Cinematographer Gnana Shekar’s first love has always been painting. Known to paint with his thumb most of the time, he has even had exhibitions of his paintings. Only, these days he doesn’t find much time to paint, but whenever he does, he loses himself in the colours. Going to shoot at 5am and returning late at night for 300 days in a year can turn you into a robot, and fine art is his stress buster. He finds painting a meditative and an immersive experience, inspirational too. What he does on the canvas reflects on his work at the sets.
The creative and master visual story teller has one of the most impressive resumes in the business today. Most of his films have fetched him awards too. The reticent and soft spoken technician says, “I listen to the complete narration. I take up a film only if I like the script. Nothing else matters. It has to inspire me. Name, fame and money don’t bother me. When you grow a plant, you nurture it with love and affection. There is so much care involved. You don’t buy a sapling and grow it with an intention of selling the flowers some day. In fact, you don’t feel like selling it. Similarly we don’t work with an eye on the rewards. Do we? Awards are a by product.”
Gnana Shekar V S has known director Krish Jagarlamudi even before they worked in films together. Just like DoP Ratnavelu and director Sukumar combination, Gnana Shekar and director Krish are a popular team today, having worked together in Vedam, Krishnam Vande Jagadgurum, Kanche, Gautamiputra Satakarni , Antariksham (where Krish is the producer), Manikarnika, NTR: Kathanayakudu and NTR: Mahanayakudu .
V S Gnana Shekar
In a quick and brief chat amid the accolades pouring in on the release day of Kathanayakudu , the DoP says more than the knowledge he and Krish have of cinema, the common qualities and attitude they share makes work easier, “I can’t explain much. For example, where people see a rock, Krish and I see a form. It’s much more than a rock. He knows what he wants from me and I know what to give him. At the end of the day, we have to arrive at some solution despite any differences. We work in the interest of the story.”
Ask him what was the most challenging aspect of shooting the NTR biopic and Gnana Shekar says that shooting wasn’t complicated but approaching the subject — an iconic personality in cinema and politics — technically, has been a big responsibility. He did not take any references from Mahanati but he has seen NTR films and read a lot about him. References from other films strip the technician of his individuality, he believes.
He adds that the biopic’s second part, Mahanayakudu , is far more interesting. “We had to begin from the 1920s in Kathanayukudu . Each and every phase there is a change and that was exciting and challenging, keeping with the time period. We finished the film earlier than planned. The second part, which is a political drama, had to be approached in a different way.”
Gnana Shekar says he read many books, especially those concerning iconic personalities. In this case, he had learnt many things from NTR’s life during the shoot. In childhood he had read many biographies of political personalities but making a film on one such person was a different experience altogether. Demarcating NTR’s personal and political life was indeed a cumbersome process and utilising only those parts that are relevant to the story needs a lot of spade work. He quips, “The pre-production was very important. We would discuss everything collectively and cross check if the next morning’s requirement was in place. Work was delegated and we had great clarity on how to execute things. Finally, the audience are the judges. We cannot change what we’ve done. So let people talk and comment. We are done with our work for the first part; the second part needs editing and it will release in February. There is a lot more drama in it.”
