Directors Anees Bazmee on Singh is Kinng, Shiba Prasad Mukher-jee on Icche & K. Selvaraghavan on Aayirathil Oruvan

iNterVieWs WitH DoPs Ravi Varman, Binod Pradhan &Savita Singh

ADLABs’ DiGitAL ciNeMA MAsteriNG FAciLitY

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Third Quarter2008

HD/SD broadcast video. The robust 4K data pipeline that the facility has been built around ensured that the tight deadlines for completion were met.

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Foreword

Contents

Dear Readers,Here we are on our third issue of

and we have so much to talk about.

Once again we’ve had frenetic activity at our processing laboratories with major releases like Dasavatharam, Sarkar Raj and Love Story 2050

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THIRD QUARTER 2008

The Hit ManDirector Anees Bazmee tells Manisha Lakhe about his next big entertainer Singh is Kinng

DoP Ravi Varman recounts his adventures to Daya Kingston

The elusive DoP Binod Pradhan is pinned down by Mohua Sen

Maverick director P K Selvaraghavan talks to Daya Kingston about his quirky films

Debutant director Shiba Prasad Mukherjee shares his story with Arpan Mitra

Savita Singh tells Deepa Gahlot about her debut film Phoonk

A Hollywood-grade Digital Cinema Mastering Facility opens at Adlabs’ Film City location

Hot & Happening Just His Luck

The Risk Taker Changing Faces

A Breath of Fresh Air Adlabs News

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ANEES BAZMEE

01

THINK BIg, fall-off -the-chair comedies, glittery song and dance routines, multi-starrer fi lms that

rake in the moolah, and one name clearly rules the marquee - Anees Bazmee. Critics hate his ability to walk the thin line between obscene and funny. Self-styled intellectuals pretend they don’t see “such fi lms”. But guess who’s laughing all the way to bank?

One would think that a man who makes movies like No Entry and Welcome would be just as loud, but the man in question turns out to be someone who speaks so politely yet passionately about movies.

Anees Bazmee joined the industry as

Th e Hit ManManisha Lakhe went to interview Anees Bazmee, director of the big budget Singh is Kinng and met a man dreaming of directing his ideal script.

probably the fourteenth or fi fteenth assistant to Raj Kapoor when he was only 17 years old. It has not been an easy ride, but it looks like he has enjoyed all the ups and downs. And now he is on the brink of releasing yet another fi lm as a director, a fi lm that has been touted as one of this year’s biggest fi lms. It is called Singh is Kinng, and it stars the very popular pair of Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif.

Is this yet another fi lm like welcome or No entry?

Look, let us be very clear about one thing. In the industry Anees Bazmee is known to

make hardcore commercial entertainment fi lms. No Entry was all about extramarital aff airs, Welcome was about being married into a mafi a family, Singh is Kinng is just as entertaining as the other two, but very diff erent also. Th is movie explores the wonderful Sardars and their larger than life way of living.

I have lived among the Sardars, and have worked with them. My assistant is Sikh, and I realized that there was a huge story there. So when I sat down to write the fi lm, I realized that this group of people, this kaum, have a lot to share. Th ey are a courageous bunch, not afraid to try out new

Master Entertainer Anees Bazmee

things, brave things; they have the ability to enjoy themselves fully, they eat well, and are happy to sing and dance dil khol ke; they are also a little gullible, can be easily led by a sob story. Now to top all this, they also have the ability to laugh at themselves. That is a big plus point - their sense of humour, their ability to take a joke.

So when I sat down to write, I knew Akshay was going to be a Sardar. For example, when you think of a character who is very careful with his money, you automatically think of Gujjus. So I always knew that this movie was going to be about Sardars.

You mean to say that it is an original story? Not copied, like most Bollywood movies are these days?

Look, when I made Pyar To Hona Hi Tha, I made no bones about it being a copy of French Kiss. But if you look carefully, the second half of the story is purely Indian. There’s nothing of the American movie in it. And how can you forget that it was my film that made Ajay Devgan into a romantic hero? Until then he was only known for his action films!

It is so easy to brush aside a film and label it as a remake. But when you consider everything, Indian sensibilities are very different. Our larger audience will not be

able to take a pure remake. It has to have that Indianness. We can be inspired by Hollywood films, but our films are different. Singh is Kinng too has been inspired, but let me tell you one thing, you will not be able to simply brush it aside by saying, “Arre, yeh toh copy kiya hai”.

You are working with Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif again... tell us more.

I think there is a good chemistry between both of them. Both work really hard. Akshay is not afraid - he has performed some dangerous stunts in the film. Katrina, in my opinion has grown so much. Last time, she was not comfortable speaking Hindi, and she has worked very hard at her language, her diction, and has dubbed for her own part in this film. I think that is amazing progress. Have you heard the songs? They are all over the radio and the telly... already on their way to becoming hits.

Speaking of songs, how many people do you think understand more than balle-balle or shava-shava and now chak de? Do you think all that Punjabi is going to go over most people’s heads?

The biggest advantage of Punjab is the rhythm. If you ever travel in Punjab, you will see that there’s music everywhere. A

chap who is driving a truck will be shaking his head to the tune of the song playing on his radio, the guy on a tractor will be thumping his hand to the beat of the drum. And filmgoers are familiar with the bhangra and the gidda... so if a few words here and there are not easy to understand, the rhythm makes up for it. And with the movie, you will be introduced to a culture that is fantastic.

