Good visuals key to a successful romance

Santhosh Rai Pathaje’s expertise in cinematography comes from making commercials, and it is only good scripts that drew this award-winning cinematographer and director to feature films. One such project he lately picked up is director Suni’s Chamak. “Films take months of my time, and so I am very careful in chosing my projects,” says the cinematographer of the film starring Ganesh and Rashmika Mandanna.

“Capturing moments of a romantic drama is itself is an art ,” says Santhosh, who shared with CE the beautiful pictures, he captured for the film. “I prefer to associate with films in this genre because visuals get a lot of attention in these subjects. When it comes to romance, the backdrop becomes important to make it convincing,” he says.

“With a good production house, like Crystal Park Cinemas venturing into films, and with director Suni having the same wavelength as me, I thought it would be a good idea to be part of this project,” says Santhosh.

While the cinematographer was allowed to use high-end equipments like the camera -- Arri Alexa SXT, a first for a Kannada film -- it was also interesting to know from Santhosh that an app helped him to explore new locations, especially in Italy. “Being a gadget freak, I made sure to use the latest technology. Most of the aerial shots for the songs were taken in otherwise unexplored areas. We could find new locations through this app, but it also took us far off places and we travelled for hours." Since the director Suni and Santhosh had gone on a recce, they knew the locations. "Such risks helped us to capture new visuals. The whole sequence in Cinque Terre was captured through aerial shots using drones,” he says.