUSE 

Ashirwad Hadkar has over a decade of experience as a colorist and has graded over 150 films in a 

lab as an Analyzer Colorist and over 80 films as a DI colorist. "The main job of a colorist is 

visualizing the frame according to the DoP and Director's vision. Even without the use of sound by 

visualizing the color and treatment a Colorist should be able to know the mood of the scene (e.g. 

drama, horror etc.)," he says. 

He has worked on Lustre and Baselight grading systems."Both are equally good and both have their 

own pros and cons. While Base light's performance is good, Lustre is user friendly," he adds. 

According to Hadkar, using the correct raw stock as per lighting condition is very important in 

achieving the desired look for a film. "Kodak raw stock is my first preference. If any DoP asks for my 

preference I always suggest Kodak 5219. Grading on Kodak 5219 is a pleasure," he adds. 

Citing a difference between films captured on analogue such as Kodak) and digitally such as Red, 

he says, "There is a difference between film and digital. The latitude on film is much better than any 

digital format. There is no comparison," Hadkar adds. 

Hadkar says one can learn the technicalities, but to become a Colorist you need to have a sense of 

colors and understand the DoP's and Director's vision. "To understand the art of color grading is 

something which comes with practice," he adds. 

S Manoj C.P.K Verma 

Sr. Colorist 

S Manoj C.P.K Verma - Sr. Colorist, started 

his career with the first Digital Intermediate 

project in India for Harry Baweja's Qayamat in 

2003. "My experience of 800 music videos 

started creating an interest in me for colors. 

Apart from this, the main reason I am a 

Colorist today is because I took extensive 

training from Martin Thompson who molded 

me," he says. 

"For me each film is like a new project. I start with watching the film in its offline version then with 

the help of script and the DoP-Director's brief I decide my plan of action. I carry out numerous tests 

until I find the best look for the film," he says. 

Over the years as a Colorist, he prefers film than digital. "Film gives me more opportunity to play 

around with the colors while in Digital there are limitations, grading per se," he adds. "Till date all 

my work is done using Kodak raw stock, and I love it," says Verma. 

Ashirwad Hadkar 

Sr. Colorist 

Harmeet (Sunny) Singh 

Sr. Colorist 

Harmeet (Sunny) Singh - Sr. Colorist has been with Prime Focus since its inception. Starting as a 

senior editor and then a telecine colorist, he moved to DI and delivered Asambhav which was 

graded on Lustre. 

"In my opinion the main job of a colorist is to be completely in sync with the genre of the film," he 

says. The use of the correct raw stock in getting the look for a film is more from a DoP's point of 

view but it is also extremely important for him as a Colorist. "Working on film is easier and faster as 

compared with digital. Film offers more flexibility than digital," he says. 

According to Singh, Kodak raw stock is efficient when it comes to working with low light. 

"Personally I have worked with Kodak raw stock for the movie Pyaar Impossible where I got to work 

with different skin tones," says Singh. 

Tushar Desai, Colorist started as a CG artist, and quickly progressed to compositing. "Being a VFX 

supervisor I was always involved in grading VFX shots to match them with the film's final look and 

also to ensure that it looks correct. That experience has helped me a lot in understanding the 

nuances of lighting and camera," he says. 

According to Desai, the use of raw stock is very important to get the correct look of the film, to get 

good latitude, exposure, saturation and density. "This helps a Colorist to grade and to make prints 

as per the DoP's approvals," he says. 

Xavier Joseph 

Colorist 

There is a lot of difference between film and 

digital in terms of latitude and grain structure. 

"A film negative works better for a colorist to 

grade," says Desai. "Kodak raw stock has 

good quality, and is reliable. I always achieved 

what I am looking for," he says. 

Xavier Joseph started his career with Prime Focus as an Editor in 2003. "I started my career having 

the basic knowledge of online and offline editing. Prior to becoming a full time Colorist, I have done 

a lot of Digital Film packaging, and Channel packaging," he says. "As the years past my inclination 

towards color grading increased and I started expanding my knowledge. I also try and keep myself 

updated about the different trends in DI process," he adds. 

The best way to overcome a challenge he feels is by understanding what exactly the DoP and Director 

want. "I make it a point that I do a lot of research and test from time to time, as well," he adds. 

Kodak raw stock has helped him get different features which make the grading to the film easier 

and faster. 