So what is this film all about?It’s got everything. There are many

tracks, an obvious romantic one between Akshay and Katrina, there is comedy (but obviously!) because the situation lends itself to comedy. You first see Sonu (Sood) as the king. When Akshay who is essentially a good man, becomes the king, he has to make lifestyle changes which becomes a problem for others, how he changes because of his new responsibilities... we have tapped all the comic possibilities of the situation. Then there’s action and let me tell you I had high blood pressure moments watching Akshay perform stunts...

Looking at it as a writer and also a director, what kind of scenes do you like best?

With Akshay performing stunts, although

02

This page: Singh is Kinng

Opposite page: No Entry (top) and Welcome (bottom)

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I was impressed at his confidence, as a director I was worried. You know how it is. One is worried about the safety, the shoot, the what-ifs... and we were shooting in Australia. So I don’t relish action scenes that much. I am happiest when dealing with songs and every other kind of scene whether it is emotional or romantic. As a writer, I have grown over the years. Earlier we used to have dialogues like ‘Jis darakth ke neeche saanp pal rahe hon’, today the dialogues are simpler, like a conversation almost. You see I have been a great admirer of Gulzarbhai’s simple dialogues and the dramatic dialogues of Salim-Javed. I have aimed for a mix of the two styles. For example, in one of my earlier films, Pratibandh with Chiranjeevi, I had written dramatic dialogues for him. He’s a new police officer and it is his takiya kalaam: ‘Main saare haraamiyon ko unke baap ka pata batane ke liye aaya hoon.’ Those were the days when I, the writer, was making the character say what I told him to say. Now the characters speak simpler, more natural dialogues.

Looks like Singh is Kinng is all over the papers, little stories about how Akshay spotted what is now the title on the back of the truck... are they all planted by the PR? What should the audience believe?

That part about Akshay spotting Singh is Kinng at the back of a truck is very true. Yes, I admit the PR machinery works hard in telling people that so and so fought during the film, or there’s romance between X and Y. Most of it is nonsense and sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t. The actors and the unit are really working hard for the film. But people today are really interested in who designed the look of the heroine. What kind of clothes are they wearing, how the music was composed and all the little details. Makes it interesting for the people.

With every release a man is putting his entire body of work on the line. No matter how big my earlier films have been, the new film always has so much riding on it. But now I am already working with Harman Baweja and Genelia D’Souza on a film.

Speaking of newcomers, is there a definite advantage of having a filmy mamu to support you?

Definitely. Star kids have an advantage with someone promoting them. Even an average film gets attention if there is a star supporting it. But director’s sons have less advantage. People are not familiar with a director. When you think of it, it’s a sad state of affairs if you need a push from a star to promote instead of talent. In the South, there is a big difference. Producers will listen to your story even if you are new. If they like your story, they might make the film although with a small budget, but at least nobody will fob you off. Here, it is unfortunate that knowing someone or having someone in the industry is the only way you might get a break.

People are already making shorter movies, different movies. When are you going to break the mould and make a different type of film?

Shorter movies are being made because of two things. One, the multiplex culture, where having that one extra show because your film is shorter makes business sense, and two because people’s attention spans are becoming less and less. I learned about film with Raj Kapoor where films were larger than life; there was a grandeur connected to films. Now the films are no longer the three-hour full feast. The films are at the most two hour fifteen minutes. It has become harder to include six songs, create characters and give drama. That’s also why so many films are flopping in spite of big names connected with them. They operate on the availability of star dates. Everything including the story

take a back seat. People just want to shoot when the stars are available.

I have not cast myself in any mould. I have written simple stories like Ladla, and have written Pratibandh and Swarg, and David Dhawan’s comedies. As a director I have made a love story (Pyar To Hona Hi Tha), and then I made a suspense thriller Deewangee. After that I have made No Entry and Welcome. Today, people know me as the guy who makes hit entertainment comedies and I am happy to oblige my audience. Four or five films like these and then I shall be able to say that I will make my ideal script. I have three, maybe four wonderful scripts with me. When I take them to producers today, they look at me and want me to make fun films first.

I have been in this industry for 33 years. Earlier, they would say no firmly. Today, because I have given such big hits, they turn down my ideal scripts nicely. The denial is there, only the way it is said has changed.

When a writer chooses to direct a film, one assumes it is his best script. Is Singh is Kinng your best script?

Nothing like that. Sometime a feeling just takes over and a story comes out. I worked on the idea and happened to tell the story to Akshay Kumar. He was abroad at that time, and assured me that he will do the film with me. The next day Vipul Shah spoke with me and asked me if I had narrated a story to Akshay Kumar. He asked me if I would like them to produce the film. I had no problems with that and there you are, after I had worked on the story, Singh is Kinng is made!

“With every release a man is putting his entire body of work on the line. No matter how big my earlier films have been, the new film always has so much riding on it.”

RAVI VARMAN

RAVI VARMAN’S stars are shining bright –the adventurous DoP has to his credit the most coveted line-

up of recent films with Chennai’s hottest directors – Gautam Menon’s Vettaiyadu Villaiyadu, Shankar’s Anniyan and his latest K.S. Ravi Kumar’s magnum opus Dasavatharam starring Kamal Haasan. The latter was the costliest Indian film ever made with a whopping budget of Rs. 130 crores and has catapulted Varman’s fortunes as well.

