‘One’ shot, no retakes

Aghal Films has come out with DVD and Blu-ray versions of their second concert film, ‘One.’ Malathi Rangarajan writes on the innovative step.

April 28, 2016 04:43 pm | Updated 04:43 pm IST

From the film 'One'

From the film 'One'

Artistic lighting, appealing angles and soothing tints of the first concert film, ‘Margazhi Raagam,’ offered a unique experience for connoisseurs of Carnatic music, a few years ago. The film, a concert on stage, by T. M. Krishna and Bombay Jayashri, had a theatrical release too. Later, the same team of producer C. Srikanth, director Jayendra and vocalist Krishna returned with ‘One,’ another film in the same genre. The DVD and Blu-ray Disc versions of ‘One’ were released recently.

Such films are for a niche audience. So Srikanth plumping for a second, film of the same kind was rather intriguing.

“If the point is viability, I agree that ‘Margazhi Raagam’s’ take-off was slow. But in the past five years we have sold enough DVDs, and I am a businessman who is willing to wait,” he laughs. “My business acumen is more instinctive and it generally works. To me the comfort quotient with the director is primary. Jayendra and I are long-time golf pals,” says this chartered accountant turned businessman.

“The number of youngsters who learn classical music is increasing but the sparsely filled auditoria tell a different story! Probably digital platforms that are opening up a plethora of opportunities for singers and musicians could change the way the youth explore, experiment and enjoy classical music. So this is where people like us step in.”

If Srikanth finds the digital boom exciting, the digital world fascinates Jayendra. The RED camera made him grab it for ‘…Raagam’ and now that Dolby Atmos, an incredible audio experience that has realistic sound moving all around you, has come in, it has been his preferred pitch for the Blu-ray version of ‘One.’

Blu-ray is a recent advancement – a digital optical disc format, it is said to be moving ahead of DVD in terms of storage space and HD. So why produce both Blu-ray and DVD? “Because the traditional aficionado opts for DVD,” says Srikanth, “and music lovers abroad ask for Blu-ray.” Putting up the songs of ‘One’ as itunes will follow soon.

“We don’t disturb the core — we offer aesthetics along with the art. Cricket, for instance, has evolved into one-dayers and T 20s. Let’s give the audience a change of scene. Why make it stereotypical,” asks Srikanth. The result is ‘One.’ It takes the listener out of the confines of a hall into the lap of Nature, thus providing a breathtaking audio-visual experience. The discerning listener needn’t close his eyes in his attempt to avoid the noise around him and concentrate on the music.

Shot in the idyllic settings of the Nilgiri Hills, the stunning visuals have been captured by lens man Manoj Paramahamsa. “How come we’ve never noticed these places,” has been the admiration that the crew’s choice of locations has evoked among those who’ve watched ‘One.’

This time Jayendra decided that Krishna should be left in the midst of Nature where his imaginative refrains could go on unfettered, transcending the determinants of time and space. “I jumped at the idea. Just a little earlier we had attended a couple of T.M. Krishna’s concerts and felt that he was performing for an audience rather than singing for his own joy — joy that could be transferred to those who were listening to him.”

Srikanth and Jayendra were clear on one score – the entire exercise had to be spontaneous and honest. So were there arguments? “A few — I thought we should settle only for natural light, but to enhance the visual appeal we had to go in for two lights. We ran cables for long distances to the caves far away, so that none of it would be an intrusion, and we had the jimmy jib. That was it.”

The locations in ‘One’ are a real draw! “Much of it was shot in the virgin forests and waters behind Lawrence School, Lovedale, thanks to Sangita Chima, its Headmistress.”

The ambience is absolutely serene with no sound but for the chirping of birds! Krishna sings a tanam in Kedaragowla, sitting on a huge rock in the middle of the blue waters!

How did he get there? “He’s as adventurous as we are. We placed a ladder and he climbed up with ease. We began shooting early in the mornings, in the biting cold. But Krishna was oblivious to hindrances. Nothing dampened his energy. ‘I am unaware of the cables, crane, camera or lights,’ he would say. He is used to scaling summits of 20,000 feet and singing there with gay abandon. He’s as crazy as we are,” chuckles Srikanth.

“With just an ipod that had the tambura for sruti hidden nearby (“that was a technical liberty”), Krishna sang away. Minimum editing has been done and there were no re-takes.”

‘One’ involved two days of shoot, and the crew was completely at the mercy of Nature. “Clouds or rains could have marred matters. But only towards the end of ‘Jambupate,’ the last song we shot, did it begin to drizzle. You can notice Krishna’s blue shirt getting slightly wet. To me it was Nature’s validation of our effort.”

National award winning audiographer, K.J. Singh, has worked on the sound design of ‘One.’ The output presents an out-of-the-world audio experience. “KJ was eager to work with us. ‘Margazhi Raagam’ had impressed him a lot.He spent two months in Chennai working on ‘One’,” says Srikanth.

“‘One’ offers experiences and evokes responses that are not necessarily similar. If you find the sound of birds alluring, others may think differently. Mavens of music should check it out,” Srikanth, a classical music buff himself, concludes.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.