Ravi K Chandran interview: The mania that a commercial superstar like Pawan Kalyan generates is unmatched

They Call Him OG, director Sujeeth’s Telugu enactment play led by Pawan Kalyan, is holding fort successful theatres successful its 2nd week, and its manager of photography Ravi K Chandran is pleased with the reception to the movie and his work. His cinematography, on with AS Prakash’s accumulation design, Darshan Jalan and Neelanchal Kumar Ghosh’s costume design, gave OG a retro-themed aesthetic.

Currently successful Hyderabad filming manager Sudha Kongara and histrion Sivakarthikeyan’s Tamil movie Parasakthi, Ravi K Chandran is yet to acquisition the OG frenzy successful theatres. When helium settles down for an interview, helium discloses that helium watched the movie on with actors Chiranjeevi and Ram Charan astatine a backstage screening.

However, helium got a sensation of the instrumentality frenzy during the pre-release event. “I deliberation Pawan Kalyan is the archetypal biggest commercialized superstar I person worked with,” helium says. His vocation spanning astir 4 decades has memorable films specified arsenic Viraasat, Black, Dil Chahta Hai, Ghajini, Fanaa, My Name is Khan, Rab de Bana di Jodi, Paheli and 4 Mani Ratnam films, including the caller Kamal Haasan-starrer Thug Life.  Gauging my bewildered response, the cinematographer adds, “The mania that commercialized superstars successful the South specified arsenic Rajinikanth, Vijay, oregon Pawan Kalyan make is antithetic from the stars of Hindi cinema. Pawan Kalyan’s governmental beingness further amplifies the frenzy.”

Chandran archetypal collaborated with Pawan Kalyan for Bheemla Nayak, the Telugu adaptation of the Malayalam movie Ayyappanum Koshiyum. Kalyan’s instauration shot, arsenic helium emerges from a darkly-lit zone, elicited cheers successful the theatres. The retro taxable of OG gave Chandran further scope to experiment. “Initially immoderate were sceptical if the darker palette would entreaty to the audiences. Sujeeth and I were confident. Not conscionable visually, you volition not find Kalyan’s signature mannerisms here.”

References from the 1980s

Since the communicative is acceptable successful the Bombay of the 1990s, with flashbacks taking the communicative further backmost astatine regular intervals, Chandran and Sujeeth decided connected a 1980s-inspired retro look for the film. Kalyan sports shirts with ample collars, and precocious waist trousers. The retro quotient is pronounced successful the styling of characters played by Emraan Hashmi and others.

OG was a three-year travel that commenced successful August 2022. “I liked Sujeeth’s vision,” says Chandran, who strives to marque his films basal the trial of time. “The effort is ever to effort and marque each movie memorable. Sujeeth’s erstwhile movie Saaho was besides visually bully (by R Madhi). So erstwhile helium approached me, I wanted to marque it worthwhile.”

When Chandran teamed up with Sanjay Leela Bhansali for Black, helium leveraged the story’s imaginable to determination distant from the colourful, opulent palette of Bhansali’s films specified arsenic Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Devdas. When helium archetypal collaborated with Mani Ratnam for Kannathil Muthamittal, helium was conscious that the manager had earlier worked with legendary cinematographers specified arsenic PC Sreeram and Santhosh Sivan. Chandran was determined to bash thing new.

He reminisces, “For Black, we filmed the country successful which Rani Mukherji goes to the religion connected the archetypal day. There was nary snow. The accumulation squad worked precocious into the nighttime , and each of america reached the determination astatine 3am. We began filming arsenic the archetypal rays of the prima came out. For the archetypal 13 days, we filmed astatine dawn and astatine sunset during the magic hour. Bhansali joked that I drew him retired of indoor sets and made him clasp a Mani Ratnam aesthetic.”

Signature shots

For OG, immoderate of the signature shots were filmed successful the archetypal fewer days. “Pawan Kalyan emerging from fume and the upside down changeable adjacent the Gateway of India were among the archetypal to beryllium filmed. Seeing the results, we knew we were connected the close track,” says Chandran.

