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Krishnan, who has labored on greater than 10 movies in Tamil and Telugu, is ecstatic with the response to The Girlfriend. “It is gratifying to see girls flip up in giant numbers and champion the movie in theatres,” he says.
The Bengaluru-based cinematographer divides his time between Chennai and Hyderabad for Tamil and Telugu cinema. Born in Bengaluru, he grew up in Chennai the place he went to movie college.
Krishnan’s father gave him a point-and-shoot digital camera for his seventh birthday, and he has been fascinated by photos ever since. “My dad and mom gave me a guitar, mridangam, and violin, to see what I gravitated in direction of.”
Lessons from Balu Mahendra
In highschool, he developed an curiosity in direction of design and artwork although he was a Science scholar. The turning level got here when his mom, a shopper service govt with Prasad Labs, launched him to veteran filmmaker Balu Mahendra throughout a summer season break. “I confirmed him my images and he took me beneath his wing. My first-ever lesson in utilizing the digital camera got here from him; I nonetheless have these sheets.” The learnings formed his curiosity in road and documentary images.
Krishnan Vasant | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Encouraged by Balu Mahendra, Krishnan studied visible communication at Loyola College. Initially, he was within the promoting subject, to promote merchandise by compelling visible tales. But watching and dissecting movies for the Elements of Filmmaking class opened up his world to cinema. That can be when he rewatched Mani Ratnam’s Iruvar. Krishnan then pursued movie research on the LV Prasad College of Media Studies.
Krishnan’s first movie was the 2013 Tamil film Kalyana Samayal Saadham. Buddy, the Telugu remake of the Tamil movie Teddy, marked his entry into Telugu cinema.
However, he was already on board for a movie directed by Rahul Ravindran starring Rashmika, to be produced by Geetha Arts. “That movie bought shelved, and we regrouped for The Girlfriend,” he says.
The collaboration with Rahul was an sudden however completely happy flip of occasions. Krishnan was taken in by director Tharun Bhascker’s 2016 Telugu movie Pelli Choopulu, which he describes as “a small movie with an enormous coronary heart.” “If ever it was remade in Tamil, I needed to be part of it.”
Much later, when he learnt {that a} Tamil remake was being deliberate, he contacted the producer. “I used to be advised that they weren’t taking a look at a longtime cinematographer on account of funds limitations, however I used to be eager. I took an enormous pay minimize and labored on Oh Manapenne. During the pandemic, the movie was launched instantly on a digital platform. Rahul occurred to look at this movie and advised the director that he favored my visible aesthetics.”
“Meanwhile, I had watched Rahul’s debut movie Chi La Sow and noticed how he broke away from the norm. I referred to as to thank him and mentioned I’d wish to work with him some day.”
When the preliminary movie for which he and Rahul had been to collaborate bought shelved, Krishnan took up Buddy. Eventually, Rahul contacted Krishnan for The Girlfriend. “He despatched me the 80-page script one night. I used to be blown by the simplicity of the concept and the good impression it may have. I eagerly waited until daybreak to name Rahul and inform him that I’d be sport.”
Krishnan labored on a lookbook, detailing the colors, composition, and technical points. Rahul and he had additional discussions with the manufacturing and costume departments. For this character-driven story, Krishnan needed the cinematography to be uncluttered.
Four chapters
He needed to obtain a curious stability although. Rashmika, a pan-India star, was to painting a younger, middle-class girl. “The lighting needed to flatter her, but not seem flashy. Her character, Bhooma, wanted to face out greater than her star aura.”
Further, he broke the movie into 4 chapters and lit Rashmika’s face accordingly. “The thought was to observe her emotional arc. Starting with a vivid frontal mild, to half lit faces, and reverting to a vivid entrance lighting with a color distinction for the climax. It shouldn’t be one thing that may bounce out as a design; I saved it muted and refined.”
Rahul Ravindran and Krishnan Vasant on the units of ‘The Girlfriend’ | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Considerable parts had been filmed on the NALSAR University of Law campus in Hyderabad. “We designed the visuals in such a method so nothing can be in your face, not even using pink for Vikram’s (Dheekshith Shetty) parts that recommend that his character is a pink flag.”
Krishnan needed the hostel rooms of Rashmika and Dheekshith to look ethereal, even when small, and the manufacturing division designed makeshift rooms on the campus corridors, permitting the sunshine from the home windows so as to add depth.
“I used full format lenses, and saved the depth of focus shallow in order that the eye is on Rashmika. Even the smaller places get an phantasm of bigger area in such a technique,” Krishnan explains.
Softer color tones had been used for Rashmika’s costumes, contrasting Dheekshith’s blue in some sequences. Krishnan says the selection of colors didn’t stem from gender stereotyping. “Pinks and whites symbolize freedom and life whereas blue represents conformity to norms.”
The mirror sequence that includes Rashmika and Rohini, and the bathe sequence through which the partitions shut in on Rashmika are being broadly mentioned. Krishnan says the mirror sequence was pretty easy to execute. “A day previous to capturing, we determined the digital camera angles and the sunshine, and I blocked the pictures utilizing my iPad. In this sequence, the protagonist has a hallucination. The panic assault she experiences quickly after dictates her journey. It needed to be dramatic however look actual.”
Krishnan acknowledges the efficient use of mirrors in Mani Ratnam’s filmography: “To observe ourselves within the mirror is a fundamental trait, and his movies used it effectively.”
Physical, movable partitions
For the bathe sequence, Krishnan remembers how Rahul, being an actor himself, needed the partitions to be bodily moved in order that Rashmika’s portrayal of concern is real looking. “We arrange the scene in a studio and the manufacturing workforce moved the partitions at strategic factors. Visual results had been used solely to finetune the result.”
Reflecting on The Girlfriend, Krishnan says, “The storytelling was easy in order to succeed in most audiences. It was liberating to craft visuals organically from the script, slightly than counting on hacks the best way we do for a mass movie. My spouse watched the movie and mentioned she was pleased with me; that was my greatest award.”
Krishnan is now engaged on debut director Jason Sanjay’s Tamil movie Sigma starring Sundeep Kishan, and Anurag Kashyap’s Tamil movie Unkill 123 directed by Sam Anton. The latter entails visible experimentation: “With every movie, I problem myself and attempt to keep away from a signature type.”
