Showing posts with label Rajeev Ravi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rajeev Ravi. Show all posts
I have Rajeev Ravi to fall back on-Geetu Mohandas
8:18 AM
Together for 17 years, Geetu Mohandas and Rajeev Ravi on the cement of cinema that glues them together
Kunal Guha (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 31, 2015)
They are a celebrity couple with a quirk. They've never agreed to an interview together. Malayalam actress and filmmaker Geetu Mohandas and husband, cinematographer-filmmaker Rajeev Ravi have been married for five years (following a 12-year courtship), but they request time to rethink when we approach them for a chat at their hotel on a visit to Mumbai this week. Residents of Kochi, the couple comes to the city only on work, and Ravi claims the longest he has stayed is seven months. He is referring to the time spent playing DoP on Anurag Kashyap films, Dev D, Gulaal, No Smoking and most recently, Bombay Velvet. "Working with Anurag, for me, is the easiest thing to do. It feels like an in-house production. We share a great rapport although we only meet on set," he says.
In his 14-year-long career, he has juggled Malayalam and Hindi cinema with ease because the language of films, he says, is universal. "Of course, the scale is different. There's more money in Hindi films, so you can afford better equipment, and better salary."
His characteristic uprightness is evident often in the conversation, especially when he refers to his last Malayalam directorial venture, Njan Steve Lopez (2014), as a 'flop'. "We didn't recover the investment. Since the scale is controlled, you enjoy the freedom to try out new things," he says.
His job brings with it an additional perk - that of working with his wife, as he did on her directorial debut and India's official entry to this year's Academy Awards, Liar's Dice. For it, he won the National Award for cinematography.
Geetu, who has spent a large part of her career acting in mainstream Malayalam films, was always drawn to writing, "whether short stories or scripts, it came naturally". The Hindi road drama that released in 2013 took five years to write but was shot in 22 days straight since "that's all the money we had".
What turned out to be time consuming was pitching the project to production houses, who routinely turned it down. "I was told, it's a story about a child, a lamb and a kid on a mountain. 'How are you going to sell it?' There was pressure to cast stars," she admits, adding as an afterthought that a first film in Malayalam would've made the ride smoother.
Geetu and Rajeev first met on the sets of Sesham in 2002. "He was fresh out of FTII and had only shot Madhur Bhandarkar's Chandni Bar," she remembers. They bonded first over their shared love of books. "And, he exposed me to world cinema," she pitches in. "I was naive, impressionable and barely 19."
Ravi had seen Geetu's work in Onnu Muthal Poojyam Vare. "It was well crafted and an iconic Malayalam film," he says of Geetu's 1986 debut as a child-actor alongside superstar Mohanlal and Asha Jayaram. A story about the loneliness of a widow and her child's desire for a father-figure won Geetu the Kerala State Film Award for Best Child Artist. The film was produced by Navodaya Studios, a production house headed by Navodaya Appachan, veteran producer-director-entrepreneur. "He was an introvert, never wishing to be in the limelight. In fact, there are films he has been part of but refused to take credit for," says Ravi about the producer of My Dear Kuttichathan (1984), India's first 3D movie, (dubbed in Hindi as Chota Chetan; 1997) and Padayottam (1982), India's first 70-mm-film.
Despite their chemistry, Geetu and Rajeev had dramatically different childhoods. "I was into student politics and was the president of the SFI at Maharajas College, Kochi," says Ravi. Geetu was a "big star in school", and before she knew what was happening, her family moved to Malaysia and then to Canada following her father's transfers. "When I returned to India, I soon got my first film," says Geetu, who, at 19, debuted as a professional actor opposite Mohanlal in Life is Beautiful, inspired by Dead Poet's Society.
Excited that her upcoming project, Mulakoya has been selected for Drishyam Sundance Screenwriters Lab - a collaboration between producer Manish Mundra and the Sundance Institute - Geetu credits her first short, Kelkkunnundo (Are you listening; 2009), which was selected at Rotterdam, for exposing her to the festival circuit. The film explored urbanisation through the eyes of a visually impaired girl. "Script labs are useful for first and second-time filmmakers since they are more receptive to feedback. Not everybody offered inputs that I thought could help me narrate my story better, but it was nice to be able to pick the feedback that would help," she says.
