“There’s only so much I can talk about cinema. I can talk at length about art,” says V.S. Gnana Shekar. The cinematographer has to his credit films like Vedam, Kanche and Gautamiputra Satakarni . During Sankranti when the principal players of GPSK were in the thick of promotions and gauging audience reactions, Gnana Shekar was in Mumbai catching up with friends. After each film, he moves away for some quiet time.
In Gnana Shekar’s tastefully done up living room, books on history and art dominate the shelves. One of the paintings done by him, a striking face with eyes that pierce into the viewer, is prominently displayed. He will be exhibiting a new series of his paintings, on faces, in Georgia. “End of February or early March, a museum that houses Niko Pirosmani’s paintings has given me a chance to exhibit my paintings,” he says with pride.
A painting by V.S. Gnana Shekar
Since his early days as a student of painting, he admired Vincent Van Gogh and Niko Pirosmani. He was drawn to Pirosmani’s work and recalls nuggets from the artist’s biography. When Gnana Shekar visited Georgia to shoot Kanche , he was thrilled at visiting his favourite painter’s land. “I visited the museum that housed his work and was enthralled. I asked them if I could showcase my paintings,” he recalls.
Georgia was part of the shooting schedule for GPSK as well. In Georgia and Morocco, Gnana Shekar and his team brought to life war episodes. His reference points came from Kurukshetra war. “When you look at Ravi Varma’s painting of Krishna and Arjuna on the battlefield, it looks beautiful. In GPSK , I wanted to show the audience scenes from war that would have the required intensity, yet look appealing,” he says.
He also took a cue from Ben-Hur (1959). “I placed one camera static to capture wide and extra wide shots. Constant movement of cameras into the war scene can make viewers uncomfortable,” he reasons.
Apocalypto (2006) is another favourite. Gnana Shekar had read about Mayan civilisation as a child and was fascinated by how the film captured on screen what was in his imagination. Talking of depicting early civilisations on screen, he says lighting is crucial. GPSK unfolds roughly 2000 years ago when there was no electricity. The crew used oil lamps. Gnana Shekar worked with four camera assistants and a lighting team. Rather than doling out instructions through his assistants, he prefers to communicate directly with production members. “It saves time and you get the desired results,” he says.
“While shooting in the light that emanated from oil lamps, we had to be wary of long shadows. Long and extreme long shots were tricky. Flames won’t be visible on the faces if there are long shadows. My assistants also worried about ‘flickers’. There’s nothing worse than a flicker for a cinematographer; in this case, I knew the permissible limit for a hassle-free viewing experience,” he explains.
Listening to Gnana Shekar talk about his work as an artist and cinematographer, one senses an approach that stems from his passion for a craft.
“I was in Nasik, on the banks of Godavari when Krish called and told me about GPSK . I took it as a sign from above. At that moment and while shooting in the temple at Maheshwar, the beauty of sculptures around us were reminders that we weren’t doing an ordinary film. We were cautious not to spoil it,” he laughs.
Art and cinematography
A self-potrait by V.S. Gnana Shekar
* Gnana Shekar studied painting at a fine arts college and ranked first in the first year. Later during the course, he wanted to try photography. The dean and his teachers didn’t want the first ranker to switch streams. But he was insistent and they conceded. His beginnings in photography were shaky with the professor feeling he wasn’t cut out for it. “I asked him to give me some more time,” he remembers. Yet again, he topped the class.
* The shift to cinematography happened when his friends, who were travelling to Chennai to write an exam at a film school, asked him to come along. Though uninterested, he went wrote the exam and got through. “I felt it was a sign from God to lead me to a course I wasn’t interested in,” he says. When he’s not busy with cinema, he continues to paint and finds it meditative.
* Gnana Shekar met director Krish before Vedam . They travelled to Amaravati, during which the story of Vedam emerged. “Since day one, we were in sync. That has helped in all our films,” says Gnana Shekar.