Tushar Desai 

Colorist

28 YOUNG GUNS 29 

YOUNG GUNS 

Practical Film Maker 

For Tanveer Mir, student at the LV Prasad Film and TV Academy and nominee for the "Lazlo Kovacks Cinematography Award" 

for the film "And She Flies" at the Camerimage film festival, when you are passionate about something, 

your thought process itself becomes your school of learning. 

Tanveer Mir is a well balanced and down-to-earth DoP who very 

candidly admits "Thank God I am blessed," when questioned about his 

current work and projects. 

"Being a student whenever I see something new every other day, I am 

spell-bound and often ask myself - How could have that been 

achieved?" says Mir. Inspired each day by something or the other 

around him, Mir says he does not think he is different from others. 

"Everybody goes through a certain process and follows a certain set 

measures to conceive the script to his/her best, in order to narrate the 

story better," he says. 

Until he got into college, Mir admits he had no idea of what 

cinematography was. "I studied Mass Communication Multimedia 

Production" in a Govt. Degree College in Baramulla where we had Basics 

of Photography and Digital Photography as our subjects in first and 

second year respectively and 5C's of Cinematography in our final year," 

he says. "We were supposed to shoot a documentary, on titling and 

much to the surprise of my team mates I was adamant to be the 

"Director of Photography," he adds. 

As a student of cinematography, it is Mir's opinion that "one should 

know techniques in order to apply aesthetics". 

While shooting an image, mood of the scene holds importance for Mir. 

"If you have been able to understand the mood of the scene the rest falls 

into place on its own," he says. 

“If you have been able to understand 

the mood of the scene the rest falls 

into place on its own.” 

Comparing film with digital, each has its pros and cons according to Mir. 

"Every film maker wants to work on film because of the quality it offers," 

he says. "As the digital market picks up, film makers are going back and 

shooting parts of these films in IMAX (65mm film with 15 sprocket holes 

each frame) in order to achieve the optimum quality," he adds. 

"Economics being another facet where film makers are not able to afford 

the cost of the film negative so they prefer digital. Arri Alexa is gaining 

lot of popularity among pioneers but still proper LUT is not available for 

outdoors to reproduce the outer world faithfully, which film is capable 

of," he says. 

Another facet different for film and digital he points out is that, "When 

shooting on film you have to wait for your film to get processed so, to 

watch how your dailies have turned out. While as when you are shooting 

on digital you can watch your dailies without any hassle," he says. 

Kodak for Mir is special. "It provides greater latitude, faithful colour 

reproduction, and crisper skin tone," he says. Again, it depends on what 

has to be achieved. "In order to get the results you want, you need to 

perform certain tests," says Mir. "Suppose you don't want to mix up your 

stock, you shoot on 200T outdoors and 500T indoors by doing some 

filtration when shooting outdoors," he adds. "At dusk or twilight you 

continue shooting with the same stock by getting away with the 

filtration in order to achieve that extra stop," he says. "I remember 

shooting day for night on 200T at mid-day; I underexposed my 

highlights by more than 3 stops, getting nightmares of losing everything, 

but by the end of the day everything was fine," he says. 

At present Mir is assisting P.C.Sreeram. "When you are passionate about 

something, your thought process itself becomes your school of 

learning," he says. He endorses the importance of hands-on training. "So 

much happens unconsciously. You learn each day without even realising 

it and definitely it is going to help you when you face a similar kind of 

situation," says Mir. 

The main challenge of his profession lies in the fact of "telling a story in a 

way it was meant to be," he says. "Spend as many nights as one can with 

director," he says. "Husband and wife kind-of-thing," he adds laughingly. 

FILM THE BEST 

Nikhil Arolkar, young and upcoming DoP from SRFTI believes a film, photo chemically finished is still the best way to reproduce 

an image you have shot. The whole process of film would remain, even if the projection is of digital quality, according to him. 

Even at this young age, Nikhil Arolkar has a wonderful sense of 

imagery. The pictorial quality of his images float in the memory a long 

while after one has seen them. During the first two years of his stint at 

SRFTI, he had the great advantage of learning his lighting from Dukhiram 

Naskar, a very old hand in the history of Bengal's film industry. Arolkar 

says, "Dukhida was a very old hand of cinematography. He taught us all 

the details of lighting - imitating natural sources - windows." In his films 

light is one of the active players in the entire storytelling process. "There 

are other sides too," he says. "Camera work, framing, and movement of 

characters. One important element and advantage about film is that you 

can dictate the cutting point." 

