I did Bombay Talking on Zee Cafe: Sudesh Kotian!
For one to be able to express their emotions through a creative platform, is a gift and an art! What appeals to the eye, definitely makes a place in the heart! Sudesh Kotian is no new name when we talk about Camera work in Television.
This Director of Photography, has been a part of hit series like Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Des Main Nikla Hoga Chand, and today continues to add many more feathers to his cap by being a part of Star Plus's no 1 show Diya aur Baati Hum and Main Laxmi Tere Angan Ki on Life Ok. In a reflective interview with Rangmunch.TV this is what Sudesh had to say about his work, his thoughts on creativity and what it takes to be a good cinematographer.
Rangmunch: Which are the shows you are currently working on?
Sudesh: I'm doing Diya Aur Baati Hum on Star Plus, Main Lakshmi Tere Angan Ki on Life OK and Haar Jeet on Imagine TV.
Rangmunch: What according to you is the most important requisite to be a good Cinematographer?
Sudesh: He should have a clear vision. Before he captures a picture, he should be able to visualize it. Framing and lighting are very important requisites in our field. One should be able to grab 50% of the visual before getting it on to the camera.
Rangmunch: What are the immediate things in your surroundings that tempt you to capture them in your lens?
Sudesh: I like to work on my background. My framing is important. I decide on my background first and make my frame look beautiful before going on to the character.
Rangmunch: What is your signature style when you do a certain shot?
Sudesh: I treat every project in a different manner. We have hard core thrillers as well as family dramas. You can't do much in a family drama other than capturing early morning shots and making people look good. However, in a thriller you can do a lot more. I did a serial on Zee caf called Bombay Talking, which had an English feel to it, so you could experiment on it. Due to certain constraints you can't go beyond a certain line. In an episode I would love to do at least 3 scenes differently than the regular ones but there are restrictions so can't do much.
Rangmunch: Do you discuss the scenes with your Director before you go in for a shot?
Sudesh: Yes we do. In a daily show we get the script and we go through the scene. I know what the Director wants, so I make my assistant stand on the marking before I start rolling to avoid confusion later. Once the Director is satisfied, I do my lighting. When that is done, I tell my Assitant Director to call the artists for rehearsals. Once the rehearsal is clear, we go for the take. In daily soaps, we have a master shot as well as close ups, but in movies, it is a different scenario. The scale is large and fast, so there is lot we can work on.
Rangmunch : What kind of lighting do you prefer?
Sudesh: I prefer raw lighting, the ones we use in thriller and gangster kind of movies. I like glossy also but deep down I like the raw lighting. I did a show recently called "Mukti Bandhan" on Colors which came out well.
Rangmunch: What according to you is Cinematic quality?
Sudesh: I believe that whatever you do visually it should be a treat. Your frame should look beautiful.You should take care of every details, the background, colours and your characters. I love to play with colours , lots of colours.I don't like yellow colour as it merges with the skin tone.Use colours so that your frame looks beautiful.
Rangmunch: Any particular scene or shot that you have done and are very proud of?
Sudesh: (smiles) There are so many scenes that its difficult to remember. But I remember, I was in Sydney for Balaji Productions, Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. There was a scene when Tulsi meets Mandira and ends up in a park where she was crying. I had to be next to her with the camera, sometimes sitting when she was sitting, sometimes running behind her. The scene was all over the place. It was a long shot and a very intense one too. The director Santram had a very peculiar habit of taking out weird noises while shooting. So once the shot was over, I started doing that (laughing at the memory) and Smriti said "yahan mein ro rahi hoon, and you all are laughing." It was quite a funny moment.
I also did "Desh Mein Nikala Hoga Chand" with Aruna Irani. I have lot of memories of that too. There was a scene at the Heathrow airport. Aruna ji was in the scene. I co-ordinated the scene very well with the director and even the driver. We had to shoot the scene and leave for another location. That's when Aruna ji said why don't you take a shot of the plane landing, since we were at the back side of the airport. I casually removed the lens of my camera and was about to take the shot when 3-4 policemen came and stood with their guns pointing at me. We were fined some pounds. That was the first time I had cops on me (smiling at the memory).
Rangmunch: How has the shows changed from the time you started 15 years back to what it is now?
Sudesh: A lot has changed. Earlier shows were telecast weekly and now they are done on daily basis. Things have been changing ever since. Earlier we used to slog for days without a break. Nowadays things are more regularized. Now we shoot only 12 hours. Earlier there was no time frame. If you work continuously your craft tends to get affected. The quality does go down. But now things are much better. Every department has started getting their due respect. We have now started to understand what is sound, what role costume plays in a scene etc. People now pay attention to these details as well, and hence cant be ignored. There were also a lot of ego hassles earlier, which is not the case anymore. (laughs)
Rangmunch: Who did you assist when you entered the industry?
Sudesh: Mr. Ram Alam, who was also a camera-man. I started to assist him on regional films. A couple of years later, I joined Mr Raju Tendulkar (Priya Tendulkar's brother). I did reality shows like Movers and Shakers. Then I got a break in a Marathi show. Slowly I got into Hindi shows and did Kyunki for three and half years.
Rangmunch: You have practically grown and learned a lot about your craft in this industry. How important is it to hold a professional degree?
Sudesh: I believe that you do practicals for good 6 months by going onto the sets and learn the techniques, go through all that happens on the job, and then go for a course. It helps you a lot to understand things better. So instead of step 1, do step 2 and then step 1.
On that note, we Rangmunch.TV would like to thank Sudesh Kotian for sharing his thoughts on his craft as well as his experience in the industry with us. We hope all you art lovers now know what plays in the mind of a Cinematographer!
P.S.- As i haven't seen this article, in this forum, thought of sharing.If already posted, am sorry
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