Internationally acclaimed
cinematographer Santosh Sivan's latest film Urumi, is one of the most eagerly awaited
Malayalam films. He is also making
the Tamil, Hindi and English
versions. The film, produced by Shaji
Nadesan, Santosh Sivan and
Prithviraj, has an array of stars
and actors from all Indian
languages: Prithviraj, Genelia,
Prabhu Deva, Tabu, Vidya Balan and Amol Gupte, to name a few. Santosh Sivan's first film as a
director was the children's film
Halo followed by the
internationally acclaimed
Terrorist. In fact, Pulitzer-prize winning
movie critic Roger Ebert has
included Terrorist films in his
series of 'Great Movies'. As Urumi gets ready to be
released on March 31, Sivan, in
the midst of postproduction
work, spoke to rediff.com about the film.
What was the inspiration
behind a period film like
Urumi?
I like the idea of recreating the
bygone era. It is interesting to
think of the characters you
have heard as real. Also, it
excited me to have cannons,
swords and urumi (curling blades) in a film. The writer of
the film Shankar Ramakrishnan
was really into all these
historical dramas.
What is Urumi about?
Urumi is set in the backdrop of
the warrior clans of Northern
Kerala who belonged to the
sixteenth century. It is the story
of Chirakkal Kelu Nayanar
(Prithviraj), a man with a mission to kill Vasco da Gama. Kelu meets
a Muslim warrior princess Ayesha
(Genelia) of the Arackal
Sultanate. Kelu has a legendary golden
Urumi, made from the ornaments
of dead women and children who
were burnt alive in a ship that
was going to Mecca. It was set
on fire and sunk under the instructions from Vasco da Gama. Vavvali (Prabhudeva) who is
Kelu's childhood friend from the
Muslim neighbourhood supports
him in his mission The film also has mystical
characters like Makkom (Vidya
Balan), a displaced Devi Deity in
the form of the Oracle . Kelu tracks his mission through
treachery and treason. The
organised revolt started by him
was the first movement of its
kind against colonial advance in
India. So, Urumi is a film about Chirakal
Kelu Nayanar's revenge.
It is part real and part fiction.
Whenever someone wins, only
their version of the story is
recorded. I feel the characters
represent the people and I do
not want to portray some of them bad or some good. It is
never like that in real life. These are people from both
Kerala and Tamil Nadu. For
example, Vaavvali, the character
played by Prabhudeva comes
from Nagapattinam. But the film is the journey of
Kelu.
What is the significance of
Urumi in the film?
Urumi is an interesting weapon,
which can be used to keep
people away and not only to
attack. He uses it to take
revenge.
'The experience of making
a film itself gives me a
high'
A shoka and Before the Rains
were period films and
Ananthabhadram was
fantasy. What fascinates
you about such films?
It is the characters that
fascinate me. I also like the idea
of re-creating a world that I
have not seen. You can use your
imagination and re-create such
an ambience. Yes, in Urumi, you cannot re-
create exactly how it was then,
as women were topless in those
days (during the Malabar period)
. So, you stylise the kind of
dresses they wore in that era. It excites me to get into a period
where air was purer, everything
looked so clean and the land
looked virgin. But it is not that I like to make
only period films. I have made
children's films and flms in all
genres. I like to make all kinds of
films. Filmmaking is like reading; you
read all kinds of b
You are a cinematographer.
What is to you to direct a
film?
It is not to make a living that I
direct films. I want to have fun. I
want to enjoy myself. I want to
do something different; yes,
different is a much-abused word.
That is why I direct films.
What high do you get when
you direct a film?
Most of the creative process is
like a journey; it's a special
journey from start to finish. It
takes a great deal of effort to
take the journey because it's
very creative. The experience of making a film itself gives me a
high. If people like what you have
made, it gives an even more
high. Of course, people do say
good and bad about your film.
You have to be prepared for
that. Filmmaking is an interesting
experience for me. As a
cinematographer, I have worked
with so many interesting
directors and as a director, I
have worked with so many interesting actors. Similarly,
when I was asked to act, I
looked on it as another
experiment. Many people asked
me why I decided to act (He has
acted as painter Raja Ravi Varma in Lenin Rajendran's film).
There are no answers to such
questions.
'Making a Malayalam film is
a very fast process'
How was it working in films
that are made abroad and
here?
Working style is definitely
different. For example, there is a
lot of silence on the sets of
those films while it is not so
here. I am one person who likes
silence on the sets but you won't get it here. For actors
also, silence is very good. So, the
atmosphere itself is so different. But making a Malayalam film is
much, much faster.
So, is it less strenuous
making a Malayalam film?
Filmmaking itself is strenuous.
While making English films, we
follow a typical timetable. We
start at the same time
everyday and stop at six
everyday. There is no question of any deviation from that. When
you go for lunch also, the plates,
forks and knives are kept well
but here in Kerala, if you are
hungry, you go to the kitchen
and take whatever you want! That is the difference (Laughs).