He also has the distinction of being the only Indian cinematographer to have won an international award for best cinematography. This was presented to him at the Festival of Three Continents in France. Besides the South, he has also left his footprint in Bollywood with movies like Armaan, Phir Milenge, Ek Main Aur Ek Tu and Ramji Londonwale, plus over 500 television commercials.

The story of Varman’s life reads pretty much like a dramatic movie. Hailing from a small place called Poyyoundarkudikkadu, near Thanjavur in South India, he found himself orphaned very young. For a while, even survival was tough and he attempted suicide. Later, as a teenager he came to Chennai and apprenticed under

cinematographer Ranga after which, he went on to work under Ravi K Chandran for five years and learnt the nuances of the art.

“My first break was in 1999 with Malayalam director Rajeev Kumar’s Jalamarmaram. My second film Shantham in Malayalam fetched me an international award from France. It was very challenging, there was no generator and no artificial lights; I had to use ambient light to the best effect.”

Despite having done a wide body of work, he does not advocate the concept of following a particular style. “The question of style is not possible as everything depends on the situation; one can plan a lot, but on the actual shoot things can change. What I stress on, though, is the aesthetics; I hate blatant in-your-face camerawork which is plastic. Lighting is the magic of cinema. I love to use a lot of light and shadow, though this is not always possible in commercial films where the subjects need to be well-lit. Balu Mahendra has been a great inspiration with regards to lighting technique.

“I do not harbour ambitions. I only believe in doing my best in every assignment I take. A cameraman is very important to a film because he is the first to see, the first

technician to observe the concept through the lens. I started with more emotional films but with Vettaiyadu Villaiyadu and Anniyan, I embraced the action genre as well.”

He shares a good equation with all his directors, he says. “Working on Vettaiyadu Villaiyadu with director Gautam Menon was a delight. He has a good visual sense and looks for a trendy, classy and realistic presentation. Above all he gives the DoP plenty of freedom. In the film, we used a lot of dark shades and there was some handheld camerawork in ambient light in New York. Director Shankar is a big canvas entertainer and working for Anniyan was a great experience. It’s very difficult to envision his larger-than-life imagination and this film gave me a big platform.

“I have also worked with women directors like Honey Irani, Revathy Menon and Roopa Swaminathan, whose treatment and way of approaching shots was different. They were very confident and clear about what they wanted. Another thing is that working in Bollywood is very professional and planned. A pucca script, perfect timing and the best of everything from costumes to production make the experience there different.”

Hot &HappeningDaya Kingston meets Ravi Varman in Chennai, and gets him to talk about his latest films, including Kamal Haasan’s Dasavatharam.

04

Coming to his latest film Dasavatharam, this was Kamal Haasan’s dream project and features him in ten different characters ranging from a 12th century Hindu priest, an old lady, a government officer, to a scientist. The film that took over two years in the making was, in Ravi Varman’s words, “The most challenging and complex film that I have ever done. Working on it was like studying at a university, a learning experience where I did a great deal of experimentation. The camera has a lot of movement and speed and despite having so many characters in each frame, there are no static frames. There is a lot of movement.

“The film spans the 12th century and the 21st century. We created the period effect for the 12th century using various techniques like a sepia tone. We shot most of this portion in direct light and avoided back light. A lot of flares were added to give some scenes a touch of haziness and brought a lot of contrast. Just before sunset and after sunrise, there is a greenish shade. We captured this effect which gave us a high contrast direct light.

“Seventy per cent of the film was shot at night so there was plenty of scope to provide night effects. The locations also were very varied from Florida, Malaysia, Chidambaram to Chennai.

“Since Kamal Haasan was playing ten different characters, when they appeared on the same frame, each character had to

have a separate layer. The different layers were worked on by different graphic design studios and matching the colours and tone consistently was tough. This is the only Indian film where we have used many layers in every frame and also ranks among the few films in the world to have so many layers.

“Another challenge we faced was that one character would don make-up, whereas the next character would have to be pasted on the same frame two weeks later. The technical problem we faced here was that when one was shot with a blue backdrop, it would have plenty of reflection in blue and to cut that out I had to use more light. Then for the next character we had to match the same. It was quite complicated. It took me plenty of experimentation to get it right but digital colour correction was very useful. We did a lot of processing at Adlabs and their technicians are really good. With their wide exposure and scope for innovation, they have applied their skills effectively.”

Some of Ravi’s best experiences were during the chase scenes. “There is a bigchase sequence between the villain Fletcher and scientist Govind on scaffolding which was shot early in the morning. As it progresses, one can feel the light gently increasing. We also shot a fight just using torchlight where no one knows who is beating whom. Kamal wanted that natural feel. The car chase in the US was also shot at night in ambient light, as getting

permission was quite a hassle. It was slightly underexposed but I got a good result as it created a painting kind of feel in brown-black. The bar dance featuring Mallika Sherawat was shot without too many extra lights to recreate a real bar ambience. A reddish tone was added to enhance it.”

Vaman also adds that Kamal Haasan knows a lot about filmmaking and was able to bring out the best in him. “On the sets, he asks a lot of questions,” he elaborates, “and this makes you think and research further which is very helpful. I also appreciate the fact that I have used plenty of darkness and he was able to accept this.”

Ravi is not a great fan of digital filmmaking as yet. He finds it lacks richness in terms of colour and does not come up to the mark in terms of texture and contrast either.