About his training in SRFTI now he said, "We are using this time to 

formulate our ideas." Staying inside the campus, he gets the advantage 

of working in-house, using the two floors inside SRFTI. These floors are 

quite spacious and have all the necessary lights and facilities. Arolkar 

uses all this to create really interesting lighting patterns in the films he 

shoots. His sense of visual designing is very good. 

“A film photo-chemically finished is still 

the best way to reproduce what you have shot. 

In terms of resolution and actual image quality 

photochemical processing is the best way out 

although in DI you have more control.” 

As a regular user of Kodak, he says, "Kodak is a very nice stock, with 

good latitude and great colour representation." 

Regarding the usage of film he says, "Film is the best, because it is much 

easier than digital. It is easier to shoot for its better latitude. For digital I 

have to bring the contrast down whereas in Film we can be free." 

His attitude to cinematography is interesting. "I am not romantic about 

the grey; so many films go for DI. Grain versus noise does not make 

sense after going in for DI. A film photo-chemically finished is still the 

best way to reproduce what you have shot. In terms of resolution and 

actual image quality photochemical processing is the best way out 

although in DI you have more control." 

He thinks the whole process of working in Film would remain, so long 

you have the budget for it. It really depends on the kind of shoot one 

goes for. Where image quality is concerned, he would choose Film. There 

also Arolkar feels SRFTI gets the cake for allowing students to use a 

variety of formats. A lot of first year projects are shot on 16mm. In the 

second year they get to expose a large quantity of 35 mm stocks too. 

Arolkar still has no set rules for stock usage. He thinks that depends on 

many factors. Most normal scripts he uses 500T. "For me there is no 

particular formula." He continued, "Till date I have not shot enough to 

develop this kind of ideology." 

Regarding his actual shooting 

processes he said, "We use 

daylight balanced lighting 

and daylight balanced film. 

We had no access to daylight 

in a studio set. In that project 

we had no access to HMIs. So 

I used an 85 filter on the 

window. We stuck some 

lights on the windows." 

Arolkar has so far shot two films, Charitram and Seetaharan Aur Anya 

Kahaniyan. He says, "Lighting entirely depends on the script. My first film 

demanded natural light and more eye-level coverage with less 

movement. But the second film demanded an over-saturated palette, 

basically involving video projections within the frame and shot on 

anamorphic." 

Arolkar is the sort of DoP who enjoys much more shooting inside a 

studio. And what he does not enjoy is the top sun at high noon. His 

visual style he thinks would not normally change if he is shooting films 

for on screen viewing. "But if I know a film is being shot for mobile 

viewing, my entire idea of shooting and designing the images would 

change." 

So far Nikhil has assisted a lot of seniors for their shooting in and around 

Kolkata. By now he knows that for low budgets the entire scope is 

limited. Because of a smaller market, fewer lights are available, so the 

light requisition becomes smaller. But he is learning to fight out all these 

hurdles and still deliver quality work.

30 YOUNG GUNS 31 

TEACHERS / FILM SCHOOL 

Siddhartha Jatla believes that to be different from all others is the sole 

characteristic that marks the work of every single DoP. Each one has his 

or her own way of looking at an image and visually translating it on 

screen. There the director's demand has to be kept in mind, but it is the 

DoP who takes the final step in presenting an image to the audience. His 

camera then becomes the 'eye' through which the audience would 'see' 

the image. 

Jatla says, "I guess you really have to be different from others to get 

noticed. This is a prerequisite and it also requires continuous up 

gradation of oneself to technology changes." Jatla takes risks and 

according to him he has been successful due to Kodak. "I have shot 

some experimental stuff and had complete faith in Kodak," he says. "I 

guess that source of inspiration comes from my Dad who shot a 

complete feature film in 29 shots."Apart from my Dad, DoP Santosh 

Sivan also inspires me. There is nothing he hasn't challenged himself." 

Creative Tool 

Siddhartha Jatla is a young cinematographer studying at FTII who believes that lighting is a great creative tool. 

It can be used to maximum advantage by the discerning DoP to get fantastic results. Combined with Kodak raw stock, 

Jatla achieves great results in all situations. 

