Sandalwood is opening its doors to new talents from other industries, even in the technical department. But, with Santhu Straight Forward, the makers realised that their cinematographer may have made his name in another industry but the talent is homegrown, born and brought up in Bengaluru.
I Andrew earned fame in Tollywood, but the cinematographer who hails from the city started as a fashion photographer at a very early age and later got into wildlife photography and even won national awards for it. Speaking about his foray into Sandalwood, he says, “It was Yash who brought me into Santhu Straight Forward. I had committed to the film while working with Pawan Kalyan for Sardar Gabbar Singh.” Recalling the shift from still photography to cinematography, Andrew says that after 15 years in photography, he went on to assist well-known cinematographer PC Sreeram for 5 years before he turned an independent cameraman.
“I got good projects in Tamil and Telugu including Darling, Ullasanga Utsahanga and Kandireega and was also lucky to have worked with well known-stars such as Pawan Kalyan, Junior NTR, Nitin and Ram among many others,” he says.
According to the cinematographer, the reason he opted for Santhu Straight Forward is because it is a film packed with love and action while being a family entertainer. “It gives good scope for a cameraman. I initially stuck with love stories, but soon graduated to all genres. Most of my films I was part of in Telugu have been remade in Kannada,” he says.
Reminiscing about his early days in Bengaluru, Andrew recalls doing Sudeep’s portfolio when the star was just entering the film industry. “I have been a big fan of cinema. I used to watch almost all films in town and I feel I am at the right place now,” he says and adds that despite so many years of experience, not many knew he belonged to Bengaluru.
“Even Yash was shocked when he heard that I was from Karnataka. My parents still reside in the city while I had to move with my wife to Hyderabad because of my daughter’s education,” he says.
Ravi shankar lends his voice for santhu’s intro track
Having established himself as a successful dubbing artist, Ravi Shankar is now winning applause for his singing too. The actor had surprised everybody when he made his singing debut with Jigarthanda, which was for an introductory song for himself. He has now lent his voice for Yash’s introductory song in Santhu Straight Forward. The song recording took place recently with singer Ranjith participating in the recording.
“We required two voices for this particular song, which had to be influenced from each other.
Initially we wanted Yash to sing, but then Ravi Shankar became a unanimous choice,” says
director Mahesh Rao. Interestingly, the introductory track composed by music director V Harikrishna is a three-dimensional song unlike the regular format. The Yash and Radhika Pandit-starrer produced by K Manju also features Shaam as an antagonist.
“We also have Devaraj and Anant Nag playing pivotal roles,” says Mahesh. The film is now in its post production and will be ready for a Deepavali release.