In the Yellapur jungles — somewhere near Hubli — when it rains, it pours. It awakens the sleeping leeches. Not a great time to go inside the forest. But, cinematographer Ramesh Kumar (Rammy) was holding on to a rope and climbing the hilly terrain to get a perfect shot for Ram Gopal Varma’s upcoming film Killing Veerappan . “It was challenging. It rained non-stop for 10 days. We had to protect our expensive cameras too from the rains. The tribals helped us and guided us around the forest,” says Rammy.
Killing Veerappan is a bilingual being shot simultaneously in Kannada and Hindi. It will be dubbed in Tamil and Telugu too. It is Rammy’s first-ever project with a big name. “I was nervous. But Ram Gopal Varma was calm and composed on the sets. He never shouted. And, decided quickly on the shots. He gave us enough time to work and never asked for extra shots. He came to the location with an editing pattern in mind,” says the cinematographer.
Rammy has also shot RGV’s Secret , a psychological thriller that will release this year.
It deals with the extra-marital affairs and stars Sachiin Joshi, Kainaat Arora, Tisca Chopra, Makarand Deshpande and Meera Chopra. “After we filmed Secret , he asked if I would be interested in working with him for Veerappan . Who would refuse such an offer?”
Teaming up with RGV has done a lot of good for this director of photography. “The way I compose a shot, use lighting…deal with my crew, everything has improved greatly. The director always refers to actors by their screen names. While filming Veerappan , I made a flowchart to remember Veerappan, Murugan… all the key characters. When I showed the chart to the director, he laughed,” says Rammy.
Rammy is happy that he has shot in different genres. After assisting cinematographer Arvind Krishna in a few films like Kuselan , Theeratha Vilayaatu Pillai , and Poi Solla Poram , Rammy worked individually in Y aamirukka Bayamey , a horror comedy. “It was a big success. And, it started a spate of films on this genre. I got many offers to do more horror comedies. I took a bold decision to say no and stayed without work for one year before getting on board with RGV,” he says. In Yaamirukka … he says the challenge was to make horror and comedy work for the audience with intelligent lighting, and compositions. “Every frame should look weird and make the audience feel uneasy. We shot in Nainital in a big glass bungalow. It was freezing cold and night shoot was ruled out. So, during the day, we covered the entire bungalow in a sheet to cut down the lighting . You can use the same camera to shoot any genre, but the lighting, framing sense, and aesthetics makes all the difference.”
The cinematographer says, though film cameras have become obsolete, the industry still needs cinematographers. “One of the last films that was partly shot on film camera is Shankar’s I . Even in the digital era, you still need the cinematographer to get the lighting, composing, building the mood, etc right. Ram Gopal Varma is up-to-date on new cameras, gadgets and technology …. I ensure that I keep a track of the emerging trends too."
Mention the names of K.V. Anand, Ravi K Chandran, and Ravi Varman, Jeeva … all successful cinematographers who became filmmakers, he says, “All we need is a good script to back us up to make that jump.”
Rammy, who is from Udumalpet near Coimbatore, wanted to be a journalist. After completing his visual communication, he learnt cinematography at LV Prasad Academy in Chennai, and did TV commercials before entering films. “RGV saw my work and liked it. In the last seven months, I am seeing him and interacting with him every day. And, the learning never stops… Though I am single he calls me a married man because I am the first to arrive at the sets. He thinks only married men have that kind of dedication, responsibility and commitment,” smiles Rammy
He was at School of Communication., Dr. GRD College of Science, Coimbatore, to conduct a workshop on cinematography for visual communication students.