“I guess you really have to be different from 

others to get noticed. This is a prerequisite 

and it also requires continuous up gradation 

of oneself to technology changes.” 

While shooting the most important aspect of an image that draws Jatla's 

attention is the way the object he wants to shoot is lit up - either by 

available light, or light that comes from an artificial source such as a 

lamp or an electric bulb or even a fluorescent tube. "I definitely can state 

that lighting attracts me most. It evokes a mood for any situation," he 

says. Lighting is a creative tool for the cameraman to tell his vision 

silently. "After lighting I prefer compositions. I feel a scene's composition 

or mise-en-scene has to be very strong and it plays vital role. 

Compositions are the backbone of any successful image." 

Jatla is absolutely ecstatic about the facilities of FTII. "The facilities 

provided here is top class. I mean a student couldn't have asked for more. 

Jatla says about the advent of digital today, "Well, I can see that digital 

has been making quite a few waves in the Indian market. I can see many 

people preferring digital over film but I strongly feel that India is still not 

completely technically strong to handle digital post production. If you 

would ask me to choose between film and digital then, it's film all the 

way. I can blindly shoot when it's film without worries of my highlights 

clipping or giving an electronic look. I have got myself saved on many 

occasions when I shot it on film." 

For Jatla, whether it's a still or a motion picture, Kodak is the one which 

rules. "Kodak gives maximum comfort and assurance for the cameraman 

to dare since he always knows that Kodak is a reliable thing to 

experiment," he says. "My favourite has always been Kodak Vision2 

200T-5217. I use it both for outdoors and indoors. I love the way it 

produces results in terms of colour saturation, contrast, granularity 

details and above all desired look. In fact, I have shot my entire dialogue 

project in 5217 in the studio set-up and pushed the entire stock by 1 

stop. Thanks to Solomon at the Kodak lab, Mumbai, they have processed 

it so well that I could hardly find any grains on my print and also the 

saturation uninterrupted," he shares. Recently, Jatla used Kodak Vision2 

50D-5201 stock while he was shooting at Lions Park, South Africa for a 

commercial. "The results were stunning. I just love the stock for its sheer 

perfection in reproducing the colour saturation." 

The biggest challenge in his profession according to Jatla is to 

continuously upgrade oneself with the newer technology. He says, "You 

also have to be very creative to use new ways of visual design in 

approaching the stories which you shoot." 

This spirit of exploration and experimentation is really the main 

characteristic which sets Jatla apart from other young DoPs. 

BREAKING 

RULES 

Film and the profession of cinematography is 

today in a process of continuous flux. The 

faculty at FTII, Pune looks at Film as an ever- 

evolving medium and keeps the students 

abreast of the latest developments in 

technology. K.G. Soman, Dean of the Film 

wing at the FTII and Head of the Department 

of Cinematography says of the teaching 

methodologies at FTII, "We teach the why's 

and how's of filmmaking and make the 

students understand the interdependence of 

each branch of filmmaking such as 

Cinematography, Editing, Sound and Direction 

and Screenplay writing. I always encourage 

the students to break the rules in photography 

to lift their work to a unique level to stand out. 

To break the rules one should know what the 

rules are and how much we can stretch it." 

Even the outlook towards image making is 

changing from year to year, according to 

Soman. He says, "From a glamorous look, it 

moves on through raw-realistic, then highly 

stylized and manipulated in the post, images 

are emerging in an entirely new look." 

He feels, "Any art form needs constant 

practice and years of dedication to succeed." 

But it is here that he finds the younger 

generation lacking in dedication. "The younger 

generation of fast food culture never has the 

patience or time to go in a classic way. They 

are rebellions to the tried and tested methods; 

in fact, it is inevitable in the cycle of 

evolution." 

About the general attitudes of students to 

their art of filmmaking he is somewhat 

critical. "It seems no one wants to go deeper 

in to the soul of the character hence the 

interpretation and the way in which he or she, 

the character is presented are not touching 

the audience emotionally. This lack of 

understanding the story if any, coupled with 

the insufficient pre-production work leads to 

over working in the post production and 

finally burns the hearts at the box office." 

“I always encourage the 

students to break the rules in 

photography to lift their work 

to a unique level to stand out. 

To break the rules one should 

know what the rules are and 

how much we can stretch it.” 