Currently, he is working on a commercial potboiler in Tamil called Villu starring Vijay. “This will be a film that will make the audiences come out of the theatres happy after watching it. Vijay is a good entertainer and I am a big fan of his.”

He has also just finished directing his debut directorial venture Moscowin Kaveri for which he has not only cranked the camera but also written the story, screenplay, dialogue and even designed the costumes! This is a love story focusing on love before marriage starring newcomers Yashoda and Harshavardhana. The shoot is over and post-production is on, the film should be ready for release soon.

“The question of style is not possible as everything depends on the situation; one can plan, but on the actual shoot things can change. What I stress on is the aesthetics; I hate blatant in-your-face camerawork which is plastic.”

Dasavatharam (above), A scene from Vettaiyadu Villaiyadu (bottom left) and from the Malayalam film, Shantham (bottom right).

05

BINoD PRADHAN is one of the top cinematographers in the film industry today though he has done

just a handful of films. However, each is a visual landmark – Parinda, 1942: A Love Story, Devdas, Rang De Basanti, Munnabhai MBBS and now Aziz Mirza’s Kismat Konnection, to name just a few.

At a very young age, Pradhan became fascinated by photography. His father had a photo studio in Kalimpong. “I always used to be interested in what he was doing - this magical stuff of prints appearing in the darkroom and photographs happening out of nowhere. That really fascinated me, and

I took up still photography in a very serious way when I was still young,” he says.

He heard about the Film and Television Institute, signed up and a career in cinematography “just happened.” After completing the course, he was virtually lost in Mumbai till his FTII senior Prem Sagar (of the famous Sagar clan) invited Pradhan to assist him. Later he assisted another FTII senior AK Bir on the film Gharonda and then got an independent break with a Marathi film - Jabbar Patel’s Jait Re Jait. “Before that,” he recalls, “I was part of a group called Yukt Cooperative Film society. We had shot this film called Ghashiram

Kotwal. Then I shot a couple of films with Jahnu Barua and things kept happening.”

Pradhan ended up working with directors like Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra because “they give importance to visuals, and they give me a lot of freedom.”

He got a lot of awards for his work on Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdas, and he remembers friends saying that he had done such fantastic work in this film, what could he possibly do after that? “And I said, I don’t know, probably just a very small film! Because in terms of hugeness and look, I didn’t think I could do something

Just His Luck

Just His LUCK

Mohua Sen meets the reclusive Binod Pradhan, who is as busy as ever shooting across cities and countries.

BINOD PRADHAN

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like Devdas again. And then came Rang De Basanti, in which I could give a completely different treatment. It was satisfying doing RDB after doing Devdas because I could go out, throw a lot of the old stuff I knew out of the window and learn some new stuff. For myself I really reinvented the wheel with RDB, and I suppose it shows because, as a cameraman friend of mine said to me, ‘You’ve shot RDB like a 26-year-old. It is so fresh.’ ’’

Then there was the challenge of shooting spectacular car races in Siddharth Anand’s Ta Ra Rum Pum. “There was this fantastic Hollywood action director Steve Kelso. It

was amazing the way he would choreograph all his racing cars with just a walkie talkie. I was just in awe of his talent and capability. He and his stunt drivers left all of us open mouthed. One particular camera mount that stood out for me was built into a racing car with the operator as the co-driver almost lying down with a monitor in front of him. The camera rig guy was highly specialized and got to rig some seemingly impossible shots. I started calling him ‘Lord of the Rigs.’

“One camera on a remote head had an accident and the remote head column got damaged. Up popped another guy from the

camera team and actually got it back working in no time. Those guys there are a different breed. As you can see I have not talked about my work. There was hardly anything for me to do. Except for a few camera angles that I set up or modified, I was a mute spectator in those action race shots. I lost all respect for myself in a funny way. We finally landed up using nine cameras in the races. One crash cam got damaged when a flying car hit it but we got an amazing shot. God knows how much footage we exposed in those 12 days or so!”

After Ta Ra Rum Pum, Pradhan shot Roshan, which was set almost entirely on a

“I really reinvented the wheel with RDB, and I suppose it shows because as a cameraman friend of mine said to me, ‘You’ve shot RDB like a 26-year-old. It is so fresh.’ ’’

Clockwise from top left: Kismat Konnection, Ta Ra Rum Pum, Mission Kashmir and Munnabhai M.B.B.S.

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hospital set, followed by Heroes, which was mostly outdoors in Chandigarh, Manali and Ladakh. “Straight after that,” he says, “came Kismat Konnection shot mainly in Toronto. After that I shot Dilli 6, another one with Rakeysh Mehra. Now I am in Hyderabad shooting a Telugu film titled Puli.”

He says shooting Kismat Konnection was a breeze. “It was great shooting again with Aziz Mirza after Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman. It’s a very cute love story. I needed a little time to get used to the shooting unit there but finally we hit it off well. In such a film and location I just try to make the actors look good and the rest falls into place. We had some problems with the film stock fogging at some places because of X-rays at airports. Thanks to modern digital technology, we were able to salvage the shots.”

Kismat Konnection was processed at Adlabs in Mumbai. Asked about the role

of labs in India and how much they aid a DoP’s work in the final output of the film, he says, “Labs have a huge hand in helping the DoP achieve his final goal in terms of the look. Let’s put it the other way. A lab that is not good can really give you nightmares and finally you land up with a final print that has much to be desired, far from what you really wanted. As a DoP one can do a certain amount, but a lab can help you take it beyond that.

