Yaathisai: Akilesh DOP!

I’ve always been inclined towards the visual arts, such as painting and drawing, and as I got older, I became attracted by my father’s Canon AE-1, a vintage film SLR camera.My older brother and I were interested in it and tried to grasp and learn more about it.I learned the fundamentals of photography from my uncle, who loved taking pictures.

2. Whom did u assist?

After I graduated, I had the chance to assist Preetha Jayaraman, ma’am, in ‘Abhiyum Naanum’ where I was introduced to the world of cinematography. She introduced me to Mahesh Muthuswami sir. My first movie with him was Vamsam, and I worked on several other movies with him after that to learn and refine my skill. I will always be grateful to these masters for their guidance.

3. Your education

At the Department of Media Sciences at Anna University in Chennai, I pursued my M.Sc. in Electronic Media.

I developed a solid technical foundation and gained experience with still film cameras and video cameras.

3. How Yaathisai happened

My long time friend Seyon, who also plays one of the leads in Yaathisai, introduced me to director Dharani Rasendran. I was quite interested in the project when he told me that they were planning an independent historical film, because the concept sounded completely original and bold. When I first met Dharani, I saw in him, a film maker who was highly motivated, passionate and with a truly outstanding vision.

With the help of our producer K.J. Ganesh, the project gained momentum over time and was eventually turned into a web series and after watching the first day’s rushes, It was revealed that Yaathisai will be a full-length feature film.

4. While reading the script for first time what went into your mind

I was able to visualise Yaathisai’s magnitude and scope, and that was intimidating and thrilling at the same time.

5. What where the first decisions on Cinematography put you into the core of the film

I was aware that it was our responsibility to convincingly recreate Tamilnadu in the seventh century. I was convinced that it required a huge, grand canvas, as well as raw and realistic-looking visuals. It served as the base upon which Yaathisai’s imagery was crafted.

6. How did you treat the visuals

The visuals required to be realistically treated, and the composition, lighting and the camera movement needed to give the audience a sense of involvement in the ancient world, that we were trying to create.For instance, in the war sequences, it was our goal to transport the audience as much as we could into the war.

7. Any references for the look

We were sure that although Yaathisai is a historic film, the visuals needed to be contemporary with a strong touch of ancientness. We studied the available frescos (A painting style) and tried to plan our palette based on the dyes that might have been in use back then.We had to get the skin tones right, because most of the sequences involved bare body and crowd.

8. Cameras and lenses you had choosen for this project 

As I had mentioned earlier, We knew that Yaathisai needed a grand canvas. After many tests, we decided to go with the Large Format.

Arri Alexa LF and Signature Primes for the Pandiyan sequences.Pandiyas were a flourishing kingdom with a trained, organised army.We planned to show and their magnificence, visually with this format.

Red Gemini & Ultra Primes were used for Eyinar Sequneces.Because,In contrast to the Pandiyans, The tribals known as ‘Eyinars’ are hunter gatherers who live in a dry and barren landscape with almost no greenerygreenery. So, these sequences were needed a rugged, rustic and high contrast look. The camera movements were planned to be handheld and shaky.

Red Gemini & Atlas Anamorphics were used for Devaradiyal Sequences.

These portions in the film,needed to look artistic and poetic.We used a lot of oil lamps as practicals in the background. And Anmorphic lenses were used to accentuate the classic anamorphic bokeh in these sequneces.

For Drones we used DJI Inspire 2 and DJI Mavic Pro.

And for crash cam and C cam we used Sony A7s iii and GoPros.

9. How is your feeling right now after trailer got wide attention

It is definitely rewarding to see the overwhelming reaction to the trailer from all over.

10. Meeting Pc Sreeram sir

Both Preetha Jayaraman ma’am and Mahesh Muthuwami sir were mentored by PC Sreeram sir. And I’ve grown up, inspired by his visuals all along.It was a dream come true and an honour to get a pat on the shoulder from the legend himself.

11. How was your DI process…color space

I closely worked with Colorist Naveen of Shade69 to evolve the look of Yaathisai. He was very passionate about the whole process.

We had four different looks in Yaathisai, as I had mentioned earlier,Pandiyans are in a cool place with lots of greens.Eyinars live in a barren land with almost no greenery and their scenes needed to show the soaring temperature of the place.

Devaradiyal portions are treated artistically woth lots of warms and flickering light from lamps.

Perumpally, a clan in the deep forest, their scenes had to be graded in cool tones.

12. Mood

Visually, Yaathisai will have a variety of moods and looks. Most of the film was shot on live locations to add to the realistic treatment of the film.

13. About the director

Director Dharani Rasendran is a un compromised film maker with a very clear vision. Collaborating with him can bring out the best in us, because he inspires and keeps pushing the boundaries of creativity and practicality. And suddenly we discover something new.Yaathisai was an enriching exploration with him.