“The experience made me more optimistic as a person”

“My first reaction to any film narrative by Rishabh Shetty is freak out. As excited as I am about the idea, the thought of having to implement something out of the box, something that hasn’t been attempted before, is pretty overwhelming to the operator in me. That’s exactly what the Kantara experience was like for me. But we jumped in and went ahead with the shoot without a second thought, hoping that everything would fall into place, and I realized that confidence is insignificant (if you go ahead with confidence) and if you try to be less pragmatic and rational about process one is likely to get the best results. Kantara was a crazy, frenetic exercise in energy for all of us crew members, but also the most beautiful collaboration for me.”

For cinematographer Arvind S. Kashyap, the experience of working on Rishabh Shetty’s Kantara is likely to stay in his mind forever. It was a series of firsts for him – encountering nature at such close quarters, trying out a new cinematic vocabulary and being thrown in at the deep end – but in retrospect, he’d probably say Kantara was nothing short of an exhilarating adventure . As the film gears up for its much-anticipated release in theaters on September 30, Arvind Kashyap is deep into the final stages of preparations and yet the journey is vivid before his eyes.

“Strangely, none of us crew members remember the full experience of shooting Kantara because we were so deprived of physical rest, catching only about 3 hours of sleep throughout the days,” shares Arvind in an exclusive chat with OTTplay, adding, that the entire production phase was nothing like a mega marathon.

“The energy on the set was so amazing – the camera crew, the gaffers and their staff, the actors or the directing team – that even though the shooting mode was ON during the day, we were all on the same page, worrying about the same problem. It was a blessing, in a way, that we didn’t have to stop and think, so we finished shooting the film in about 90 days. It should have easily taken us 120 days, but such was the intensity of our collaboration,” adds the cinematographer.

But the effectiveness comes down to the relationship with actor and director Rishabh Shetty, he says, and uses the term “pulse” to describe how they work professionally. Rishabh Shetty is known to have a tendency to work without excessive planning and instead use the energy and rhythm of the day to creatively control his shoots. Yet, for Arvind S. Kashyap, pragmatism is naturally ingrained in him because, as a director of photography, he has to constantly keep an eye on how every department (including his own) is functioning. Still, the duo struck an unusual chord and the collaboration is also a revelation for them.

“As much as I like to have a good balance between storyboarding shots and being able to improvise on set, Kantara didn’t allow us that. But it’s also because Rishabh is clear about what he wants visually, and even though it’s organic and flowing, the clarity is completely there. We moved into the location almost 45 days before we left for the shoot and spent each one figuring out how to do the different parts, working with actors, watching them rehearse and then visiting the locations to understand the technical preparation – perfect teamwork, in a way . Rishabh would give us an idea of ​​what the portions for the day would include and we would take each thing as it came, figuring out the logistics then and there. And because we both know our pulse and are quite open about our issues, the work is done with transparency.”

Perhaps that’s why Arvind S. Kashyap is a happy soul at the end of it all, because it’s obvious that he’s overcome a sense of catharsis through the shoot. Apart from the fact that he is the most practical and rational person on set, his personal journey has seen him become increasingly optimistic and romantic about the craft of filmmaking. And although he can still “freak out” when he first hears a wacky idea, he says he has more confidence to explore unknown territories.

“Look, DOPs are meant to bear the brunt of time on set and there’s no way around it. Every minute you spend working on an idea and trying to improvise, you are depleting a lot of the money invested in those that are idle at that moment. Your decisions directly affect how the rest of the film will be shot, but DOPs have to be decisive and that’s part of their job. But what I take away from the Kantara experience is that you can’t be pragmatic all the time, and when something is out of your comfort zone, you just have to think it’s fun after all. Because the opportunity to work on a topic and approach to filmmaking that is so new is also rare. Kantara is the perfect example of new age filmmaking for me. Not only is the idea so culturally rooted, but we are also telling the story through the best technology: the film has and will open many new doors for us,” concludes Arvind S. Kashyap.

Kantara hits theaters on September 30 and stars Rishab Shetty, Sapthami Gowda and Kishore in lead roles with Achyuth Kumar, Pramod Shetty, Vinay Bidappa and others playing the lead roles in the film. Vijay Kiragandur of Hombale Films (KGF: Chapter 1, KGF: Chapter 2, Salaar etc.) is producing the upcoming film which features music by B. Ajaneesh Loknath, National Award winning action choreography by Vikram Mor, production design of Dharani Gange Putra, Pragati Rishabh Shetty’s Costume Design – KM Prakash and Prateek Shetty are the editors of the film.