“Today DI has come up in a big way and has increased the DoP’s palette manifold. You can get results that were just not possible before and certain controls help save a lot of expensive shooting time. But there is a flip side to it. Because there are so many controls that are available at the twist of a knob, one can easily misuse them. But by and large DI has revolutionized the look of films. I am addicted to it.”

“By and large DI has revolutionized the look of films. I am addicted to it.”

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Clockwise from top left: Devdas, Rang De Basanti, 1942 - A Love Story and Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman

INTeNSe, BRooDINg characters who haunt the periphery of society. Offbeat storylines and cinema crafted

in his own inimitable style, that’s director K. Selvaraghavan’s signature.

His characters are drawn from everyday life and most of his protagonists display several layers of uncanny depth and intensity. Another thing that makes him stand apart is that he does not rely on star power to draw audiences to the theatres, preferring rather to focus on his storylines.

Selvaraghavan burst on the Tamil film scene when he was just 21 with Thulluvatho Elamai which traced the pangs of teens growing up and exploring adolescent thrills. The film became a runaway hit and the young director shot to fame overnight. Though he was born with filmi connections - his father Kashthoori Raja is a well-known director in Chennai - Selvaraghavan harboured no ambitions to join him. He completed his degree in mechanical engineering but realized he was simply not cut out for it. Instead, he turned to his hobby which was writing stories and decided to turn them into films.

“I had no formal training in filmmaking nor had I ever watched a film shoot until I started shooting,” he recalls. “No producer would risk backing me so my father was my first producer and my brother Dhanush was introduced as the hero. It starred six newcomers and everything was a learning process. Dhanush is a very hard-working

K. SELVARAGHAVAN

The Risk TakerK. Selvaraghavan, working on his eighth film, tells Daya Kingston that he does not believe in any formula for success.

Kaadhal Kondein (top), Selvaraghavan giving instructions whilst shooting on location, (bottom).

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actor and a director’s delight. On the sets, there is no partiality. I treat him like any other actor.

“My second film was Kaadhal Kodein, in which the protagonist had psychopathic tendencies. Nobody had really analysed what goes on inside the psychopathic mind and this is what the film tried to do. My next film, Pudupettai dealt with gangsters. 7-G Rainbow Colony was inspired by some incidents that happened during my youth and was made in both Tamil and Telugu.”

His latest film Aayirathil Oruvan is still being shot and is expected to be a Diwali release. The lead is played by Karthi, opposite two leading ladies, Reema Sen and Andrea. Karthi who played the role of a rural lad in his previous film Paruthiveeran, will play an angry young man in this film. Shot at exotic locales like Chaalakudi in Kerala, the deserts of Jaisalmer and lavish sets at Ramoji Rao Film City, Hyderabad, the film is already creating a lot of buzz.

Selvaraghavan says with conviction, “Aayirathil Oruvan will be either my best or my worst film. I would not like to classify it into any particular genre; let’s just call it a new trend. It’s my eighth film and I want it to be something fresh. I do not believe

in formulas. I think the reason that many directors lose their connection with the audience after a period of time is because they stop taking risks. If you want to play it safe, it just does not work.

“The film twists and turns about 15 times and so we could not give it an ordinary title and used the title Aayirathil Oruvan (One in a Thousand) though it was the same as an old MGR film. However, other than the title, the film bears no similarity to it.

“We have experimented with a lot of new techniques and 80 percent of the film involves computer graphics. But, we have worked hard to ensure that these are subtle. We have also done a lot of research and the result is that my whole room is full of research material!”

He speaks about his experience working with Adlabs. “It has been a good experience. When we visited them, the highest officials came to meet us and we were taken on a tour. They were very cooperative and gave us the feeling that the film was special to them.

“I have signed a deal with UTV to work for a Hindi movie which is still untitled. Working in Bollywood will be a different experience and I will tune my work to it. For instance, my work will be subtler compared to the South where things are more melodramatic. The music will also be toned down when compared to the South where the audience loves louder music and background scores.

“I have no ambitions. I just want to continue making movies my way. To me, making meaningful cinema is far more important than merely making money. If I just wanted to make money I would have taken up any other profession.”

“I think the reason that many directors lose their connection with the audience after a period of time is because they stop taking risks. If you want to play it safe, it just does not work.”

Aayirathil Oruvan (top left), Thulluvatho Elamai (top right) and 7G Rainbow Colony (bottom).

10

SHIBA PRASAD MUKHERJEE

11

SHIBA PRASAD MUKHERJEE started his career as an actor and after facing the camera in a few films

including Rituparno Ghosh’s Bariwaali and Ram Gopal Varma’s Mast, took up a job with ETV Bangla. He considers his ex-workplace at Ramoji Film City, Hyderabad as his alma mater, where he was paid to learn the art and craft of audio-visual programmes.

His first feature film Icche is going through its post production phase and is set to release in November this year. Unwilling to let grass grow under his feet, he is already deep into two more films. Shooting for one of these, Hello, Memsahib has begun in July. The next, yet untitled, is scheduled to be shot in October. Shiba Prasad’s own production house Windows has been churning out excellent programmes for

almost all the Bengali television channels for nearly six years now. With his partner at Windows, Nandita Roy, and his team he is all set to bring his big dreams to a bigger audience. Excerpts from an interview:

Why did you quit acting?

