The picturesque, 68-acre Chitranjali Studio campus looks straight out of a postcard: a winding 200-metre road flanked by greenery and landscaped lawns. A group of school children are coming out of the film museum; a serial unit is getting ready for a shot near a make-shift kaavu (sacred grove); the huge shooting floor has not yet been cleared of the previous day’s shoot; the mixing studio, editing suites, digital intermediate (DI) colour correction unit and dubbing units are occupied with post production work of various Malayalam movies.
Situated atop a hillock in Thiruvallam, Thiruvananthapuram,with a breathtaking view of the city, Chitranjali has seen Malayalam cinema grow by leaps and bounds. Although it has been caught in a time warp for some time, it looks like redemption is around the corner as there are plans for a revamp.
The formation of Kerala State Film Development Corporation (KSFDC) in 1975 was a harbinger of good times for Malayalam cinema. Functioning from a rented building at Vazhuthacaud, it opened a technical wing at Vellayambalam that housed an outdoor unit, dubbing studio and editing rooms. With demands being raised from all quarters for a studio, the then Chief Minister Achutha Menon directed K. Karunakaran, then Minister for Home and Information, who along with Malayattoor Ramakrishnan, a secretary to the Government, set the ball rolling. Thus on February 1, 1977, the foundation stone was laid for the studio complex at Chitranjali Hills, about seven km from the city. It was the late P.R.S. Pillai and G. Vivekanandan, the first chairman and first managing director, respectively of KSFDC, who identified the location for the campus.
Landscape at Chitranjali Photo: Athira M.
“Till then our filmmakers had to go to Chennai for most of the post-production work. I remember Adoor sir (Adoor Gopalakrishnan) telling me how our directors were given step-motherly treatment by some studios there. While films in other South Indian languages were given the morning slot, our films got the late evening slot for mixing. But once Chitranjali was opened, that changed. Many filmmakers who ushered in a change in Malayalam cinema made their debut with Chitranjali; filmmakers like Priyadarsan, Kamal, Sibi Malayil and Jayaraj,” says National and State-award-winning sound engineer N. Harikumar, who has been working with Chitranjali for over three decades.
Landscape at Chitranjali Photo: Special arrangement
The studio has all the facilities for post-production, which include non-linear editing, dubbing, effects recording, re-recording, surround mixing among others.
The Digital Intermediate (DI) colour correction unit at Chitranjali Photo: Athira M.
Over the years it has gone on to add features such as the shooting floor, one of the largest in Asia, a mini-shooting floor, greenmat shooting floor, sets (police station, temples, hospitals, court room).... And the landscape of Chitranjali has been exhaustively featured in Malayalam movies made during the 80s and 90s.
Sets being constructed on the shooting floor at Chitranjali. Photo: Special arrangement
It was parallel filmmakers who made more use of the facilities than mainstream filmmakers. “The packages and subsidies came in handy for them. Most of those films won state or national awards or were selected to the Indian Panorama at the International Film Festival of India,” says P. Sudheer, former chief lab technician of Chitranjali.
With digital filmmaking making its entry, the lab was wound up and now the studio boasts the DI unit, one of the best in Kerala, where a film goes through colour correction and upgradation before it reaches theatres.
The film vault at Chitranjali Photo: Athira M.
The staff members there proudly talk about Jayaraj’s historical drama, Veeram , which had a 40-day schedule at Chitranjali, including post production work.
“Chitranjali has always been the place for small filmmakers, thanks to the subsidy. Even now 50-60 films make use of our facilities every year. We have had the best sound department and soon we will have a reputed sound engineer joining us. Now the DI unit is so much in demand that we are unable to cater to everybody,” says Deepa D. Nair, Managing Director, KSFDC.
A view of the film museum at Chitranjali Photo: Athira M.
A recent addition is the film museum that takes visitors through the history of Malayalam cinema. In addition to milestones, achievers and memorable instances, the evolution of technology used in films has been traced through a collection of cameras, lenses, projectors, printing machines and the like. The film reels of the pre-digital era, from 8mm to 70 mm in which Padayottam was shot, are not to be missed in the collection. Hundreds of film reels are kept in separate cases in a film vault named after P. Bhaskaran.
On the cusp of change
Chitranjali has had its share of problems. Timely upgradation of technology didn’t happen and that has slowed down its progress. Even when editing and recording wings went through a sea change post the digital era, the studio fell behind in many other aspects.
The plan funds usually go into the purchase of equipment. Actually it has been going through a no-profit phase for long.
“We have had to depend on our own revenue as the plan fund isn’t enough to run everything. However, the situation has improved after the introduction of the DI unit,” says Deepa.
The good news is that the long-pending demand for a film city might become a reality.
The Rs. 100-crore project taken up by Kerala Infrastructure and Investment Fund Board envisages to set up a film city with amusement park, light and sound show, eco-friendly cottages, food court, new shooting floors and new equipment.
“We are also bringing in Atmos sound system. Since we can’t afford to have new cameras, we are planning to go for empanelled service providers. A new graphic suite and another DI unit will also be opened soon,” Deepa adds.
The project will be launched at an event at Chitranjali on December 10.
