The sunlight crashes inside the penthouse of a sprawling high-rise in Chennai like waves against a shoreline. Fitting, since it houses a sorcerer of light—cinematographer Ravi Varman. This year’s national award winner has dominated cinematography in the Indian film industry for the past two and a half decades. He has a unique ability to lend life and colour to the landscapes visualised by filmmakers. From period dramas to romances to action thrillers, Varman has experimented with glare and flare, silhouettes, and out-of-focus frames. The dramatic use of colour in each frame— whether in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Goliyon Ki Rasleela Ram-Leela (2013) or in Shankar’s Indian 2 this year—has become his signature.
“I have learnt everything I know from day-today life,” he tells THE WEEK, seated on a sofa in a small work room that is crowded with books by the likes of Ci.Su. Chellappa, Thi. Janakiraman, Ashokamitran, Jayakanthan, and Sundara Ramasamy. “It was Chellappa’s novels that shaped my thoughts and gave me an understanding of modern literature.” In a corner of the room is his old Zenith 6 camera, which he bought with his first salary to learn photography.
Denne historien er fra September 08, 2024-utgaven av THE WEEK India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra September 08, 2024-utgaven av THE WEEK India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
William Dalrymple goes further back
Indian readers have long known William Dalrymple as the chronicler nonpareil of India in the early years of the British raj. His latest book, The Golden Road, is a striking departure, since it takes him to a period from about the third century BC to the 12th-13th centuries CE.
The bleat from the street
What with all the apps delivering straight to one’s doorstep, the supermarkets, the food halls and even the occasional (super-expensive) pop-up thela (cart) offering the woke from field-to-fork option, the good old veggie-market/mandi has fallen off my regular beat.
Courage and conviction
Justice A.M. Ahmadi's biography by his granddaughter brings out behind-the-scenes tension in the Supreme Court as it dealt with the Babri Masjid demolition case
EPIC ENTERPRISE
Gowri Ramnarayan's translation of Ponniyin Selvan brings a fresh perspective to her grandfather's magnum opus
Upgrade your jeans
If you don’t live in the top four-five northern states of India, winter means little else than a pair of jeans. I live in Mumbai, where only mad people wear jeans throughout the year. High temperatures and extreme levels of humidity ensure we go to work in mulmul salwars, cotton pants, or, if you are lucky like me, wear shorts every day.
Garden by the sea
When Kozhikode beach became a fertile ground for ideas with Manorama Hortus
RECRUITERS SPEAK
Industry requirements and selection criteria of management graduates
MORAL COMPASS
The need to infuse ethics into India's MBA landscape
B-SCHOOLS SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT INDIAN ECONOMY IS GOING TO WITNESS A TREMENDOUS GROWTH
INTERVIEW - Prof DEBASHIS CHATTERJEE, director, Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode
COURSE CORRECTION
India's best b-schools are navigating tumultuous times. Hurdles include lower salaries offered to their graduates and students misusing AI