Each has its own charm. The
challenge is in enjoying and
relishing everything. I enjoy the
kind of freedom I have here
because most of the people I am
working with are people I have known for decades. They are all
like family. I also enjoy working there. I had
my team coming from Scotland
to work here when I made
Before the Rains. And they
adjusted so well playing football
in the afternoon, etc. I would say it's interesting to be
with your people here, at the
same time, the international
atmosphere also excites you.
The good thing is, I get to enjoy
both.
'If I did not have passion
for cinema, I would not
have attempted a big film
like Urumi'
I still remember visiting the sets of your film Terrorist, 13 years ago. It was a
small, informal production
then.
Do you still have the
same passion you had when
you made Terrorist or have
you become more confident and relaxed?
I don't think I have become
confident (Laughs). I cannot
afford to be confident too. I
think nobody can be confident
unless he makes a formula film. If I did not have passion for
cinema, I would not have
attempted a big film like Urumi.
Luckily, we have different
versions of the film and why we
have them is because it offers potential. I want it to reach out
to a bigger audience. I have
hope for the Malayalam audience
outside. I felt happy when the English
version (Vasco Da Gama - Urumi,
The Warrior who wanted to kill
Vasco da Gama), a shorter
version was selected to be
shown at the Hong Kong film festival.
When you made Halo and
Terrorist, did you think
you would be making so
many films?
When I first made Halo, many
people expected me to make
only children's films. When I made
Halo and Terrorist, each with
duration that of less than 90
minutes and without songs, I made them with the intention of
showing them outside India.
When
I can see Japanese films in India,
why not show my films there?
I was a bit fortunate because I
got so many awards at many
festivals. Before the Rains also
was presented well by Merchant
Ivory and they released it all
over the world. But when I was about to make
Urumi, I thought of making it
with songs, which are part of
our tradition and recreate that
period.
'An artist's work becomes
interesting when he has his
stamp on it'
You are also doing the
cinematography of Urumi.
Does it not tire you, as
you are the director too?
No, not at all. I cannot think of
not shooting my film. It is like
this: if I am directing the film, I
am shooting it also. I am
someone dealing with the visual
language, so I cannot but shoot my own film. When I am shooting
my film, I get an opportunity to
convey it in the language I am
are comfortable with, and for
me, it is the visual language. Your intimacies, the cultural
baggage you carry, your
influences come out when you
shoot using the visual language
you know, and here, you are
not imitating the west. An artist's work becomes
interesting when he has his
stamp on it, which is what he
carries with him as a part of his
culture and background. That is
when people from other parts of the world also find your work
interesting.
Does that mean how you
shoot a film will be
influenced by your cultural
background, and how and
where you are brought up?
Most of what you are and who
you are comes from your
cultural background and travel. I still remember, as a kid, going
to my ancestral home and
feeling mesmerised by the
architectural marvel, the dark
interiors, sharp light peeping
through the jaalis, etc. The images have stayed with me.
'I see some or the
imperfection in my work all
the time'
Was it exciting shooting
Urumi?
It was exciting as I got to work
with some very good actors.
Genelia trained in Kalari for two
weeks and she also learnt horse
riding. For actors like Genelia, it
was a different experience and actors like her want to do a
different kind of cinema. I wanted Vidya Balan to do a
daasi aattam and she also
trained for one and a half weeks
for that. She wanted to do
everything and I like this kind of
commitment. I know Amol Gupte from the FTII
days. He, Aamir Khan, etc were
there at the FTII when I was a
student, to make Holi. I know him
from then. I liked the body
language he brought in as the Thampuran in Urumi. It is
interesting to see such a body
language. Then, there is Jagathy
(Sreekumar) who is an amazing
actor. He and Amol made a great
combination. Prithviraj was there as an actor
and he was also the producer.
Other than acting, he was also
helping the others with the
dialogues. I also had so many great actors
together in Before the Rains. These days, especially when you
want to reach out to people
outside the country, you put
together so many actors of
calibre.
How did Prithviraj become
the producer of the film?
I had approached him as an
actor. When we sat and
discussed how we should make
it, he decided to start a
production house and join us. It
was not planned; it just happened. Shaji Nadesan is also
the producer for the film.
After making so many films,
how do you feel when your
film is ready for release?
Do you remember the film
Perunthachan? I shot the film
and won my first national award.
MT Vasudevan Nair had written
the story and dialogue for the
film. There is a line spoken by
Perunthachan when he was
making an idol for a temple. He
says he sees some imperfection
or the other in the statue all
the time. He goes on to correct each imperfection before the
consecration of the idol as he
cannot touch it afterwards. Similarly, till the release, I see
some or the imperfection in my
work all the time! It never ends.
That is how I feel now.
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