The light we shared: Remembering Vanaprastham and Shaji N Karun, master craftsman

There was a time years ago when I dreamed of studying at the Pune Film Institute. To go there, one should understand what a film institute is, how things function there, and all of that. To learn about it, I went to meet Shaji N. Karun. He explained everything to me calmly and with warmth.

Later, I went my own way. I started working under various directors. I learned something or the other from each one of them. It was Mohanlal who invited me to join Vanaprastham, the film Shaji Sir was making. The cinematographer at the time was a Swiss cameraman named Renato Berta. Due to some reason, after shooting a few portions, he had to return. That’s when Lal (Mohanlal) called me for the continuation.

It was my first time working with Shaji Sir. He was a man who became a director after being a cinematographer. Naturally, he had a deep understanding of the language of the camera. That was both a support and a challenge for me. My approach was completely different from Shaji Sir’s—everyone who knows me is aware of that. His pace wasn’t the same as mine. His angles weren’t mine. Even so, in Vanaprastham, we started collaborating closely very quickly.

The shoot was extremely difficult. Once, Mohanlal was in costume as Kathakali characters, he had to sit without removing the makeup for an entire day. He couldn’t even go to the bathroom. Understanding all this, Shaji Sir carried the shoot forward with great care and calmness.

As a cameraman, I look at Shaji N. Karun—the cameraman—with awe and admiration. It is very good when directors understand colour tones and lighting schemes. Mani Ratnam, Priyadarshan, and Shaji Sir all know this very well. In Piravi, there was constant rain. In Vanaprastham, the colour tone he asked me to create was that of the warm glow of an oil lamp. More than just cinema, Vanaprastham helped me understand how deeply Shaji Sir knows Kerala's culture and traditional art forms.

Recently, when I went to receive an award at the Cannes Film Festival, many people there asked me about him. They hadn’t forgotten Vanaprastham. It was screened there again for them. When I returned, I called Shaji Sir to share this joy. Before ending the call, I said:

‘Chetta, let’s do a film together.’

(He had earlier called me to shoot Kutty Srank, but I couldn’t make it. My assistant Anjali Shukla did the shoot.)

Even in the last few days, I called him and said we should make a film. The last message from my mobile to his was also about doing a new film.

“Sir, I’m letting go of that dream now, and walking back into the memories of Vanaprastham.”