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By:
JBR
Hailing from Madurai in Tamilnadu, Santosh is one among the emerging cinematographers who make us expect a lot. His chosen area is filled up with advertising commercials, short films and feature films. His claim is unique in that he is the first Tamil cinematographer for a Sri Lankan film. The interview with him is sprinkled with the passion of a student and expertise of an achiever.
Having studied for a technical qualification, how did you come to cinema?
I was studying plastic engineering at Tamilnadu Polytechnic in Madurai. Even then I used to like movies. Though I was eager to study at the Film Institute, my family circumstances did not allow that. After my study, I became a medical representative at a good salary. Once my family got the confidence that I could earn, I confided my love for cinema to them and with their consent I came to Chennai.
For someone who came to Chennai after 2000, you have attained the status of a cinematographer in a short span of time. In the closed Tamil cinema, is it not something unique?
Though cinema is common to all, the industry is not like that. You have to struggle hard to enter the field and work harder to reach a respectable state. To sustain it, you have to overcome a lot of rivalry.
Iyyappan made my struggle easier. He is the younger brother of director Bala. I knew him even while in Madurai. He is the one who introduced me to cinematographer Senthil Kumar. Along with him I worked in several advertising commercials. That experience stands me in good stead even today. Then I worked with cameraman Santhamurthy. But if I have to refer someone as my mentor, it is none other than Manikantan. I worked with him for the Hindi movie, 'Main Hoon Na' and then for 'Anniyan.' I also worked on a lot of ad films. Though my stint with him was short, what all I learnt in modern cinema techniques is only from him.
Apart from my profession, what I learnt from cinema are: independence and economic non-dependence on the family. Then there are friends. I believe that the reasons for my growth in a short period are my family's non-dependence on me and friends' help.
All cinema camera persons focus on advertising commercials. Have you also had a share of them?
I have done camera work for more than 70 commercials including that of Johnson Baby Oil, LG, Fa talcum powder, Hamam soap, Witco luggage and so on. In cinema, you have to raise an issue or tell a message in two and half hours. But in commercials it takes only 30 seconds. You have to showcase your product and at the same time motivate people to buy it. Commercials demand a keen sense of creativity in that respect.
Recently one hears a lot on global quality cinema and international quality cinematography in Tamil cinema. What do you think of them?
Such healthy discussions are most welcome. I hold that such references to world class cinema are very significant. We can realize where we have stagnated only when we are exposed to global cinema and celebrated masters' work.
Only when we watch films by Kurosova and Tarkovsky we realize what great masters they were in visual effect. What we are engaged in now is only what Goddard and Hitchcock were doing in the 30's and 50's. There is nothing new here. What they intended as experiment, we are just replicating them. But if you inquire if our effect reflects honesty and depth, it is not so.
Why is that in India we find more international class cinematographers than global cinema and international class directors?
There is no language barrier for cinematography. I consider this as very significant. Besides, cinematographers handle a variety of advertising commercials, documentary and so on. Importantly, they move along with technology. This again is very important. You can't embellish a screen with a mere lens. Similarly you can't enhance a character by the use of a mere lens. But with an advanced lens, a camera and film, one can make a spectacle out of a scene. Super 35 and Super 16 technologies are examples.
Are you the first cameraman to work for a Sri Lankan cinema?
No. Many have done work before me. But I can say that I am the first cameraman to work a full length Sri Lankan feature film.
How did you get this chance?
I produced an album to present to a London producer. Based on that, I got an opportunity to work on a short film called 'Dream Killer' in Sri Lanka.
Then I was involved in the short film 'Vizhi'. There I had an unusual experience. One was due to the Sri Lankan governmental pressure and the other was what happened in the course of shooting.
Can you elaborate on both of them?
Due to the war effort, the primary arterial road A9 was closed. That imposed a limitation on your travel from Colombo. Beyond a point, there was stringent security. Every now and then the security made a thorough check making us get out of the car. We had to produce our passports every time. This check is for two reasons – one for their own safety and two, our security.
Is it more stringent with Tamils particularly?
It is to be expected in a country like Sri Lanka. We needed an image of a soldier for the film 'Vizhi'. Director Selvan went to a studio to procure it. There, a Sri Lankan mistaking Selvan for a Tamil fighter reported to the police who in turn arrested him. We came to know about it after a week. It took 33 days to bring him out using the influences of Tamil politicians in Colombo. But we needed much shorter time to produce that film.
