The interview which appears below, was originally aired on Rahmania - Aaha FM in July 2008. Interview excerpt is written by V.R. Vithur from the A.R. Rahman Yahoo Fans Group. ©The rights to this material are reserved to the owner. If you have any concerns or comments, please send an email to info@rahmaniac.com.
Q: How did you get into this field?
BK: My father was A. Bhimsingh. I had been with him during his times and had gone to the studio. I had a flair for cinematography. I started with a Telugu film, “Pagadala Pada.”
Q: How did you come into contact with Bharathiraaja, and how did you work with him?
BK: Initially, I worked on a lot of Malayalam movies. At that time, my brother B. Lenin was working with Bharathiraaja on a movie called “Nadhiyai Tedi Vandha Kadal” featuring Jayalalithaa. Ilayaraja was the music director for that movie. Bharathiraaja had a misunderstanding with his cameraman, and it was Ilayaraja who recommended me to him.
Q: What was your experience working with Bharathiraaja?
BK: He treated me like a brother. He was very friendly. Whatever his imagination was, I used to take it and visualize it with my camera. When the song was initially given to us, and we were given a broad overview from the director, I used to take some random shots and be ready. They might be used or not, but hats off to Bharathiraaja for using them. Maybe he was thinking the same thing, but only after editing did we see how well the song turned out.
There’s a saying: “Good cinematography must be immersed with the film.” If someone, after seeing a film, says that the cinematography is good, it means the film doesn’t have substance. The cinematography must blend with the story and be very natural.
For a human being, music is essential. If someone cannot enjoy music, they are not fully human. In fact, I am also a keyboard player. Whatever I hear, I play, and automatically, a sense of rhythm comes to me.
When Bharathiraaja started filmmaking, Ilayaraja was the music director. So, wherever my camera movement was, at that juncture, Ilayaraja’s background score would start. I noticed that and adjusted myself not to move the camera around when the dialogues were happening.
Q: Do all directors clash with their cameramen? Any such experiences?
BK: As you may be aware, Bharathiraaja can get upset and angry during shooting, but fortunately, he has never shouted at me, and everything has gone well. There was a perfect understanding between us; he always used to call me “Sir.” I kept the camera and the stills ready accordingly. Maybe my adjustable behavior was the secret to our success.
Q: “Kizhakku Cheemayile,” “Kangalal Kaidhu Sei,” and “Karuthamma” are three movies you worked on with A.R. Rahman. Which is your favorite among the three?
BK: No doubt, it’s “Kizhakku Cheemayile.” But for a modern orchestra type of music and arrangement, “Kangalal Kaidhu Sei” stands out.
Mannothu Mandayile Song:
In that song, everything was natural. There were two villagers sitting on a buffalo. All this was done on the spot. Cows were made ready then and there. Villagers who were just roaming around were asked to play roles in the movie. Assistants like Manivannan and Manobala played important roles in preparing everyone. We didn’t know the final outcome of all the shots we were taking, but the result was really great.
With Bharathiraaja, he will never tell the story to the cameraman. He will just say, “Come, let’s go and start shooting,” because he himself doesn’t know the story in detail. He goes with his feelings. That’s why he was able to create a variety of films. As he feels, he takes it. That was the secret to his success.
Kizhakku Cheemayile Shot: The scene when Radhika leaves the village was shot in the late evening. The lyrics, the scenery, everything matched well with the song. It was shot in a vast valley.
Kangalal Kaidhu Sei: During the end, Bharathiraaja wanted zigzag lighting, very random, very fast. He didn’t want a single steady shot. The situation had to create it.
Q: Ilayaraja was a great music director and did his best for Bharathiraaja. Suddenly, he switched to A.R. Rahman for “Kizhakku Cheemayile.” What was the feeling of the unit towards this?
BK: We always felt that A.R. Rahman was totally different. We never thought we would have the opportunity to work with him. He definitely gave great support to the subject.
Q: Is there any memorable and most interesting experience of having worked with Bharathiraaja Sir?
BK: He made me act in a film. Kanavukkul is a film where he made me into a father. Even in Kangalal Kaidhu Sei, I have come as a father. He has brought out one dimension of me.
Q: Have you ever felt that all your hard work has been deleted and left off by the editors?
BK: A lot of times, I have felt like that. With Bharathiraaja Sir, he himself will delete most of the scenes that he had taken. When asked, he would say, “Who will sit and see these scenes?” When he is with the editing, he will just be like an editor and indiscriminately cut the scenes he feels are not needed. In Alaigal Oiyavadhillai, a full song was edited. There was beautiful photography in that song. He was saying that it was some sort of dragging and removed it in its entirety.
Q: What’s the effect of technological improvements in your industry and work?
BK: Technology has drastically improved the scope and effect of the work in the film industry. At times, it’s surprising also. In Kangalal Kaidhu Sei, he wanted a different sort of tone… But the naturality is lost… Sometimes, the ethics is lost.
Fav Song from Karuthamma: Porale Ponnuthayi.
Thenmerku Paruvakaatru: One of my friends tells me that he has listened to the song and seen the song more than 500 times. The song became a super hit after the film got released. Credits go to the director and the cameraman.
Kangalal Kaidhu Sei was not a big success, and because of that, the songs also didn’t become that popular. But we liked all the songs. Very beautiful songs.
Q: All the three movies viz. Kizhakku Cheemayile, Karuthamma, Kangalal Kaidhu Sei, are of different genres. What did you think of A.R. Rahman and his music?
BK: With Rahman, the major plus point is that we cannot predict what sort of music he is going to produce. With other music directors, we can predict that the song would be in this particular style for this particular situation. It would be a great surprise once the end product comes out, with a totally different kind of sound. The value of the scene goes for a big lift. Usually, I don’t go for the re-recording. But our director would be there. With Rahman, we would be hearing one sort of sound, but the end product would be different, with a totally different style of sound.
About Kaadu Potta Kaadu (Karuthamma):
In the beginning, I thought that Rahman was keeping some sort of track with the director’s voice. At that tone, the voice sounds with a different flavor. Bharathiraaja will see someone suddenly and choose him as the hero. But somehow, he will find out some talents. Similarly, Rahman also suddenly made the director sing that song.
Raihanna says: My daughter used to observe this song a lot and used to love it so much. Similarly, actress Radhika’s daughter Rayana used to observe it and address Bharathiraaja as “Kaadu Thatha.”
Q: Have you felt that you could have worked with any other director anytime?
BK: I had a desire to work with Mani Ratnam. In the very beginning, Mani Ratnam came and narrated the story of Nayagan to me. The only mistake I did was that I told him that the story resembled that of a film “Once a Fix.” Maybe he didn’t like that… But after P.C. Sriram came, their combination was wonderful. We were all good friends since Idhayathai Thirudathey times.
