Ci nematographer Chezhian’s face lights up when he recalls his childhood in his village in Sivagangai district of Tamil Nadu. He smiles as he narrates his school days… “When I was in class six, I gathered a group of students and directed a play. I wrote poetry, short stories, painted (inspired by my father) and made short films ... I thank my parents for allowing me explore my creative side. They never forced their ideas on me. They gave me total freedom,” he says.
Chezian is in the news now for his stunning work in the much-acclaimed film, Joker .
He recollects how he watched the touring talkies in his village, along with his dad and was blown away. “When a cinema theatre came up very close to my house, I could hear all the dialogues sitting in my house. When it got dark, the entire place resonated with sounds from the films screened there,” he recalls.
While Chezian grew up on a diet of MGR, Sivaji Ganesan Rajinkanth and Kamal Hassan, it was Vittorio De Sica’s Bicycles Thieves that changed his perception of cinema. “It was an ice breaker. And, my search began to explore realistic cinema. I watched award-winning films on DD, B&W films, classics, films of masters. I attended film festivals, and enrolled in film societies …every single film educated me some more on cinema. Films societies play an important role in introducing world cinema to the common man. It creates an impact and the way you view life changes,” he says.
Chezhian’s repertoire in cinematography has several award-winning films like Kalloori , Thenmaaerkku Paruva Kaatru , Paradesi , Thaarai Thappattai …and the most recent one is the much-appreciated and visually stunning Joker , a political satire directed by Raja Murugan. The story is set in a village in Dharmapuri and the protagonist is an angry crusader who takes up issues on behalf of the villagers. It deals with issues like sanitation, lack of toilets, and the corrupt system.
“ Joker is a bold attempt. It’s not a run-of-the-mill film. The storytelling, the background, content and the issues it dealt with attracted me. “As a cinematographer, I like to involve myself in the cinematic process which begins with scripting. I don’t like to go to the location and start filming. I worked with director Bala when he was still working on the script of Paradesi which went on for over six months before we started filming. This helps understand the filmmaker’s vision and he also gains confidence in you,” he says.
He has completed over 10 films, and in every single film he captures realism in stunning images. “ Joker is like a documentary. It could be fiction or a political satire, but the core is realism. In Hollywood, there’s a wave of such raw films coming up. It’s a new approach to film making and it comes from a different school of thought.
“There is scope for realistic films. Joker is a hit because it stands out and people are taking note of it. In the last two years, realistic films have done as well as other commercial films. And the equilibrium is good,” he says.
He says language is not a barrier. “It’s a visual language. I could work on a Iraqi or German film, I have no issues at all. I will soon start working on an independent Hollywood film. I have done fantasy photography for short films, surreal albums ... script is the base for any story…”
Chezhian’s book, three volumes on world cinema which is a compilation of his articles serialised in Ananda Vikatan , has gone in for several reprints.
His book on Western Classical music serves as a handy guide for beginners. “I want to now translate them into English. I learnt music for four years as it also plays a part in story telling. It’s a supportive element. I came up with the book to reach out to the masses, especially in the rural areas. The book is an elementary education, a step by step guide,” says Chezhian.
On his spate of awards he smiles and says, “I treat every film as my first one. A cinematographer uses different tones, lights and moments to create an appealing world that is as good as real. It’s a tough job to take the audience into the world and convince them to travel along.
“Joker has a modern approach. Camera movements and lighting were used differently to bring in realism. There is one scene where romance unfolds on a moving lorry with over 50 to 60 people. We just jumped into the truck with the camera to record the shot.
“Sometimes you have to ‘think minimal’. Paradesi is set in the 1930s and 40s and we used colours to create an old movie feel. We had to show a visually beautiful landscape of tea estates and tell a sad story. The contradiction was a challenge,” says the cinematographer.
Cinematographer Chezhian was in Coimbatore to inaugurate Kovai Film Society. To know more about the film society, call: 90039-17667 or e-mail: kfs.cinema@gmail.com
