Cinematographer Manoj Paramahamsa from Chennai comes across as a straight talking, sensible young man. His claim to fame is his first film Eeram dubbed as Vaishali in Telugu and then Ye Maya Chesave, Race Gurram ; now he is basking in the success of Kick 2 as he works on a Ramcharan Tej-Sreenu Vytla project.
Not a man to fall for flattery, he says, “Reviewers and audience do not have sufficient knowledge of cinematography. People who comment that artistes are all looking good, think it is good cinematography. Making artistes look good is actually a makeup artiste’s job. We do a lot of things in an undercurrent level, to make the script believable. My first film Eeram , changed my entire life. That one Friday I became a star and not because the artistes were looking good.”
To stay updated in his craft, this technician browses reduser.net which has around 15,000people coming online. He logs in regularly to get his doubts cleared. There, a lot of people talk of cinematography and film making. On Twitter, I don’t follow people, but follow major companies.”
Talking of why producers label him an expensive technician, he says, “I have my equipment, I don’t depend on rental guys. All the producers know my requirement. It is not my remuneration, my unit bill is of concern. I make a package deal with the rental guys, so that everything is locked right from the beginning and they give me what I ask. I don't want to be restricted on the equipment, I finalise a deal between the rental people and the producer. Once the deal is over, for 100 days they will have to give me whatever I ask and the producers won’t have surprise bills after the film. Now I am bit experienced in handling the production and rental people. I use a lot of equipment so people label me arrogant, these are usual complaints.”
He adds, “They ask me how I would shoot if the equipment is not available, after all migatha vaalu chestunnaru ga (others are doing it). I feel one can make a film anyway, but if you prefer a standard or a visual quality, then there is a particular requirement. I am flexible but it depends on what kind of film I am making. If there is no star, I don’t spend money on anything. I will make use of basic equipment, won’t use lights, will take my artistes and shoot when the sun is bright.”
Smart audience
Manoj observes that in Chennai, commercial films are not working and the audience has become smart.
It is only Telugu audience who wants to watch big things, demand grandiose stuff on big screens. Everywhere single theatres are being reduced and big screens are the in thing in AP. He avers, “They like vibrancy and colour and it is our duty to show it in a big way. Producers spend for songs and action sequences, but not on regular scenes. I wanted to spend on an interval block in Race Gurram but no one understood. If people are not interested in the scene, they take out their mobile phones and start playing with it. To keep them hooked to every scene, there should be consistency in the wow factor. In Ye Maya Chesave the colour scheme is white, in Eeram it is grey, here they want all the colours in the film. I have started matching my vision with the script. I can’t go away from the script. In any quality film making, you start with colour palettes, texture, the detailing and then only you go for shoot.”
The cinematographer has an interesting anecdote about cinematography students. He was sitting at a hotel opposite AVM with his friends when popular cinematographer Santosh Sivan walked in. Nobody even gave him a look. Two months later, Santosh Sivan came to an inaugural function and around 200 cinematography students surrounded him, asking him questions, taking autographs; no one ever looked at celebrities like Aamir Khan who was present.
“They knew Santosh Sivan’s value. It was an eye opener for me. All that matters is ‘who values your work’. Telugu industry people make the stars and also the technicians famous. In Tamil industry,they just know the stars. So I am a bit careful here.”