She considers her current position powerful, not having to conform to the formula for success. "It's not my bread and butter, and I have Rajeev to fall back on," she says about her husband who is preparing for his next directorial project slated to begin in August, starring Mammootty's son, Dulquer Salmaan.
They are a celebrity couple with a quirk. They've never agreed to an interview together. Malayalam actress and filmmaker Geetu Mohandas and husband, cinematographer-filmmaker Rajeev Ravi have been married for five years (following a 12-year courtship), but they request time to rethink when we approach them for a chat at their hotel on a visit to Mumbai this week. Residents of Kochi, the couple comes to the city only on work, and Ravi claims the longest he has stayed is seven months. He is referring to the time spent playing DoP on Anurag Kashyap films, Dev D, Gulaal, No Smoking and most recently, Bombay Velvet. "Working with Anurag, for me, is the easiest thing to do. It feels like an in-house production. We share a great rapport although we only meet on set," he says.
In his 14-year-long career, he has juggled Malayalam and Hindi cinema with ease because the language of films, he says, is universal. "Of course, the scale is different. There's more money in Hindi films, so you can afford better equipment, and better salary."
His characteristic uprightness is evident often in the conversation, especially when he refers to his last Malayalam directorial venture, Njan Steve Lopez (2014), as a 'flop'. "We didn't recover the investment. Since the scale is controlled, you enjoy the freedom to try out new things," he says.
His job brings with it an additional perk - that of working with his wife, as he did on her directorial debut and India's official entry to this year's Academy Awards, Liar's Dice. For it, he won the National Award for cinematography.
Geetu, who has spent a large part of her career acting in mainstream Malayalam films, was always drawn to writing, "whether short stories or scripts, it came naturally". The Hindi road drama that released in 2013 took five years to write but was shot in 22 days straight since "that's all the money we had".
What turned out to be time consuming was pitching the project to production houses, who routinely turned it down. "I was told, it's a story about a child, a lamb and a kid on a mountain. 'How are you going to sell it?' There was pressure to cast stars," she admits, adding as an afterthought that a first film in Malayalam would've made the ride smoother.
Geetu and Rajeev first met on the sets of Sesham in 2002. "He was fresh out of FTII and had only shot Madhur Bhandarkar's Chandni Bar," she remembers. They bonded first over their shared love of books. "And, he exposed me to world cinema," she pitches in. "I was naive, impressionable and barely 19."
Ravi had seen Geetu's work in Onnu Muthal Poojyam Vare. "It was well crafted and an iconic Malayalam film," he says of Geetu's 1986 debut as a child-actor alongside superstar Mohanlal and Asha Jayaram. A story about the loneliness of a widow and her child's desire for a father-figure won Geetu the Kerala State Film Award for Best Child Artist. The film was produced by Navodaya Studios, a production house headed by Navodaya Appachan, veteran producer-director-entrepreneur. "He was an introvert, never wishing to be in the limelight. In fact, there are films he has been part of but refused to take credit for," says Ravi about the producer of My Dear Kuttichathan (1984), India's first 3D movie, (dubbed in Hindi as Chota Chetan; 1997) and Padayottam (1982), India's first 70-mm-film.
Despite their chemistry, Geetu and Rajeev had dramatically different childhoods. "I was into student politics and was the president of the SFI at Maharajas College, Kochi," says Ravi. Geetu was a "big star in school", and before she knew what was happening, her family moved to Malaysia and then to Canada following her father's transfers. "When I returned to India, I soon got my first film," says Geetu, who, at 19, debuted as a professional actor opposite Mohanlal in Life is Beautiful, inspired by Dead Poet's Society.