Life was a bit precarious then. The offers I got as an actor were good but not regular and what I needed was the security of a regular pay packet. My career as a professional actor spanned from 1994 to 1998. The time was lacklustre compared to now. The TV boom wasn’t there, nor were many films made. So I had to think of something more financially viable.

As an actor I’ve worked with directors like Rituparno Ghosh, Kumar Sahani, Raja Sen, Nitish Roy, and Ram Gopal Varma.

After doing a small role in RGV’s Mast, for a while I idly toyed with the idea of putting up shop in Bollywood (chuckles). Then there was Rituparno Ghosh’s Bariwaali, my last film as an actor.

The job at ETV came to me as a windfall. It was 1998 and the splurge of channels was yet to come about. I joined as creative head in the programming department. I’ve never been to any film institute, but my workplace became one for me. While working, I always thought I was being paid to learn! I’m grateful for having had the chance to work there.

In Kolkata I was in charge of 19 programmes, mostly non-fiction, and could experiment to my heart’s content. It was simply fascinating. It was while working on these programmes that I learnt how to work

Young debutant director Shiba Prasad Mukherjee had his stints with theatre and television production before he came into filmmaking. Arpan Mitra gets the director to share his story so far.

Changing Faces

12

from behind the camera.

And thought of becoming a director…? I started writing my own film scripts.

It was sheer fun. For quite sometime, while working at ETV, I spent all the time I could spare writing screenplays. My first script was based on a story by Suchitra Bhattacharya called Iccher Gach (The Tree of Desire). Then I made a script from the novel Alik Sukh (Vain Happiness) again by Suchitra Bhattacharya. Keeping in mind that someday I’d make films, I took to writing screenplays quite seriously. Then there were my own little researches about crafting films and all that. It was a silent but dedicated homework.

I must mention that, at least for me, the hallmark of a good film is a good, well-knit script. I strongly believe that it really takes a genius to make a very bad film out of a very good screenplay. Every film tells a story and the task of the director is to tell it as brilliantly as he can. The success of a film primarily depends on the strength of its script. Technical aspects come later.

What about the special effects and other technical wizardry that we see in almost every film these days?

If the story falters, no amount of technique can save the film. See the rich fare of our golden era -Bengali films like Saptapadi, Jatugriha, Saat Pake Bandha, Uttar Falguni and many more were technically modest compared to what we are capable of doing now. They stormed the box-office not because of technique and star cast but because of the wonderful stories they told. Even in Bollywood you see that. A recent super successful film like Lage Raho Munnabhai had few special effects or exotic locales. But it could send the entire nation into an unprecedented frenzy.

How did you start making your first feature film?

Ritu-da (Rituparno Ghosh) had heard my first script Icche. He was quite impressed and suggested that I should make a move with the project. He was extremely supportive and asked me to meet Tapan Biswas who was then working as producer with him. Tapan-da inspired me a lot. He too liked the script very much and told me that I should write more of it.

But that was in 2001. I had to wait for nearly six years before I could finally make the film. Had I had the resources to make it then, the film might have been something

different. These six years were like a challenge to me in terms of making me more equipped as a filmmaker. During this period I penned numerous screenplays and did everything I could to prepare myself.

In between, I was actively involved in making some important television shows. Along with Nandita Roy, I formed my own production house Windows in 2002 the very day I left my job at ETV. In 2007 we made a celebrity reality dance show called Ritur Mela-Jhum Ta Ra Ra. For ETV we made a series of four Tagore dance dramas with Rituparna Sengupta. It was called Popular Rabindranath and was a huge hit. While working on these, I used to discuss my scripts with Rituparna. After hearing the script of Icche, she categorically told me that this film should be made. She promised me that she’d do everything to make it happen and she did. In December 2007, after the final shots of Ritur Mela, she asked me to meet the film producer Rakesh Singh. He not only agreed to produce Icche, but accepted all my directorial conditions. It was a lucky break for a newcomer and I thank Rituparna for it.

I did not take any star for Icche. For the

mother’s role I chose Sohini Sengupta; Samadorshi Dutta played the other protagonist. Surajit Chatterjee did the music. I picked up the entire crew just the

way I decided. Rakesh gave me a free hand and I thank him profusely for that. Maybe I have done enough justice to the confidence he and Rituparna showed towards me. The film is about the crisis in the individual spaces - a very contemporary theme that I’ve explored. It is a serious film and I believe the audience will be able to connect with it.

I must mention that throughout my career I’ve always had many excellent, supportive friends and without them I wouldn’t have reached where I am. People like Rituparno Ghosh, Nitish Roy, Rituparna Sengupta, Jeet, Tapan Biswas and Nandita Roy have helped me in many ways to make my dreams come true. Tapan-da is producing my second film too, Hello, Memsahib, Nandita-di my business partner at Windows is our driving force. We work as a team. From selecting stories to writing screenplays and directing them, we work together. She is my co-director in Icche. At times when I direct, she does the story and screenplay and at times it happens the other way round. In our future projects too, she is an integral part. Nandita-di has written both the story and screenplay for my next two films. Her long experience in the industry and professional association with directors like Shyam Benegal and Govind Nihalni is a boon for us. She was the creative head and manager at ETV when the channel started. Her husband Nitish Roy was the creative head of the Ramoji Film City.

You are busy with your next film. What is it all about?

