It was a dream to work with Rajnikanth - K.V Anand

For cinematographer K.V.Anand, it was a dream project to work with superstar Rajnikanth in the Tamil film, 'Sivaji'. Looking back, Anand says, " Initially I was hesitant about doing 'Sivaji' since I was keen on directing my own film. When Shankar (director of the film) called me up, I was in doubt. But my family members asked "Are you crazy, this is a great opportunity, don't let it go. I joined Shankar and it has been a wonderful experience".

So how was it working with the super star?

"Rajnikanth is a thorough professional, very unassuming and punctual. There have been times when Shankar and I have arrived on the sets late. But Rajnikanth will be there on time. This punctuality is an asset to a director and cinematographer since things go as planned," says the ace cinematographer who won the national award for his debut film 'Thenmavin Kombathu', a Malayalam film in 1995.

"An often used word in Rajni's vocabulary is 'Sorry' and 'Thanks.' Whenever a shot was not done well, I used to get annoyed with my assistant, who would go and request Rajni for a retake. After the shoot, Rajnikanth would look at my assistant and ask, "Was it ok"? "He is a very simple man and easy to work with," adds Anand who turned director with 'Kana Kandein' in 2005.

This is the first time an Indian film has been produced on 4K, which means improved technology and better resolution. "Hollywood blockbusters like 'Spider Man 2' use this technology as it is more closer to the original image and has better resolution. 'Sivaji' is as good as any Hollywood film technically," he explains.

"Our aim in the film was to make Rajni look younger. We including Shankar, the costume designers and make-up artiste Banu worked towards that. Rajni wore wigs and costumes to give him a younger look and I choose those angles and lighting that would make him look appealing and young. The effort has paid off," says Anand.

CGI or computer generated imagery lent Rajnikanth a fair European look in the song sequence, 'Oru Kudai Sunlight'. "Rajni's dark complexion is his asset, it helps him relate to the audience. Shankar however wondered how he would look fair complexioned? So we did what is called skin grafting. Probably the first time it has been done in films. In this the skin tone of a U.K. based dancer, who is fair complexioned was superimposed over Rajni's features. Every shot that featured Rajnikanth was shot twice with this dancer and then sent to 'Indian Artist,' the company that worked to make Rajni look like a European," explains the 40-year-old cinematographer who started his career as a press photographer.

Remember the glass dome in the song, 'Sahana' with Rajni and Shriya? Well this was done at Ramoji Rao's studio in Hyderabad. "When I arrived at the sets I saw twenty Anand's looking back at me. I realized this would pose a problem. But we overcame this hurdle. The entire crew covered themselves with black cloth to avoid reflection. I used half-lights instead of front lights from camera angle. It took us eight days," he says.

Another difficult scene was the car fight scene. "For this we created an open air theatre and used a green screen. It was shot at Integral Coach Factory, Perambur. A helium balloon, 20ft. in diameter, with 4 lights in cluster of 6KV, that floated at a height of 150 feet, was used to imitate moonlight."

As for the memorable scenes Anand enjoyed the shooting of the song sequence 'Vajee.' And of course the comedy scenes with Rajni and Vivek. "The two shared a wonderful chemistry and often came up with impromptu dialogues," says this science graduate.

For one who started taking pictures with a Yashica, a gift from his mother Anusuya Venkataraman, Anand has certainly come a long way. And he recalls with a laugh how in the early days of his career his late grandmother would comment as he set out on an assignment with his large bag, "Poran parru, mellakkaran."

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Sivaji - The Boss