As the Dean of the Film wing, Soman is very 

enthusiastic about what the students get from 

FTII. "The campus itself is a great teacher; one 

can learn from each other. We teach the craft 

but the art has to evolve. Exposure to the 

multicultural cinema is the real eye opener to 

many budding film students. Several people 

transform positively but a few get confused 

and later feel insecure and scared to go out 

and face the film world outside." 

To really create great works of art, the best way out is to 

break out from the set practices and open up new grounds. 

K.G. Soman, Dean of Film at FTII and Head of the 

Department of Cinematography, encourages his students 

to break the rules of photography to lift their work to a 

unique level to stand out. 

The continuous changes in today's film 

technology leads him to comment, 

"Filmmaking is a technology driven craft and if 

the basic functions of equipments are clear, 

up gradation is easier while the art in it is 

purely dependent on the sensibility, 

experience and vision of the filmmaker." 

To a professor like him, the whole face of 

cinema is changing - "Independent low 

budget films are the alternative to 

mainstream films and is the emerging trend in 

national as well as regional cinemas." As an 

institution, FTII is welcoming the changes and 

is diversifying with new courses and 

curriculum. It is now expanding with state-of- 

the-art equipment and infrastructure.

32 TEACHERS / FILM SCHOOL 33 

FILM SCHOOL / WORKSHOP 

CREATING IMAGES 

Teaching cinematography does not mean concentrating only on the technical 

aspects of camera work. At the L.V. Prasad Academy, the approach to cinema 

is holistic - what is cinema? The meaning of an image… Where does an image 

come from? Are some of the more important concepts that are taught 

says R. Narayan Kumar - Head of the Department of Cinematography. 

The basic points of cinematography today 

which a student needs to learn involve a liberal 

orientation to the arts and humanities as a 

prerequisite. R. Narayan Kumar, Head of the 

Department of Cinematography at L.V. Prasad 

Academy says, "Then comes the understanding 

of the image and process of imaging. 

Subsequently, understanding the art and craft 

of visual narration from a subjective perspective 

and retaining the impression in the mind." 

According to Kumar, using celluloid allows 

you to be fare more contemplative and think 

about the image and how it will be 

reproduced, whereas digital allows for 

instantly showing the image on a LCD thereby 

making it harder to think beyond. Shooting on 

digital he feels has liberated filmmaking from 

its shackles. "We can hope to see very 

interesting and new cinema in the days 

ahead," he says. 

Though he thinks both technical aspects and 

the aesthetics of camera work are important, 

he says, "I would definitely give an edge to 

aesthetic because that is the soul. Technology 

is the form. Experiencing an image while 

seeing on the screen or through the camera, 

trying out different lighting, camera 

movements, placing characters and objects in 

the frame plus building a relationship with 

them are all part of the aesthetics which are 

very important. Technological understanding 

is absolutely essential to get that form but 

perhaps in gentler dosages than that is 

propounded or advertised today to attract the 

new generation. This generation is particularly 

gadget friendly and is lured into using it." 

When students enter the film academy, their 

initial projects are in digital. Later they get to 

work more on film. Students have an initial 

hesitation where the film medium is 

concerned. "But slowly the film experience 

grows on them and by the end of two years 

“Experiencing an image 

while seeing on the screen 

or through the camera, 

trying out different lighting, 

camera movements, placing 

characters and objects in 

the frame plus building a 

relationship with them are 

all part of the aesthetics 

which are very important” 

they love shooting on film. Yes it is the quality 

of the image and process of seeing through 

the camera which makes the impact, and of 

course seeing it on the big screen." 

Narayan Kumar feels very proud to be part of 

the Prasad Academy. He thinks it is a great 

group which has always supported film 

enterprise and stood for quality and technical 

excellence. He says, "We have such a 

wonderful person as our director (Hariharan). 

I can definitely say that if Prasad is a premier 

institution today in a short span of five years, I 

guess all the credit goes to our dynamic 

director and wonderful support of the Prasad 

Group. Our dedicated faculty and support 

staff have lots of zeal and positive energy. In 

terms of facilities whatever a premier film 

school needs to have is definitely there in 

terms of equipment like cameras, lights, 

studio floors, post production facilities." 

He sees the future of cinematography as a 

very bright one, but the film schools should 

properly explore the content creations for 

television, internet and mobile segments. 

Narayan Kumar says, "Kodak has always been 

in the forefront in supporting film education. 