Excited that her upcoming project, Mulakoya has been selected for Drishyam Sundance Screenwriters Lab - a collaboration between producer Manish Mundra and the Sundance Institute - Geetu credits her first short, Kelkkunnundo (Are you listening; 2009), which was selected at Rotterdam, for exposing her to the festival circuit. The film explored urbanisation through the eyes of a visually impaired girl. "Script labs are useful for first and second-time filmmakers since they are more receptive to feedback. Not everybody offered inputs that I thought could help me narrate my story better, but it was nice to be able to pick the feedback that would help," she says.
She considers her current position powerful, not having to conform to the formula for success. "It's not my bread and butter, and I have Rajeev to fall back on," she says about her husband who is preparing for his next directorial project slated to begin in August, starring Mammootty's son, Dulquer Salmaan.
For days I shot dirty looks at Rajeev Ravi and Anurag Kashyap-Niharika Khan
7:44 AM
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 13, 2015)
National Award winning costume designer, Niharika Khan, admits that Bombay Velvet has been her biggest challenge so far because the film spans decades-from the '40 and '50 to the '60s-and has characters like Johnny Balraj, played by Ranbir Kapoor, who goes from being a young streetfighter wanting to the manager of the prestigious club the film is named after. "The ganjis and shorts made way for Varun Bahl designed suits, custom made shoes, tie-pins and cufflinks were bought in London," informs Niharika.
She goes on to point out that while the suits were tailored in keeping with the times -- drainpipe trousers, double-breasted suits and waistcoats, jackets with broad lapels--the look wasn't uniform for every character. "Kay Kay Menon's Inspector Kulkarni wears his trousers really high and his ties really short. Also, while Karan Johar's Kaizad Khambatta and Manish Chaudhari's Jimmy Mistry are both dapper Parsi gentlemen, Khambatta is more flamboyant while Jimmy is quieter, sulking in the corner, while his rival performs," points out Niharika.
There's a marked distinction between Anushka Sharma and Raveena Tandon's characters too despite both being jazz singers. While Raveena is a showgirl with the more elaborate dresses and bigger headgear, Anushka is glamorous without being showy. "Rosie Noronha is an Anglo-Indian Portugese girl from Goa who comes to Bombay to become a singer and slowly loses her inhibitions," says Niharika.
She remembers how they got a hat with feathers and a net covering the lower half of the face for Anushka's funeral scene and got another one like that designed for the racecourse sequence to compliment her black-and-white striped dress and white sunglasses. "But the black hat looked so stark that I painted white polka dots on it," laughs Niharika.
Talking of accessories reminds her of the round gold engagement ring with an emblem that both Ranbir and Anushka wear. "Everything about that period was so formal that we had to pay attention to the smallest details. The ring is significant because it had to look good on both their hands and signified the glamor they're aspiring to. I got it specially designed in London," she says.
Since all those working in the Bombay Velvet club are trying to impress the foreigners who come looking for liquor and music, there was a lot of Hollywood and Bollywood references even in the hairstyles. Ranbir drew his look from James Cagney while Anushka's bouffants created by Greek stylist Gabriel Georgio, borrowed from Sophia Loren, Audrey Hepburn, Waheeda Rehman, Saira Banu and Niharika's ma-in-law, Begum Para.
Her costumes comprised layers and layers of fabric which took hours to get into and by the end of the day, left her in a pool of sweat in the humid Sri Lankan weather where A/Cs didn't work and shoots had to be shifted to nights because the days were too hot. "I got a pristine white dress with pearls made for her for the Naak pe gussa song. Since the budget didn't allow two, we went to Sri Lanka with just one for a three-day shoot. Halfway through the first day, the dress was brown. Grappling with poor dry cleaning services, we managed as best as we could, to keep the stains away from the camera line," she says, shuddering at the memory.
Her biggest grouse was that the blue peacock dress that she had 'tortured' her team into creating with real feathers, lost all its detailing on stage as the DOP Rajeev Ravi suffused it in blue light. "For days I shot dirty looks at Rajeev and Anurag but I understood that the film is more important than the dress. One has to look at the bigger picture," she concludes.
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