Director Prabu Solomon is known for his love for travel. His films reflect his yearning to see new places and live new experiences. “I’ve always loved travelling. Even as an assistant director, I’d make mental notes of places we visited. I derive inspiration from books…” This process of setting a film in a location and showcasing its evocative beauty started with Mynaa .
“Till then, I did not develop such a language and scene-scape. I visualise a place on the drawing board and set out to recreate it on film. Sometimes, a village is the sum total of many places within the country,” he says. Prabu also makes it a point to never shoot outside the country. “There’s just no logic. We have so much to showcase here. Take Ladakh, for instance… from snow to a desert to a lake, you have everything there.”
“I believe in shooting on location,” says Prabu. “That way, you get into the zone and focus immediately. Plus, a set can never do justice to reality.”
That way, his latest Thodari , hitting screens today, is his ode to train journeys. The director has shot the film across the country, showcasing Nature’s bounty like never before.
He speaks about how he goes about creating the colour palette and scene-scape for his films.
Thodari
I wanted the film to showcase the beauty of our landscape, and since it is set in a train, we’ve shot on the Northern, Eastern, Western and Southern corridors. The crew captured the beauty of Dudh Sagar waterfall on the way from Goa to Hubli. We also shot on the scenic Rayagada section (Odisha). I fondly remember the scenes shot at Castle Rock (a village that falls within the Dandeli Tiger Reserve). The film is an entertainer, and I’ve tried my best to show a place from a different perspective. You usually see the scenery fly past from the window of a train. Here, you’ll see it from the top of the train. The beauty will overwhelm you.
Kayal
I saw a photo of the living root bridges of Meghalaya in a magazine and decided I had to shoot there. It was arduous. We had to get down 1060 steps to get to the bridges, but the end result was worth it; this was the scene of Kayal walking with the water pot. We also shot in Cherrapunji, the Bangladesh border, Bhuj, Jaisalmer, the Pushkar camel fair. For the 3.5-minute song ‘Paravayaa Parakkurom’, we journeyed for 17 days! In many places, we used a candid camera to shoot.
Kumki
The movie was primarily shot in Kottakudi in Theni district. This is where I found the beautiful Chinese paddy fields; it was a village in a valley. I took the crew to Arku Valley, where we shot in a field of yellow flowers. We visited Jog Falls near Shimoga. I had visualised a village with a waterfall on one side, and yellow-hued fields, forests and mountains on the other. I created Athikaadu village by fusing images from different places.
Mynaa
This is the film from which I decided to adopt a visual language. We shot in Kurangani, on the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border. I was at Top Station in Munnar from where I found this little village between four hills. That one memory took me on a long-winded journey… and I discovered Kurangani in Theni! We shot in October, November and December… when the leaves were wet and the place was bathed in mist. It’s not just the location; it’s the season too. If you shoot Munnar in the summer, it won’t be as lush.