An example is their wonderful resource site 

with some fantastic publications. They are 

also equally supportive for setting up 

workshops for film students and film 

academies. I guess their presence in the world 

of film education should not diminish with the 

advent of digital. They should rather help us 

bridge the divide in these troubled times and 

address it as an art form." 

National Institute of Design (NID), 

the premier design institution 

in our country, recently concluded 

a workshop on Film. The workshop 

conducted by Partha Chakraborty, 

ex-NID alumni had eminent 

DoP Kamal Negi as the main faculty. 

In this workshop sponsored by Kodak, 

students got exposure to film 

as a medium of expression 

and produced a short film 

in the course of the workshop. 

This workshop was basically a demonstrative workshop called Production Design. It was one of 

the multidisciplinary courses at NID. There were three different disciplines participating in this, Film 

and Video, Exhibition Design and Apparel Design. From the Film and Video 21 students were there, 

from one undergraduate and one postgraduate batch. Altogether 49 students participated in this 

workshop. It was a huge team of young students learning how to make a complete film. Students 

worked hand in hand with professionals such as Kamal Negi from the Mumbai film industry to gain 

first hand or hands on experience on how to expose film stock. The total filmmaking experience 

helped them in being used to the concept development processes. 

"Cinematography was one of the primary concerns of the workshop," says Partha Chakraborty, who 

conducted the workshop. "As the workshop was on Production Design so it was important how to 

achieve the look and feel that was getting visualised. With the help of DoP Kamal Negi, students 

learnt how to figure out the lighting, lensing, framing and how to use the light meter," he adds. The 

students also operated the camera hands-on, which was a new experience for them, as up till this 

workshop they had mainly worked with video cameras. 

A demonstrative exercise had students shoot inside a dimly lit bunker. "To my understanding, it gave 

students an opportunity to learn how to overcome restrictions of resources yet achieve quality visuals. 

The desired grunge feel was further accentuated by the grains of Kodak 500T stock," says Chakraborty. 

Kodak played a lead role in this workshop by sponsoring the stock as well as the processing of the 

exposed stocks. There was a tour of Kodak processing lab where students for the first time came 

across the technicality of processing as well as the importance of film. Kodak also conducted one 

technical session on Film as a medium of image recording, which was very important for the 

students in terms of learning. "But I would say that it's not the resources that Kodak brought in 

which is important but the encouragement and enthusiasm which is the biggest contribution," says 

Chakraborty. "Every year students look forward to this course." 

TRYING OUT FILM 

KODAK-NID WORKSHOP 

“It's not the resources 

that Kodak brought in 

which is important 

but the encouragement 

and enthusiasm 

which is the 

biggest contribution. 

Every year students 

look forward to 

this course.”

34 FILM SCHOOL / WORKSHOP 35 

MASTERCLASS 

MAESTROS 

AT WORK 

NID has a highly qualified team of faculty 

members and a pool of ex-students who 

regularly come and teach here. The students 

also get an opportunity to train in professional 

set-ups called Industrial Training, which gives 

them exposure to the professional working 

methods and situations. An active interaction 

occurs continuously between various 

departments and that becomes in itself a 

massive learning process.The students 

themselves were bright and enthusiastic. The 

kind of exposure they received from this 

workshop was one of their firsts in life, looking 

at it that way, they were eager to learn. But it 

was a lot of hard work as well - the students 

had a tough task of pulling it off in just 15 

days. 

“Film is not only about stock but a different dimension 

of production. So a deeper involvement of Kodak in education, 

even in one workshop of course, would be really appreciated.” 

“Due to Kodak students got exposure to the 

film medium and its complete process that 

follows. The experience is very different from 

video process and without this exposure the 

education remains incomplete," says 

Chakraborty. "Film is not only about stock but 

a different dimension of production. So a 

deeper involvement of Kodak in education, 

even in the workshop course, would be really 

appreciated." 

After conducting this workshop at NID with 

Kodak, Partha as a director thinks the future of 

film as a medium is here to stay. There are all 

kinds of experimentation going on but the 

supreme standard remains one which is film. 

Everything else is a compromise some way or 

other. "In terms of achieving the brilliance in 

visual there is no comparison yet and film 

would remain ahead for a long time now. 

Beside that it's much more safe and it's much 

more long lasting than anything we know of 

today. Given a choice I would opt for film if I 

am not compelled to compromise," he says. 

