Christopher Doyle, cinematographer of films like Chungking Express and In The Mood For Love, once said, “I think the point of cinematography, of what we do, is intimacy.” This quote is particularly true of Mallesham, the inventor of Laxmi Asu machine, whose life was adapted as a film by Raj Rachakonda. The film was hailed for its authenticity, accentuated by its cinematographer Balu Sandilyasa as he gave the viewer a closer look at the lives of the weaver’s community in Telangana. Akin to the process of weaving a sari, Raj Rachakonda and Balu Sandilyasa weaved an intimate portrayal of the characters, one man’s obsession with inventing a machine, and the struggle to overcome their socio-economic distress to narrate the story of Mallesham.
Excerpts from an interview with Balu Sandilyasa :
After your graduation from FTII in 2016, you had to wait three years before your debut in Mallesham. Tell us about your work before this film.
I had worked on numerous short films, and documentaries, and one such documentary, Bommalollu, was about the last few people still active in doing wooden string puppetry. This film was produced by the Department of Language and Culture, Telangana. I also worked on a Marathi film, Tendlya, that is about a villager’s obsession to watch Sachin Tendulkar on TV.
After finishing Tendlya, I came to Hyderabad with plans of making a feature film, Thovva, based on my grandfather. We held auditions and workshops, but didn’t get enough funds to make it. It was around this time that I was introduced to Raj Rachakonda, who saw my pitch trailer for Thovva, and was convinced that I would do justice to Mallesham.
Raj stated that the whole crew stayed in the village, where the film was shot, for almost a year. Did your experience of working on Tendlya and Thovva come in handy?
Absolutely. The process was pretty much similar. Staying in the village, using sync sound, auditioning actors in the rural areas and smaller towns... I could go on recounting similarities between Mallesham and my earlier projects. In a way, the life of Chintakindi Mallesham himself inspired us to create the world of this biopic. We got hold of his old photographs, his wedding album to find references for the look of the characters among other things. I was inspired when I heard Mallesham’s TEDx Talk, and after reading the script that Raj had written, we spoke for four hours about what all we could do to make this film.
What were your challenges when it came to the cinematography of the film? Given the limited budget you were working on, was finding the right equipment a struggle?
Renting cameras is expensive. During our early interactions, I suggested we buy a Canon EOS C200 because it’s small and easy to handle. We were worried about the look though as it is a digital camera, so our other option was to use this camera long with antique lenses. Raj was particular that he wanted the look and feel of Mallesham to be similar to that of Shyam Benegal’s Susman, which was also about handloom weavers who make Pochampally saris. As a result, we opted for Carl Zeiss super-speed lenses. Films like City of God and Her were shot using this lens, but except for a few TV commercials, it hasn’t been widely used in India. Another huge challenge for us was choosing the aspect ratio for shooting the film.
What was so difficult?
We shot the film with an aspect ratio of 16:9 as it works well for a film with a period look; however, it looks quite different when projected on a big screen. Cinemascope is still the most preferred format. So, we had to do a lot of work on the film during the post-production process and our colourist Srinivas was of immense help. We gave Raj three different looks, and finally, he chose the one that made it to the screens.
One of the things that struck me about Mallesham was the authenticity of its setting. Considering that you were recreating the ‘90s look in 2019, you must have got really lucky to have found the right location.
That’s true. Laxman Aelay’s uncle was himself a weaver, and Laxman had done a series of drawings on weavers. Those were our initial references. He’s also well-connected with local artisans and other influential people in Telangana, and even has a PhD in folk arts. We shot the film in Revanapally, near Pochampally. The core team went there three months before the shoot and we rented a couple of houses. One of them was turned into our office and another was an old house with a pantile roof (penkutillu). An elderly couple, once into weaving, used to live there. We reinstated an old handloom in their house and they were extremely happy to see it in their house again. The whole village treated us like we were their neighbours and all the props that you saw the film were sourced from the villagers. The members from the art department visited every house in the village and requested them to give old utensils, antique material, furniture and other things for the shoot. At times, they would be waiting for us to finish a shot, so that they could take back their belongings (laughs). The local customs, including songs like Oho Jambiya, inspired us to showcase the culture of the region.
You said there were budget constraints. How did that affect your choice of lighting?
You have no other choice but to improvise. Raj was particular that Mallesham look like Susman. So, I had to figure out how light falls on the house at different points of time in a day. It was a small house, and after placing the handloom and making room for the equipment to do asu, there was not enough room for the lights. We fixed them on top of the house. In most scenes, we lit up the frame using just five LED lights. We avoided using skimmers as they are heavy and need a lot of manpower. For some outdoor sequences, we would finish shooting by 11 AM, so the light wouldn’t get too harsh.
I’m a huge fan of cinematographer Ashok Mehta and how he uses natural light. Another cinematographer who has had a big influence on me was Néstor Almendros, who also wrote the book, ‘The Man With A Camera’. In the book, he writes elaborately about how he used fire to light up a frame instead of gas or other lights. This advice was particularly handy for the scene where Mallesham breaks down when his father sets his asu machine ablaze. Raj also would come up with ideas like using light from sodium vapour lamps and motorbikes as a source of light. For some emotional scenes in the film, we used hand held cameras to amplify the emotion of the characters.
After the release, how has the response been?
My parents and childhood friends were thrilled to see my name on the posters. Mallesham has helped me reconnect with some of my friends whom I haven’t spoken to in almost a decade. The critics too have been kind to me and the film. The truly special moment was the critique that my guru, Jayasurya, had written after watching the film. He has trained a lot of acclaimed cinematographers, and so his appreciation means the world to me.
What next?
I am still eager to work on Thovva and will be more than happy if I get a producer. It’s set in Nalgonda and the subject is close to my heart. For now, I’m glad that I began my journey in Telugu cinema with Mallesham.