Behind the frames of Karthikeya 2: In conversation with Karthik Gattamneni

Karthikeya 2 is growing bigger with each passing day and Karthik Gattamneni, who served as the director of the photography and editor, couldn’t be happier. It is the culmination of a journey that began before the pandemic, crossed multiple waves, faced roadblocks ahead of the release, and finally emerged as a winner. 

Shot across several locations, from Dwaraka to Greece and Spain to Portugal, Karthikeya 2 was indeed a journey, a fruitful one, of course. As we catch up for a conversation over Zoom days after the film’s release, Karthik shares how the team incorporated various locations into the script. “Since the film is about Sri Krishna, we were connecting the dots from our research about Uddhava’s journey and started mapping some places. Govardhan Giri, for instance, was one such location. I had picturised it as a perfect triangular structure in my mind but in reality, it looked like a normal hill. It is then I felt we should opt for a more cinematic look and we started fictionalising it. Filmmaker Chadoo Mondeti wanted me to be a part of the scripting process and we would often toss ideas about where specific sequences should be set in. As the script was being penned, we were creating a route map parallelly. At times, it was confusing whether we were looking at a script or a route map. I think the unison of these two facets helped us a lot.”

The film’s most visually striking part is an action and chase sequence set on a frozen lake. Karthik’s experience from previous films (his 2020 release, Disco Raja, had a sequence set in similar geography) came in handy. Breaking down the behind-the-scenes creative process to achieve the sequence, Karthik shares, “We used a lot of miniatures for it. We had to plan the shot division properly, accommodating a specific number of shots to miniatures and actors. It is a mix and match process. We miniaturised the car, which was operated with a remote, and scaled other elements such as the mountains accordingly. To create the frozen lake, we built a small tank, filled it with water, placed a glass on it, and painted the surface blue. To add texture, we sprinkled salt over it. Of course, we had help from our VFX supervisor to perfect it,” Karthik says. “The avalanche in the opening scene of Disco Raja was my first tryst with miniatures; it was my first attempt and I give it a score of seventy-five. In Karthikeya 2 I think we took it a notch higher. I would say it is a ninety.”

Karthik had earlier stated a lot of people complain about the first film’s imagery being too dark. The sequel also has multiple sequences that utilise darkness. Speaking about how he dealt with the conundrum this time, the cinematographer says, “Handling darkness is tricky. In a way, the first film benefitted from the darkness as it was wonderfully complemented by the sound to evoke a horror effect. And the second film has a huge mass element called God. So we wanted to keep it accessible to everyone, from kids to elders. We try to keep it optimal and even made some sequences a bit flamboyant and glossy, while also retaining a realistic look. It was all well thought-out.”

Interestingly, in addition to serving as the cinematographer, Karthik also took up editing duties for Karthikeya 2. Did his role as an editor influence the cinematographer in him in any way? Karthik has an interesting response. “Not really. I took up the editing job halfway into the making process as our editor Goutham Nerusu was not well back then. I was just checking my footage while editing and then I thought I should give it a try. However, editing has been my passion for a long time. It gives you a space to tell a story; cinematography also does, but it is more of a collaborative effort. If you ask me how being the editor influenced my shooting style, I would say it worked the other way around. While editing the footage, I would often feel I should have framed some shots differently or should have filmed a few extra couples of shoots. I found the process quite fascinating; it was a great learning experience. Now, I see things on a broader level.”