This NID workshop in collaboration with 

Kodak again proved that the education that 

can be imparted through film is a unique 

learning experience in itself and can have no 

real alternative. 

Kodak recently arranged an intimate two day master class with legendary cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond, ASC. Several 

topics such as anatomy of shots, framing and lighting, shooting techniques and style were discussed. Zsigmond also discussed 

challenges faced during shoots, time spent on pre/ post production and so on. 

As part of the Cinema India Expo, 

Kodak provided a rare opportunity for the 

Indian DoP community and students of 

cinematography to attend the 

"Kodak Cinematography Master Class" with 

Vilmos Zsigmond, ASC. The workshop over 

two days had the participants wanting for 

more. Here we bring you excerpts from 

Vilmos Zsigmond and some Indian DoPs 

who attended the workshop. 

Vilmos Zsigmond mentioned that he has used only Kodak Film for all his 

features and the reason for this is Kodak's contribution in encouraging 

film school students / emerging filmmakers around the world. On film 

and digital he mentioned that "film is the best available capture 

medium." When asked about his opinion to choose digital as a capture 

medium to save cost he mentioned that with introduction of new fine 

For DoP Y. Alphonse Roy, the master class 

was a very enriching experience. Quite a few 

technicians attended it and most of them 

were very happy to have a one to one chat 

with a great master. "The max we get close to 

such people is by reading about their work in 

American Cinematographer and watching 

their films," says Roy. "So this was a great 

opportunity created by Kodak to interact with 

a great master," he adds. 

The master class helped Roy re- affirm his 

aesthetic values to the aspects which he 

considers as good cinematography and the 

b e n c h m a r k s w h i c h m a k e a g o o d 

cinematographer. 

grain Kodak Vision 3 Films and advancement in digital post production 2 

- perf is the best option available for cinematographers than shooting 

digitally or even cinematographers can shoot on Super 16mm Film 

without compromising on quality and yet get the desired film look. He 

had shot feature film on 2 perf way back in the 60's. 

MAESTROS AT WORK 

For Roy, all the topics were of significant 

interest as a student of cinema. "The 

importance of lighting to create particular 

look to suit the mood and also to push the 

envelope further," was a very useful session," 

he says. 

Citing Kodak as his partner in creation, Roy 

says," Film still stands superior as an 

acquisition format, while digital technology is 

good for exhibition. Film is trustworthy as it is 

a time tested material. Digital is still growing 

and it could be the format of the future but for 

today it is film," he says. Roy will be doing his 

next film with director Anand Mahadevan on 

film format.

36 MASTERCLASS 

For DoP Mahesh Aney meeting Zsigmond 

was like meeting God. "From the time that I 

have been a student of the Film Institute in 

Pune, I have not only loved all his films but 

they have been great source of inspiration for 

me. So interacting with Zsigmond at the 

master-class and later at the Kodak office was 

not only a great learning experience but also 

like a dream coming true," he says. 

For a lot of the cinematographers, this was 

the first time that they were attending a 

'master-class'. To be interacting with a 

cinematographer of Zsigmond's stature and 

C.K. Muraleedharan, isc says, "My experience 

with the master class was very good. I would 

like to thank Kodak for organising such an 

event, because it was a very rare opportunity 

to interact with the great cinematographer. He 

was an inspiration in our student days and 

learned a lot just by watching his work with 

different directors and different stories. It was 


calibre, was an honour. "Most of us, were 

stunned by the dedication of this 81 year old, 

whose mind was still razor sharp and could 

narrate incidents, explain techniques and 

answer questions effortlessly," recalls Aney. 

Almost every question that Zsigmond 

answered was like pieces of a jig-saw puzzle 

falling into place according to Aney. "Many 

questions which had intrigued me were 

answered by him," he says. "To hear him 

explain about his film flashing technique or to 

understand his experimentation with printing 

for Deliverance, was a great learning process," 

he adds. "The memories of his early days of 

trying to break into Hollywood or his 

interaction with directors such as Stephen 

Spielberg and Woody Allen, was also 

'educational' because handling directors or 

actors is an art in itself," says Aney. 