Hello, Memsahib is a human story, a romantic comedy. Jeet and Priyanka Trivedi are playing the lead roles. We’ve picked up a young guy Aritra. He gave a wonderful performance at the reality show Dance Bangla Dance organised by Zee TV. I personally supervise a regular workshop with my actors before making films - perhaps because of my acting background - and it works wonderfully. The actors know exactly what I want them to do.

Now that Adlabs has come to Kolkata, do you expect a change in the technical scenario?

Sure... Its very presence has made the industry here more hot and happening. I’m pretty sure the way the Bengali film industry works now will get a massive facelift. We will have more competent technology and overall quality improvement and it will be for the best interests of the industry. I look forward to working with them soon.

“I strongly believe that it really takes a genius to make a very bad film out of a very good screenplay.”

THINgS USUALLY don’t happen so easily in Mumbai’s fi lm industry, but they did for Haryana girl Savita

Singh. She met Ram Gopal Varma and walked out with the assignment of shooting his fi lm Phoonk, that too, just a couple of years after graduating from fi lm school.

Savita worked for a while as a journalist and fi lm critic for a Delhi newspaper, then interned with renowned wildlife fi lmmaker Mike Pandey for a while and made a documentary Ripples of Hope for his production house. She then applied for the three-year cinematography course at the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune.

Her diploma fi lm, Kramasha (To be Continued), directed by Amit Dutta won several awards including the FIPRESCI International Film Critic’s Prize at the Oberhausen International Short Film Festival, 2007. She also won the National Kodak Film School Competition and was fi rst runner-up at the Asia Pacifi c Competition. Th en she participated in the Cinematography Master Class programme at Budapest which was a “dream come true”.

A BREATH OF FRESH AIR

SAVITA SINGH

DoP Savita Singh gets a big break with Ram Gopal Varma’s Phoonk and tells Deepa Gahlot about the journey.

“Th e fi rst time I held a camera, I knew this was what I wanted to do,” says the young DoP, one of the very few women in her fi eld. “Th ere are certain biases in every fi eld,” she says, “like people would not want to be operated on by female surgeons some years ago. Th ere was the myth that women do not become DoPs because the cameras are too heavy to lift. Th at is simply not true - women don’t have to be weight lifters to

be cinematographers. Th ere are so many male DoPs who are so frail that they look as if they would faint if they picked up a bulky camera. I think women are sensible and handle pressure better.” She feels that the lack of female cinematographers in the industry is just because most women have not explored it as a career option.

Th at her fi rst fi lm happens to be a horror fi lm is to her “more challenging and exciting

“There was the myth that women do not become DoPs because the cameras are too heavy to lift. That is simply not true - women don’t have to be weight lifters to be cinematographers.”

13

that a comedy. You can create mood with frames and lighting. In a horror film what is not seen is as important as what is seen on screen so you have to use your imagination. It is a good exercise. I shot sometimes in low light when even the metre said not to.”

About director Ram Gopal Varma, who is known for discovering and giving breaks to good technicians but is also reported to be difficult, she comments, “He doesn’t say much. He doesn’t faff around and he is very precise. He said he wanted a different visual style for Phoonk; it had to be kept real and still be scary. I used a lot of telephoto lenses.

I had to innovate a lot on the sets. Once you know what he wants, it’s okay.”

Savita’s favourite Indian horror film happens to be Varma’s Raat. From Hollywood, she has liked The Shining, The Blair Witch Project and The Exorcist among others. “But I didn’t have another film as a reference point,” she explains, “More photographs and old paintings. I like the lighting in noir films a lot – it’s my favourite genre.”

She has been doing both the DI and processing for the film at Adlabs. “When we were in Pune, which is close to Mumbai, I

came to Adlabs with my first negative... I am used to this lab.”

She has two-three projects under negotiation. “Word of mouth,” she says matter-of-factly. “Also FTII provides a platform. The seniors know you and 95 percent of the technicians working in the industry today are from there so people have seen our work. I assisted Rajan Kothari and Binod Pradhan for a bit, I shot some documentaries and promos but I am very keen on independent work. I have taken on less work so as to wait for the right opportunities.”

Above left: Phoonk. Left: Savita works with colourist Prakash at Adlabs’ Grading Theatre.

14

DIGITAL CINEMA

ADLABS’ New Digital Cinema Mastering operation is sometimes jokingly referred to by its staff as

“the Bunker”. This is not just because the largely windowless facility built on the ground floor of Adlabs’ Film City offices has an underground feel to it, but also because it offers unparalleled protection for the films that it converts to DCPs (digital cinema packages) for distribution to digital cinema in India and abroad. Guards, infra-red CCTV cameras, reinforced doors, swipe card access, restricted work areas, access codes and stringent background checks mean that films there are protected like the royal Crown Jewels.

Having previously operated the MADL (Mukta Arts-Adlabs) e-cinema network and mastered hundreds of films in the lower-end MPEG consumer format (still used by others in India), a conscious decision was made that Indian films should be afforded the same quality and security as Hollywood films when it comes to digital. The Adlabs Digital Cinema Lab is hence benchmarked against the best facilities in the world and

ADLABS’ DIGITAL CINEMA MASTERING FACILITYA Hollywood-grade facility with Fort Knox-level security opens at Adlabs’ Film City location.

expertise was culled from those involved in setting up the European digital cinema mastering operation for film service giant Deluxe. The results have impressed both Indian and international visitors that have been admitted within its secure walls.

