Released on May 14, ‘Athiradi’ has been making waves among Malayalam cinema audiences with its energetic storytelling, large-scale crowd sequences, and star-studded cast featuring Tovino Thomas, Basil Joseph, and Vineeth Sreenivasan.

The film’s Director of Photography, 28-year-old Samuel Henry, who is originally from Alappuzha and now living in Kochi, has been receiving attention for his debut film’s vibrant visual style and massive rally sequences.

In a freewheeling chat with Marthrubhumi.com, Henry opened up about the atmosphere on set, working with the lead actors, handling chaos-filled crowd scenes, and filming a climax involving nearly 2000 people. 

Q: ‘Athiradi’ sounds explosive already! On set, who was actually the biggest ‘Athiradi’: the actors, the director, or you behind the camera?

This film was shot over an 82-day schedule, so everyone got their own time to become an ‘Athiradi’ person at some point. The moment you came onto the set, you could feel that ‘Athiradi’ energy, just like the title suggests. Since the film used a lot of crowd sequences, the set was always packed and chaotic in the best way. It was a set where everyone shared great energy throughout.

Q: How many ‘one more take!’ moments made the actors secretly hate you during the shoot?

To be honest, all the artists were extremely cooperative. Whenever we asked for one more take, nobody hesitated; they would just say, ‘Let’s try it.’ Since this was my first film, I was naturally a little tense in the beginning. But I had a very strong team, and that slowly helped me ease out of the pressure. Whether it was Tovino Thomas, Basil Joseph, or Vineeth Sreenivasan, everyone was incredibly kind. That made the whole experience of working together very comfortable and enjoyable.”

Q: If ‘Athiradi’ had to be described using only camera movements, what would it look like?

You could describe ‘Athiradi’ only as a mix of all these elements. Just like the film has every kind of emotion in it, the visual style also had a bit of chaos, moments of mass energy, and everything in between; it was all blended.

Q: Are cinematographers secretly becoming bigger stars than heroes now?

I wouldn’t say cinematographers are becoming stars, but people are indeed noticing the work more now. There’s a lot of happiness in that. Recognition like this really helps and motivates us to keep doing more work.

Q: What’s one behind-the-scenes moment from ‘Athiradi’ that would instantly go viral if leaked online?

That would be while shooting the climax sequence. It was a frame with around 2000 people, and the 'mental high' we achieved while shooting it was on another level altogether. It was my first time filming something with that many people. Seeing the BTS of it all felt absolutely insane. Also, there’s a fight sequence in the middle of a rally, and that was something that felt really interesting and exciting to shoot as well.