(From top) A montage of images from Black, a moment from Dil Chahta Hai, Abhishek Bachchan and Rani Mukherjee in Yuva and cinematographer Ravi Chandran on the sets

He has shot everything from Virasat to Dil Chahta Hai to Yuva to Koi? Mil Gaya. And now, Ravi Chandran has shot the most eagerly-awaited Bollywood film, Sanjay Leela Bhansali?s Black. The ace cinematographer speaks to Pratim D. Gupta about the experience and how he adjusts from one auteur to another.

Ever since you made a foray into Bollywood, you have shot very few south Indian films. Why?

Whether it?s a small film in the south or a big-budget venture in Mumbai, I put in the same effort. Regardless of the canvas, I have to give my everything. So I would naturally prefer more people to see my work. If I do a small film down south, it will only travel to a few festivals and be seen by very few people. Just like in your Bengal, unless you work in a Rituparno Ghosh or Mrinal Sen film, you won?t be noticed. But then again, I do choose a film according to the script.

You seem equally at ease with the so-called commercial directors and the arty film-makers?

Yes, I can?t complain. I have worked with the full range of Indian film-makers, all with different sensibilities. I have shot for the best directors in the industry ? Mani Ratnam, Priyadarshan, Rajeev Menon, Tinnu Anand, Sudhir Mishra, Farhan Akhtar, Rakesh Roshan and Sanjay Leela Bhansali... It has never been a problem adjusting to the genre simply because I have grown up watching both the Amar Akbar Anthonys and the Kurosawas. So I have been exposed to both ends of the spectrum. Having done advertisements, I have also learnt the polishing act.

Your breakthrough work in Bollywood was Dil Chahta Hai. Why did you agree to work with a newcomer like Farhan Akhtar?

Anil Kapoor asked me the same question a few days back. See, I never knew Farhan. He gave me the script, I read it and liked it. I agreed to do it and had to turn down Devdas because of Dil Chahta Hai. Many people told me then that I was mad. But choosing a film is ultimately like a blind shot ? sometimes it works and sometimes it fails miserably.

No regrets of not being able to shoot Devdas?

Not at all. I couldn?t have shot Devdas the way Binod Pradhan did. I cannot shoot at night ? I am a very morning person. Devdas was shot over 250 nights. I would have collapsed after two nights. Binod had the temperament to do the film.

I have nothing against the lavish grandeur of Devdas. Somebody has to make a Titanic. Then again, a No Man?s Land also wins an Oscar. A film like Chokher Bali can be made as a low-budget film and also as a big-budget venture.

I have shot a film with two HMIs and no generators. And I have also shot films with as many as 80 HMIs.

But how are you able to get the feel right in a rural setting like that of Virasat and also in the urban milieu of Dil Chahta Hai?

You have to look at the subject. I have also been able to fit into a sci-fi film like Koi? Mil Gaya. When it comes to advertisements, I have shot something as rough as the 8 PM ad and also something as glossy as the Hyundai Getz ad. You have to give in to the story. The lighting used in Dil Se (by Santosh Sivan) could have been used in Yuva, but Mani Ratnam and I decided to go gritty.

You shot in Calcutta for Yuva and Calcutta Mail. Is the city as cinematic as directors claim?

Yes, Calcutta is very pictorial. There is a lot of history to the city. The frames are very beautiful and there is a lot of character to the city, which none of the other cities have. You just have to show an old house with a lot of wires outside to establish the city.

Tell us something about Black?

Black?s something which I have never done before. It?s something Sanjay has never done before. People try to do another Mughal-e-Azam or another Godfather ? they try to push the essence further. Black is a small film, yet a very big one. In fact, when Sanjay told me the story, I decided to use a Kaagaz Ke Phool kind of format for the film. It?s not a dark film as people are thinking it to be. It is very happy and moves at a very different pace than other Indian films. I would say, Black has a very European setting.

How did you get associated with Black?

Since we couldn?t work in Devdas, Sanjay called me to shoot Bajirao Mastani. Then he told me that before Bajirao? he was doing a very small-budget film called Black. No songs, no dances, no colours. That?s very unlike Sanjay?s work. I read the script and started discussing the different styles of shooting. We decided to use the colours black, brown and grey and tried to explore it further with the tones of the sets. No Indian film has ever been shot like Black.

Any special incidents on the sets?

One night, Amitji (Amitabh Bachchan) came on the sets and told me, ?It really looks like daylight?. I thought that was a good compliment. To actually make the sunlight hit the floors at night-time and look believable was really tough. But with the powerful lights we get now, it is possible to achieve the realistic tones.

How black is Black?

You have to see the film to find that out. But it?s shaped up well. It is about this blind girl played by Rani and she is so good, she is sure to walk away with all the awards next year. The hope in her life is in the form of Amitji? It?s about how the two develop this unique relationship. This is even Amitji?s best performance ever since he made a comeback. As Sanjay says, everything clicked for the film from day one and that?s very rare.

Why did you turn down Shaad Ali?s Bunty Aur Babli?

I finished shooting for Black in August, but I did not take up any film after that because I wanted to be available for the post-production work like colour-correction and grading. So I couldn?t do Shaad?s film. I will only start working on a film after February.

And which films might those be?

I am doing Amol Palekar?s next film produced by Shah Rukh Khan. It?s a period drama set in a village, to be shot in Rajasthan. I am also slated to do Kunal Kohli?s next with Aamir Khan and Kajol.

Any other Indian cinematographer?s work you admire?

I really like Abhik Mukherjee?s work. When I lost my National Award for Mani Ratnam?s Kannathil Mutthail to his Bhalo Theko, I looked at him jealously. But when I saw his work, I felt he really deserved it. He is one guy after Santosh Sivan who is strikingly brilliant. I have to run faster than him.