READ MORE ABOUT AlsO fEATURED fOCUs ON - Kodak

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MUMBAI
Kodak is the best and the only stock I want to use. It has a wide range which helps us to do a lot of innovative work. Not only that,
with the passage of time Kodak is improving on its available raw stocks and making changes as per technicians’ requirements. At
the moment Kodak Vision 3 is the best available stock in the market. As a cinematographer I feel Kodak prints the best colours in
any old weather and lighting conditions, be it indoors, outdoors, day or night, whatever. Not only that, Kodak gives me a kind of
rich gloss which is a basic requirement of the general look of the Marathi cinema at this juncture in time. Where use of raw stocks
is concerned, I use 250D for day. My most favourite stock is 500T with which I have taken several twilight shots. This gives me
natural colours without having to go for colour corrections and it enhances the gloss also. Till date I have used only Kodak and
no other stock. One interesting aspect of using Kodak is that it gives me no matching problems when I am shooting outdoors and
indoors simultaneously. Even in my upcoming projects, I am using only Kodak.
at Pune. It was this background in theatre that
finally led him to cinema, and more particularly
– cinematography. Satankar was involved in
several areas of theatre then – ranging from
acting, direction, lighting and backstage work.
He gravitated towards stage lighting – the
interplay of light and shade, which ultimately
resulted in his decision to concentrate on
cinematography.
Commenting on how the new age Marathi
films are different from the average Hindi
masala films, Satankar says, “Maharashtra has
an excellent backdrop of well-known writers
and the tradition of Marathi literature is very
rich and time-honoured. Hence, with such a
vast storehouse of literature, our directors, both
young and old, have an extensive base to draw
inspiration,” he adds.
Elaborating on his working methodology,
Satankar says he is a stickler for planning. “No
one can work or plan a film without concentrating
first on its story. The story is all-important,”
he says. “It’s also important to understand the
director’s concepts and hear what he/she has to
say,” he adds. The story and what the director
has to say are like the two major poles of the
film which need to converge. “Keeping this in
mind, one has to work towards it,” he says.
As far as his inputs on a film are concerned,
Satankar first sits with the director and listens
carefully not only the story but also to try and
“Kodak helps me innovate.”
find out what the director wants to convey – his
personal message through the film.
“Only after this meeting do I sit and concentrate on
the ‘film look’,” he says. All of this involves a lot of
coordination between him, the entire art direction
Each director is opening
up interesting areas of
thought through their
films. And where I am
concerned, I must say
it is not essential that
every single film should
and must be
thought-provoking.
team as also the costume designing department,
as these elements contribute the maximum to the
final look on screen. “After I know what sort of
colour combinations they are going to use in the
sets and costumes of the film, I start planning my
own lighting design. I want to create films which
should look nice in the eyes of my audience,”
says Satankar.
Satankar, is unable to pinpoint his most challenging
assignment so far. According to him each new film
brings with it a new set of challenges. “With every
new film I like to explore the possibilities it brings
as a cinematographer,” concludes Satankar.
His current projects include Mama Bhacha, Dham
Dhoom and President. He is also in the process of
scripting his directorial venture – a horror film for
which he intends to use Kodak stock for daylight
and low light without the use of additional lights.
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