Dhanush’s 'Polladhavan' scene is my best work: R Velraj

For cinematographer Velraj, Dev is a departure from his signature style seen in Aadukalam and Vada Chennai

R Velraj

Some would say it’s an anomaly for cinematographer R Velraj to not work in a project that involves either Dhanush or Vetrimaaran.

After all, he has ten of 36 Dhanush films to his credit, including the upcoming Asuran . Incidentally, when I reached out to him for this interview, he was busy scouting location in the hinterlands of Kovilpatti for Vetrimaaran’s next.

But this brings us to Velraj’s most recent offering,

Dev , starring Karthi and Rakul Preet Singh.

For someone who is known for his work in films backed by rustic scripts — like the national-award winning Aadukalam (2011) — Dev is a departure from the usual. Glossy, with bright visuals, it is in direct contrast to the gritty visual metaphors in, say, Vada Chennai and Aadukalam .

A portion of the film, shot in Ukraine, can easily pass off as a European locale and I ask him if a big budget helped. “Budgets increase when producers choose exotic locations where charges can exceed ₹5 lakh a day.

The grandeur in my frame is assisted by art direction, lighting and costumes that the cast wore in Dev,” says Velraj, who turns 50 this year.

Chasing the sun

Velraj prefers the use of sunlit frames to enhance storytelling and Dev , like Komban and 3 earlier, has numerous examples of this.

The inclination towards natural light could well be a borrowed trait from Vetrimaaran. Velraj says the director hates artificial lights and is also particular about not disturbing objects in a frame.

“If we were shooting a street sequence or in a small house and a garbage bin or table was blocking the frame, Vetri sir would not want us to move it. He would ask us to find a way to work around it.”

Of course, Velraj’s equipment of choice is the Arri Alexa XT. Dev’s stunning visuals were also courtesy the Arri Ultra Prime lens, he says, the entire unit costing around ₹2.5 crore.

Blast from the past

It is then ironical that a sequence which Velraj identifies as his best work to date in Tamil films was shot with the most number of artificial lights (“mould-up” lights) he has used in a take. Even funnier, this sequence belongs to a Vetrimaaran film, Polladhavan .

“The luminescence was so high that if you stood close to a light for more than a minute, your hair follicles would start to burn,” recalls the cinematographer.

He is referring to the climax sequence or the famous six-pack scene, where Dhanush and Daniel Balaji, playing the antagonist, go head-to-head. These were the pre-digital cinematography days in Tamil cinema and the sequence was shot on film.

“I had to maintain a grey tone throughout. The lights were needed because cameras in those days didn’t allow a higher ISO value. I shot the scene at 2,500 frames. When it played in the theatres, the audience applauded my work. It is my best shot,” Velraj concludes.