Appu N. Bhattathiri has got the Midas touch. Five of the six films that he has edited have won the Kerala State Film Awards. “I didn’t realise it until you said so,” he quips, adding, “I think it is better to call that luck because when five of them made a mark at the awards ( Oraalppokkam, Ozhivudivasathe Kali, Manhole, Veeram and Ottamuri Velicham ), only one clicked at the box office ( Kunjiramayanam ). And that success is just as good or even better than the awards at times, I guess!” says the youngster who bagged the state film award for the best editor for Veeram and Ottamuri Velicham.
He doesn’t approach a film as art house or commercial. “The work is all the same. What mattered was that these films were totally different from one another,” he says.
The 28-year-old has come a long way in the industry — from being a self-taught hand who has worked in numerous short films to the ranks of an acclaimed editor. That too, when he, like many other editors, wanted and still wants to become a filmmaker. “Initially, cinematography was what interested me. But I soon realised that I was not cut out for it. However, editing was not the next option. I started editing the films I made because instead of making another person do it, I realised that I could use the tool conveniently... that’s all,” he points out.
While doing his graduation in digital media in Chennai, he used to edit works made by his friends and collegemates. “It was a mutual arrangement. The specialisation of my course was visual effects. So while those who were really good in visual effects helped me out, I, in return, edited their works. Gradually I started getting paid and got busy editing short films made my friends who were pursuing engineering courses,” says Appu.
Even then he wasn’t ready to give up on his dream of making films and soon after he finished his course he joined the sets of Second Show as an assistant director. “I thought I would make a film immediately after I finish the movie, but that wasn’t meant to be. So it was back to editing shorts.”
Lessons learnt
Appu says that he learnt a lot from filmmaker Jayaraj, having spent a lot of time watching the editing process of his films. Plus, there was the experience of assisting in Second Show . In fact, Appu feels that assistant directors play a huge role in deciding how a film shapes up. “Now I can easily understand whether the assistant directors have done their work properly or not from the rushes,” he points out. His entry into films was with Sanal Kumar Sasidharan’s Oraalppokkam . Apparently Sanal was impressed with Appu’s expertise in creating YouTube content. By that time his friends who had made short films had entered cinema, one of them being Basil Joseph who took in Appu when he made Kunjiramayanam . Soon Ozhivudivasathe Kali and Manhole followed.
Appu N. Bhattathiri
So how does he approach a film? “By detaching myself completely from it! Probably that’s why many friends prefer me to others. They trust my judgement. Interestingly, even when I say ‘It’s ok’, they assume I mean ‘It’s good’!” he laughs.
But the exception to this self-made rule was Veeram . “I became so attached to the movie that its failure taught me a lot. I was with the film for nearly 16 months and went through a lot of emotional, mental and physical strain. After a point I forgot that it had its flaws. Every film has its flaws, Veeram too was no exception. I tried to fix a few things, but you can’t fix everything... So the box office failure of the movie has been one of the greatest learning experiences of my life,” says Appu.
Talking about his other award-winning venture, Ottamuri Velicham , Appu says that it was more like an extension of working in a short film. “I have worked with Rahul in his short film, MJ , and a music video. This film happened because of his friends who put in the money,” he says. The film also won awards for the best film, second best actress and special jury mention.
His inspiration
A fan of David Fincher's movies, Appu says that he gets inspired and influenced from whatever he watches, be it on YouTube, Netflix or Amazon. Back home, his favourites are Alphonse Puthren, Abhinav Sundar Nayak, Kiran Das...
So, does editing have a style? “May be there is... But then I would also say what David Fincher said, ‘People will say, ‘There are a million ways to shoot a scene’, but I don’t think so. I think there are two, maybe. And the other one is wrong.”
Appu makes certain points while talking about filmmaking. “Test your films before you take it to the audience. It would be best to show it to a small audience before releasing it in cinemas. I think that can change the fate of Malayalam cinema. Many filmmakers abroad do that. Aamir Khan did that with Taare Zameen Par and it changed the fate of the movie. Oraalppokkam and Kunjiramayanam had its test shows. But how many are willing to take the risk?” he asks.
Does that mean editing can actually salvage a film? “Definitely. I could have changed the fate of so many movies with my editing! Sometimes you end up having so much footage that you don’t know what to do. At times, you don’t get the footage you actually need, especially when you are working with first timers. They just love their film. A major share of my work has been for debut directors and it is so difficult to make them agree to the cuts. Basically, editing is all about being spontaneous, following your instinct and being lucky.”
So has he shelved the dream of making movies? “No... it will happen someday. In fact I gave up editing at three times to make a movie!”
Short takes
* Appu is the eldest son of renowned calligrapher Narayana Bhattathiri a.k.a. Artist Bhattathiri and Mini C.K. “My parents never stopped me and my brother [Ramu Bhattathiri, a BTech graduate and a film buff] from following our hearts. Do what you like and face the consequences, they used to say. Ramu is well-read about everything and better than me in all aspects, except, may be, editing!”
* Appu has directed short films such as Irreversible, Between and Candle Camera . He is currently editing Nonsense, Lily, Theevandi and Udalazham .
* He used to write a blog, ‘Apur Sansar’. “I had to stop it because I was forced to. People didn’t want to hear bad things about their works.”