The shooting experience was also much unusual. The equipment including track and trolley and lights were all very modern. They are very advanced in these equipments also. But they were rather inexperienced in handling such modern equipment. It is very common in Tamil cinema to shoot a continuity, 40 days after the first shooting. But they have not come to terms with such things. They are at a loss on how to manage a shot when a character is not available or when some equipment is not available.
What is the status of Tamils in Sri Lankan dominated Sri Lankan cinema?
My first camera work for a Sri Lankan film was for 'Leader' starring Ranjan Ramanayaka. His star status here is similar to that of Rajini in India. He is a Sri Lankan super star. Two of his latest films directed and starred by him were super hits. They were produced by two Sri Lankan Tamils - Ponnambalam Aruran and Nilapriyan Thoubic.
Sri Lankans realize that the Tamils from Tamilnadu have better expertise. So, they treat them with great respect.
What is the contribution of Sri Lankan Tamils to Sri Lankan cinema?
One can see the Tamils more off screen than on screen. They are the producers, directors or technicians. There is a Tamil channel called Shakti TV. There is also Channel I, a dedicated Tamil channel which is part of Sri Lankan Government's Rupavahini.
It is a pleasant surprise that the strife in politics and friction in society are much weaker in Sri Lankan cinema field. That can't be a guide to other things, of course.
There is no sign of indigenous Tamil cinema in spite of a sizeable Tamil community?
Sri Lankan films produced there are much lower in quality than the Tamil films. It can be said that they are at least 15 years behind in producing commercial films. There is no scope even if Tamil films were to be produced there. Producers may legitimately doubt if Tamil films produced in Sri Lanka could match with Tamil films produced here. I think that this must be the reason for not producing Tamil films in Sri Lanka.
Talking about quality, is the alternative cinema healthy enough in Sinhala language?
Of course, it is quite healthy. What we were talking about was of the main stream cinema. As for alternative cinema, celebrated directors like Prasanna Vidanake are producing world class films. Such films realistically treat ethnic strife and how it dissects the life of the common man. You can see this in the mainstream cinema.
Talking about realism, would the directors not invite governmental threat?
Prasanna Vidanake's important film is 'Death on a full moon day.' The story is that of an old man and his son who is in the army. One day, the old man receives a message of his son's death. He refuses to believe it. The army sends the dead body in a coffin. The old man wishes to see the dead body of his son, which the army refuses. The unopened coffin is buried. Believing that his son is still alive, the old man digs and opens the coffin and finds boulders instead of a dead body.
The Sri Lankan government banned this film. But after receiving accolades in various international film festivals, the government conceded to allow the release of the film. I suppose this is the experience of directors all over the world who produce realistic films. In my involvement in working for Sri Lankan films, I got an opportunity to meet Prasanna Vidanake. Though I could not meet him in Sri Lanka, I could meet him on his visit to Chennai. It was an unforgettable experience.
On an overview, Tamil films are much better in all aspects than Sri Lankan mainstream films. But there is no one here with the stature of Prasanna Vidanake in alternative cinema. How do you reconcile to this?
Perhaps here we have not faced the strife and destruction happening in Sri Lanka. If the struggle and uncertainty of life have given an insight to the Sri Lankan alternative cinema, the other element is its honesty.
Our focus is on how to deceive the audience and make them applaud, rather than honestly getting involved with an issue. Compared to the non-existent political interference our films face with, the honesty with which Sri Lankan alternative cinema directors come up with attains a much larger dimension. In Sri Lanka, in Iran and in some African countries, good cinema has to overcome excessive curbs.
On a final analysis, are you happy in having worked in Sri Lankan films?
The film 'Dream Killer' with my camera work has won awards for best cinematography in the New York and Toronto short films category. Similarly, the film 'Vizhi' got me the best cinematography award in the Canada International Short Film Festival. This film is now nominated for cinematography in the short film festival in France.
Besides, there are other elements like the unfamiliar language, place and people that add value to my experience. Wherever you focus the camera, you get a good scene and a fine composition. That country enjoys such an abundant natural beauty. Minus the genocide, that country is a wonderland!
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-06.11.2007