He mentions however Pawan Kalyan was crippled to experiment. “He arrived earlier 5am, arsenic requested, and we filmed. Similarly, for the series successful which helium teaches Aikido to the kids, initially helium had allotted fractional a day. On location, helium was impressed by the framework that helium saw done the camera, and stayed connected for 3 days successful Panchgani. He is intuitive, understands the play of airy and acts accordingly.”

The ‘Suvvi Suvvi’ opus was changeable successful the greeting hours, and the unit waited a time for the clouds to wide up. “We could person utilized lights to mimic the sunrise hr oregon done thing successful station production, but I wanted to usage earthy light,” says Chandran.

The archetypal sprout progressive existent locations, earlier the unit moved to the sets. The lour palette was kept earthy to support uniformity.

Since the movie looked darker than different Pawan Kalyan films, Chandran was keen to gauge the effect from Gen Z audiences. After the film’s release, erstwhile Kalyan’s lad Akira called to convey Chandran, helium knew they had made the close call.

Arthouse meets mainstream

Chandran’s creator visuals successful a massy Pawan Kalyan movie is not thing 1 would person expected a fewer years ago. The cinematographer points retired however unexpected collaborations person spelt magic successful Hollywood. Citing the illustration of Skyfall, helium says, “That was the lone Bond movie successful 50 years to get an Academy Award information for cinematography. When an arthouse cinematographer similar Roger Deakins and manager Sam Mendes teamed up, it resulted successful stunning visuals. Skyfall also became the highest grosser among Bond films astatine the time.” 

Reverting to sermon OG, Chandran says arsenic the filming was paused intermittently owing to Pawan Kalyan’s governmental career, helium besides took up Thug Life, Mani Ratnam’s gangster film, but was conscious to marque some films look different. For a little play erstwhile his dates overlapped with his different projects oregon erstwhile helium faced a wellness setback, cinematographer Manoj Paramahamsa stepped in.

Having begun his vocation with the 1991 Malayalam movie Kilukkampetti, aft spending a fewer years arsenic adjunct cinematographer, Chandran says the Malayalam movie industry, which works with little budgets, encourages experiments. He notes however stalwarts similar PC Sreeram besides began with Malayalam cinema, and adds, “My lad (Santhana Krishnan) began successful Malayalam earlier taking up Hindi films similar Baaghi 2, Kabir Singh, Baaghi 3 and Param Sundari.”

For OG, helium conducted trial shoots for immoderate portions. Consider the enactment occurrence filmed from apical angle, wherever the brutality is evident done the streaks of humor splashed connected the gunny sac-like cover. “We did a trial sprout with a stunt double, made corrections and past filmed with Pawan Kalyan. The brownish cover, alternatively than white, helped debar a gory look. In respective sequences, occurrence was an element. Editor Navin Nooli did a superb occupation successful making the pre-interval sequences look cohesive, arsenic occurrence rages connected successful Nashik, and astatine the Mumbai port.”

Occasional usage of reddish tones were to concur with the Japanese emblem shown successful the archetypal portions. The metaphorical Yin and Yang, with a spot of acheronian offsetting lighter tones, and achromatic occasionally offsetting darker tones, was besides a conscious choice.

Chandran reflects, “Mani Ratnam and PC Sreeram revolutionised Indian cinema erstwhile they experimented with darker tones. At each step, determination person been visionaries. Bharathiraja took Tamil cinema to the agrarian background, Mani Ratnam changed the ocular connection erstwhile helium entered, past Shankar brought successful standard and ambition, and yet Rajamouli gave standard and affectional storytelling a antithetic spin.” Chandran besides mentions the noteworthy enactment done by cinematographers specified arsenic Ashok Kumar, Tirru, KV Anand, Jeeva, Ravi Varman, and Manikandan, among others.

Chandran does not enactment with the aforesaid manager frequently, to debar the comfortableness zone. “I interruption distant from the signature lighting and ocular benignant of a director, and besides take divers genres. How a movie performs astatine the container bureau is not successful our hands, but I’ve observed however immoderate films turn connected the assemblage with time. Iruvar, Kandukondain Kandukondain, and Kannathil Muthamittal are a fewer examples. Even Thalapathy and Dil Chahta Hai had decent runs astatine the container office, but were not blockbusters. But radical retrieve and rewatch these films till date. My effort is to marque my films besides basal retired visually, portion not taking the attraction distant from the storytelling.”