Inside “the Bunker” no effort has thus been spared to make this the most advanced facility in India when it comes to creating digital “prints” using the JPEG2000 format that has been mandated by Hollywood for international digital cinema standards. The site has its own screening room with both 35mm and digital cinema (Barco DP90P) projectors for QC (quality control) checks; a UPS room for un-interrupted power supply; a highly secure separate engine room; a special room for creating and handing the security keys (KDMs) that “unlock” the encrypted films; a Front Office and Meeting room with a separate entrance; and finally a Mastering Room with eight separate work station for working on multiple projects at once.

“We currently average two films per week, with almost all of the big Hindi releases

“We currently average two films per week, with almost all of the big Hindi releases in the past couple of months having been mastered here.”

Hari Prasath15

in the past couple of months having been mastered here,” comments Hari Prasath, who heads the Mastering Team, adding, “but we actually have more than twice that capacity and can also handle trailers and adverts at the same time.” These films have been distributed to Adlabs’ 21-screen digital cinema Test Bed network, as well as some to the handful of 2K screens installed in India and even as far as Canada. The facility is unique in that it has a dedicated 200Mbps fibre optic connection to DAKC (Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge Centre, headquarters of Reliance Communication), from where the

digital films can be sent to digital cinemas all over India over fibre or satellite, or even piped overseas using the undersea FLAG data network.

The Digital Cinema Mastering facility is connected with the DI facility on the third floor, giving producers and distributors the ability to have their finished film delivered in both 35mm from the Adlabs print lab that they know and trust, in the same building as a digital version, which can play in any true digital cinema, whether in Mumbai, Montreal, Melbourne or Moscow.

Anjali Malhotra

UsPs

• Highly experienced international set-up team

• Top level security

• Screening room with 35mm and digital cinema projectors

• UPS room for un-interrupted power supply

• Dedicated 200Mbps fibre optic connection

• Located at the heart of the film industry: Film City, Goregaon - at the same venue as Adlabs’ processing lab and digital lab

16

ADVANtAGes oF DiGitAL PriNts

• High-quality

• Cost-effective

• Speedy

• Curbs piracy

• Helps monitor advertising

• Satisfies demand of 12,000 cinemas in the country who don’t have access to a print in the first week

Clockwise from above left: Dedicated QC Theatre; Secure Equipment Room; Comfortable seating for long working hours; The Adlabs Digital Cinema Mastering Team

ADLABS TEAM MEMBER SPOTLIGHT:

He envisages many more things in the near future, apart from digital exhibi-tion of films, “like 3D films, live cricket matches and music concerts to make cin-emas that much more exciting... there is great keenness to make this a world class operation.” He finds the people working with him at Adlabs “devoted, dedicated and smart.”

The next phase, he says, would be 50 screens in A class properties and also converting Tier 2 and 3 cities in India, which will “benefit them tremendously as they will get to see the latest releases without any compromise in quality.”

He was invited by Adlabs for a six-month consultancy, which extended to a full-time position that he was “happy to accept.” He likes living in Mumbai, likes the “food, weather, people... everything except the traffic.”

Deepa gahlot

PATRICK VON SYCHOWSKI, Chief Operating Officer at Adlabs

Digital Cinema, is an expert in the field. He is the Founder and Principal Partner of Electronovision Consulting and has been tracking and working in the digital cinema market for about a decade. As a senior analyst for media research com-pany Screen Digest he has published sev-eral in-depth analyses and reports about emerging digital media markets.

Before joining Adlabs, von Sychowski was consultant to the UK Film Council

PATRICK VON SYCHOWSKIfor the Digital Screen Network. In 2004 he joined digital screen advertising pio-neers Unique Digital as Director of Busi-ness Development and then went on to establish Deluxe’s digital cinema master-ing and distribution operations for UK and Europe. With no background in electronics or engineering, he “learnt on the job,” as he puts it.

Since March 2008, he has been over-seeing Adlabs’ digital cinema roll-out for 2K DCI-grade Mastering and

Installation, as well as infrastructure connectivity through fibre optics and satellite. He is also advising on strategic business development overseas.

Though there have been attempts to set up digital cinemas in the recent past, von Sychowski says he is “starting from scratch.”

India, he feels, presents its own set of challenges, but sees “tremendous poten-tial in India, and Adlabs in particular, for capturing the digital market.”

The immediate target is 21 cinemas in eight locations in Mumbai and outside, and also setting up a digital mastering facility.

“There is great keenness to make this a world class operation.”

OUR LABS

MUMBAIAdlabs Films Limited,Film City Complex,Goregaon (East),Mumbai - 400 065.Tel: +91 22 2842 3333 / 4488Fax: +91 22 2842 2211Contact: Mr. Krishna ShettyEmail: Krishna.Shetty@adlabsfilms.com

CHENNAIAdlabs Films Limited,No. 9A, Kumaran Colony Main Road, Vadapalani,Chennai - 600 026.Tel: +91 44 2362 1049 / 3483Fax: +91 44 2362 1050Contact: Mr. A. PrabhakarEmail: Prabhakar.Angm@adlabsfilms.com

KOLKATAAdlabs Films Limited,Plot No. 12, Block AQ - Sector IV & V, Salt Lake CityKolkata - 700 091Tel: +91 33 3293 4229 / 4234Fax: +91 33 2367 5212Contact: Mr. Jayanta RayEmail: jkray28@gmail.com