PVR Swamy, started his journey as a cameraman a decade ago in Kannada cinema. And as most back screen workers, he too went unnoticed till the release of Reservation . The film, directed by Nikhil Manjoo, went on to win the National Award in the best film category. Reservation was screened at many prestigious film festivals, including BIFFes, two years ago.
That was when people started talking about the visuals in the film and the name Swamy emerged. At the many discussions after the film’s screenings, Swami’s work was appreciated and the man finally came into the spotlight.
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Born in Googara Doddi, a small village in Kanakpura, to a famer, Swamy did not want to limit himself to working on the fields. He had larger dreams. In his free time he would read “everything about cinema. I wanted to be in films and camera was something that fascinated me,” says the young cameraman, who started reaching out to people to get into the film industry. “I finally met a man, also from my village, working in the film industry. However, when I called him, he said he was back to farming as life here was tough.”
Dejected Swamy continued his quest of finding an opening in the film industry and met Srinivas Prasad, an established cameraman here, who introduced Swamy to Techno Mark Television Company. “I was immediately appointed as the cameraman.”
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Swami was sent to Hyderabad and worked as the cameraman for almost 6,000 episodes of serials such as Kamanabullu, Arunaraga, Shalini, Cinema Sanchike and Sakshi.
In 2014 that he got an offer to work in the Tamil film Aiyyamai, directed by Vijay Raghavan. “Though I had worked with Technomark, it was Vijay who taught me the nuances of how the camera can be used for films.”
After this, came many more projects in Kannada including Prathima, made by Techno Mark and Tulu films White and Malladaana. Swamy, who has worked with cinematographers such as PKH Das and HM Ramachandra, has also worked in comnmercial films such as Manvantara , HS Venkatesh Murthy’s Hasiru Ribbon , Halmidi, Only Srikrishna, Kantri Boys and Ojas.
He is currently working on Vyapthi Pradeshada Horagiddare , Shalini IAS ( the biography of IAS officer, Dr Shalini, directed by Manjoo) and Kranthiveera, based on the life of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh.
The man, who is 25 films old in the industry, reveals that he had never held a camera till he started working with Techno Mark. “I had to learn everything from scratch. The trick about being a good DOP is to visualise the director’s dream and to capture things as he has put on paper. So, in a way, the director’s dream becomes the cameraman’s vision. For me, being a cameraman is like being the heart of a human body. It is a tiny organ which is capable of so many emotions and also keeps this huge body living. That is the same job of a cameraman. The lens may be small but it can capture many things.”
He adds that even a tiny flower looks beautiful through a lens. “Beauty, which is normally ignored in reality, can be celebrated through the camera.”