Among the various topics handled by Vilmos 

Zsigmond - lighting, exposure, pre & post, 

flashing, lenses and his preference for the 

zoom lens, pre shoot tests, script selection 

and Interpretation, interpretation of a scene 

t h r o u g h l i g h t i n g , c o l o u r p a l e t t e , 

cinematographer's involvement in setting up a 

shot, director - cinematographer relationship 

and his continuous experimentation with film 

and camera were a few. 

Commenting on Kodak, Aney says, "Kodak is 

an extremely dependable and a very user- 

friendly film. Right through the 90's most of 

us who were only shooting advertising 

commercials, stuck with the Kodak Vision2 

200T-5217 stock. It had great latitude and we 

rarely worried about missing out on shadow 

details or over exposing the highlights. Today 

the new Kodak Vision3 250D-5207 and the 

Kodak Vision3 500T-5219 have almost 

become like a fixed standard for most feature 

films." 


an encouragement to know that he is still very 

much active in the field. 

He talked about the way he approach his 

projects aesthetically and technically. 

He even talked about touchy issues such as 

sometimes, uncomfortable Director - DoP 

relationship, and how he dealt with them. 

He was never bogged down by technicalities 

of film making but always went beyond them 

to create the images suitable for the film. 

What I learned from him in this interaction 

was, the problems a DoP faces in shoot are 

similar in nature all over the world but one has 

to find solutions and go beyond conventional 

thinking." 

Muraleedharan has been using Kodak since 

the beginning. "I am so used to it that it gives 

me complete confidence in creating any 

image I want to," he says. 

"Film is still the best medium. No other medium 

provides the quality and standardization which 

film gives. 

Photographs and Still Film Cameras have always been a source of inspiration for me 

and of course Kodak was one of the brands which is registered in my mind since 

childhood. My father used click photographs of ours mine with film cameras and we still 

have those processed negatives at home, so I admire Kodak for giving me a chance to 

peep into my childhood memories at any stage of my life. 

My journey with Kodak happened unexpectedly. Prior to Kodak I was working with 

Wipro. I started my career with Kodak in 2008 as an Executive, in charge of Kerala. 

When I joined Kodak, It was really challenging and in fact I never knew how big my 

responsibilities would be as a sales person for motion picture films. Slowly, I realised my 

role as a representative of Kodak and I have become an interface between the motion 

picture industry professionals and Kodak in 'Mollywood'. It has been a great opportunity 

for me, being with Kodak, and it helped me learn more about the Entertainment Industry 

which is one of the fastest growing industries and, one in which so many people aspire 

to be a part of. 

h 

k 

a 

s 

i 

V 

K 

J 

“Kodak gives me an identity.” 

Kodak has given me tremendous opportunity to improve my skills and talents both 

professionally and personally. Truly speaking I love being a Kodak person and it gives me 

identity. My hobbies include watching films, travelling and photography. Football is my 

favorite game, but now- a- days I hardly get time for it. 

My motto is simple - “Hard work pays and I believe in it.” 

Our Regional Offices 

MUMBAI 

Rachna Pawar 

Tel No: 91-22-66416762 / 66 

Fax No: 91-22-66416769 

Email: rachna.pawar@kodak.com 

MUMBAI CINELAB 

Solomon Silveira 

Tel No: 91-22-67026600 / 02 

Fax No: 91-22-67026666 

Email: solomon.silveira@kodak.com 

CHENNAI 

M. T. Amuthavanan 

Origination Products 

Tel No: 91-44-23623086 / 9840333350 

Fax No: 91-44-23622522 

Email: mohankrishnan.amuthavanan@kodak.com 

CHENNAI 

T. M. Prasanth 

Distribution Products 

Tel No: 91-44-23623086 / 9840489900 

Fax No: 91-44-23622522 

Email: mohan.prasanth@kodak.com 

BANGALORE 

Ananth A. Padmanabha 

Tel No: 91-9886008642 

Email: anantha.padmanabha@kodak.com 

KOLKATA 

Chirag Gandhi 

Tel No: 91-33-30286254 / 9830915152 

Fax No: 91-33-30286270 

Email: chirag.gandhi@kodak.com 

HYDERABAD 

S. Gowrishankar 

Tel No: 91-9849015950 

Fax No: 91-40-23816181 

Email: santhanam.gowrishankar@kodak.com 

KERALA 

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Tel No: 91-484-2366230 / 36 / 9895708469 

Fax No: 91-484-2363211 

Email: visak.kj@kodak.com

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