SK Selvakumar: My biggest concern is to avoid getting stereotyped

Acclaimed Hungarian-American cinematographer and Academy Award winner Vilmos Zsigmond famously said, “I like to say that lighting is about taking the light away. I often like to use the shadows more than the light.” In a weirdly similar way, cinematographer SK Selvakumar came into the limelight for using shadows and natural lights to good effect in his debut feature film, Maanagaram, which also marked the directorial debut of Lokesh Kanagaraj. Post Maanagaram, Selvakumar managed to deliver his unique stamp in films like Mehandi Circus, Gypsy, Dharala Prabhu, Viruman, and the recently released August 16, 1947. “I gravitate towards projects that challenge me. I want to leave something of me in each film I do,” says Selvakumar, who traces the decade-long journey that has made him a better cinematographer, a better technician, and more importantly, a better person. 

After assisting George C Williams in Raja Rani and Kaththi, Selvakumar turned independent cinematographer with Lokesh's short film, Kalam, in the Karthik Subbaraj-backed anthology, Avial. “Irumbu Kai Mayavi was supposed to be our first feature film. It required a huge budget that wouldn’t be given to a bunch of first-timers. So, we started with Maanagaram,” shares Selvakumar, who reminisced about the research that went into ensuring it looked different from other films based on the nightlife of Chennai. “We wanted to recreate the city we see in reality instead of going for artificial lighting. We matched with available sources of lighting and still managed to have two distinct looks for the characters of Sri and Sundeep Kishan,” says the cinematographer, who didn’t mind waiting for the right script instead of doing the many nightlife-based stories that came his way because of Maanagaram’s success.  “That’s when Mehandi Circus happened.” 

Mehandi Circus marked the start of a fruitful collaboration between Selvakumar and director Raju Murugan, who wrote the script of the film. “There was something poignantly poetic about Mehandi Circus. Recreating the late 80s, and travelling from the hilly terrain of Kodaikanal to regions in the North was an experience in itself. Mehandi Circus gave me Gypsy and a brother in Raju Murugan. He taught me newer perspectives, the importance of recce, and a lot of life learnings,” says Selvakumar, who reveals that Karthi brought him onboard Viruman after seeing his technical expertise in Mehandi Circus.  

“In fact, Karthi sir wanted Viruman to look like a Mehandi Circus. However, I was very clear that my work shouldn’t disrupt the director’s vision. My research for a project also includes studying the previous works of my actors and director to ensure there is something distinct in our film,” shares Selvakumar. This pursuit of uniqueness found a challenging opportunity in NS Ponkumar’s pre-Independence era film, August 16, 1947. 

With very few films in Tamil cinema exploring this era, Selvakumar only had a handful of references. “We did extensive location scouting and found villages that were still stuck in a bygone era. Many films set in this era use desaturation or colour grading to get the desired result. I didn’t want to do that, and there began our struggle to get the right colours, and yet make it seem realistic, and respectful of that era,” opens up Selvakumar, adding, “We used the right costumes and even waited for the place to become arid. We shot in low-light cameras, and every single day I was astounded about the technical expertise of yesteryear filmmakers who managed to do all this without the help of today’s technology.” 

Selvakumar now returns to the urban setting for debut director Antony Bhagyaraj’s Siren, which stars Jayam Ravi and Keerthy Suresh. “My biggest concern is to avoid getting stereotyped. I have seen some industry greats relegated to doing only certain types of films. I want all my films to be an archive of sorts for future generations to use as references,” reveals Selvakumar, who has never collaborated with the same filmmaker twice in his career so far. “Different patterns emerge from each of these collaborations, and I am never bored.”

Talking about collaborations, there is a lot of chatter about how Lokesh hasn’t reunited with the principal cast and crew of his debut film. Responding to such conversations, Selvakumar says, “I receive a lot of such questions too… from multiple angles. But let’s be honest, it isn’t like Lokesh signed agreements with each of us that we will constantly be working with each other. Cinema is a competitive world that imposes a lot of rules and restrictions. I assure you that collaboration is just around the corner, and we will embark on creating a new pattern of filmmaking.”  

With the amount of emphasis on leaving a lasting legacy as a cinematographer, Selvakumar might seem to have a clear path in place, but it is not without his share of insecurities. “Honestly, numbers don’t matter to me. For how many ever films I do, there must be the Selvakumar touch in it. But there are times when I feel disappointed when people don’t really know that I am the one behind some of their favourite visuals from recent films,” says Selvakumar, signing off with a fine balance of wistfulness and humility. “Personally, it will actually be nice to realise that people know of my work, and of course… me.”