K K Senthil Kumar, director of photography for S S Rajamouli’s action drama RRR, is mighty pleased with the appreciation he has been getting for his work. “Filmmaking is teamwork and all of us have put in so much work to give the audiences the best possible visual experience. It is hugely rewarding when people appreciate it,” he says, taking time out for a chat amid location hunting for his next film.
Senthil has worked with Rajamouli since the 2004 film Sye, through Chatrapathi, Yamadonga, Magadheera, Eega and the Baahubali films, each time setting the bar higher for a visual experience.
He recalls Rajamouli telling him in the initial stages of Baahubali that he wanted it to be a visual film. “It was music to my ears. What more would a cinematographer want?” That brief had changed for RRR with Rajamouli’s emphasis on not letting viewers’ attention waver from the ‘intense emotional drama’ on screen.
For a fleeting moment, Senthil wondered if there would be scope to showcase something new visually. But he soon dived into the task, determined to translate the director’s vision on screen in the best possible manner.
Ram Charan and NTR in ‘RRR’
Authentic to the 1900s
“A part of the challenge was to provide cinematic magic while remaining authentic to the period, the early 1900s,” says Senthil. The production design, costume and visual effects departments collected references from the time period. Photographs and paintings of the era helped study the costumes, bazaars, people’s fashion sense and body language. Senthil also looked at international films that had stories set in the early 1900s. “Baahubali happens in an undisclosed time period and we had some liberty to do what we wanted. RRR was a new experience.”
The vivid colours and the clarity with which one can spot the details even in a crowd called for meticulous planning and technical know-how. “We more or less decide what colours will work and what to avoid for each scene’s location and the characters. But I keep the look and feel of the final product open till the final stages of post-production. A lot of effort goes into colour grading during the Digital Intermediate stage.”
NTR in ‘RRR’
Ram Charan’s introduction sequence amid a sea of protestors takes advantage of the earthy surroundings while NTR’s introduction sequence in the jungle uses the green hues to good effect. Senthil says the intention was to show the differences between the two characters subtly rather than use stark oranges and cool blues simply because the protagonists are represented by the elements of fire and water.
Sharp focus
Senthil used the large format ARRI Alexa LF camera with signature prime lenses “for the sharpest picture quality”. “When we began working on RRR four years ago, this camera was new. I knew this camera was soon going to be used by big-budget films. With this camera, the focal point has to be correct to the last inch.”
Ram Charan in ‘RRR’
For scenes involving large crowds, the background artistes were trained and their movements precisely planned so that when a viewer’s eye travels beyond the main characters, nothing seems out of place. “All this contributes to giving the audiences an immersive experience.” Senthil worked in tandem with the visual effects department in the pre-visualisation of the massive set pieces, be it the ones involving animals or the climactic action sequence. “We did a test shoot before filming Tarak’s (NTR) fight with the tiger. Some of the shots involved him running solo, with the same speed and intensity as though chased by the tiger. We edited and broke down the test shoot footage to analyse the prerequisites — the speed of the animal, the actor and the camera movements to capture them, and how much space should we leave in each frame where the CGI tiger will later be placed,” Senthil explains.
Going back and forth with the animation and VFX departments during the pre-production and post-production stages, double checking the placement of the animal and the CGI lighting was an essential part of the workflow.
A showreel
ARRI camera showreel for 2022, unveiled recently, features glimpses of international and Indian films shot on its new camera. Notable among them are RRR, Tamil films Master, Sarpatta Parambarai and the Hindi film Sardar Udham.
Every inch matters
At times, a toy animal was used during rehearsals and then taken away during shoot to avoid its reflection on the actor’s face. For the pre-interval night sequence involving several animals, LED lights and radio-controlled cars came in handy to mark the movements. “The VFX department and my department noted down every detail — placement of lights, distance and the height of the camera, the lens used, the focal distance and the entry point and speed of each animal. The animals were created in CG, played on the monitor and accordingly the actors were asked to move.”
The transformation of Ram into the warrior Alluri Sitarama Raju was designed to be a highlight of the film, with ample backlights to accentuate the character. “This, being a night sequence, was tough. There are (VFX) extensions in the background and for some shots we had to use a blue mat but not let it reflect anywhere else. We used searchlights as part of the action sequence leading up to revealing Ram’s transformation with the backlight (to give him the aura),” adds Senthil, who worked with concept artist Prateek for this sequence.
Dramatic or mythical?
Ask Senthil if the brief was to make Alluri Sitarama Raju’s character look like the mythical Ram from Ramayana and he laughs, “I was not told that. The idea was to make the transformation look dramatic. All through the film, I wanted to showcase the expressions of the brilliant actors, so that audiences will stay engaged with the emotional drama.”
Having tested RRR’s picture quality for several formats — normal, wide, Imax, 3D and Dolby cinema, Senthil says the experience has helped him up his technical skills. “I was among the first cinematographers early in my career to film in Super 35 format, use balloon lights and later the first to work on the Digital Intermediate for a complete film. RRR is India’s first Dolby (visual) Cinema. While testing the Dolby visuals in Germany for RRR, I was amazed at the minute details that were noticed. The laser projection and Atmos sound ensure optimum quality. It adds another first to my work and my mission to offer better visual experiences continues.”
Rajamouli’s next film is still a few months away and before that, Senthil is working with director Radhakrishna Reddy for a new Telugu film to be produced by Sai Korrapati of Vaaraahi Chalana Chitram, which produced Eega.
