“It was a chance to try out new technologies”

— Photo: S.Thanthoni

Cinematographer Manoj Paramahamsa.

For someone who had his career shaped up before he completed high school, the film industry had no surprises to offer. But the film offers that are flowing in is certainly at an unexpected pace, says cinematographer Manoj Paramahamsa. He shares his thoughts on his upcoming projects, including Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya, with S. Aishwarya.

The dark scenes and eerie backdrop of the film Eeram that took many by awe were the result of Manoj Paramahamsa’s meticulous planning. The haunting effect created by the lights was acclaimed for the realistic touch.

“Scenes were planned and rehearsed much before the shooting. With so much cooperation from the director, it was not very difficult to shoot,” he says.

The film, with a debutant director, conjures up a grey shade and a mood of gloominess all through. The camera sits inside an austerely dark house lit by frosty lights, as a subtle indication of the creepiness around which the film revolves.

With absolutely no colours to experiment with, cinematographers might not really find projects like Eeram exciting. But Manoj saw an opportunity in that to try out new technologies. “Many scenes involving water were computer-generated and the challenge was to match the lighting with that to give it a realistic look.” In sharp contrast, in Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya, he has to maintain an understated white light. The Gautam Menon movie, starring Simbu and Trisha, is making news for its songs and colourful promotional stills. “It is a feel-good film and so Gautam Sir wanted visually brilliant shots to make the scenes look breezy. Costumes and locations are in shades of white and I had to make sure the shots don’t look over-exposed.”

But the end product seems to have shaped well, what with Menon all set to sign him for his next couple of films. “I started my career with Gautam Sir’s Chennaiyil Oru Mazhaikalam project. Now I am working on his other projects — one with a debutant and the other with Ajith,” he says. Manoj grew up with cinema, as his father U.V.Babu, a Telugu director, took him to shooting spots, showing around the cameras used. Despite being a keen gizmo enthusiast, Manoj is confident that digital prints will not replace the film rolls. “But many theatres are digitised and so the film format is now being converted to digital. There is certainly a loss of quality. Film rolls always have better quality than digital prints,” he says.

While offers from commercial films come his way, Manoj has other plans. “I have to choose my films carefully as the industry expectations are at a higher level. I also hope to do more jingles and set up a production house later in my life.”

Source: The Hindu (Dated: 25-1-2009)