Acclaimed cinematographer Ravi Varman is basking in the glory of his work in ace filmmaker Mani Ratnam's Ponniyin Selvan films, which have turned out to be phenomenal successes on the commercial and critical fronts. With the sequel, Ponniyin Selvan: 2 continuing to witness a strong showing in theatres, Ravi Varman opened up about the making of the magnum opus films, and provided a detailed explanation of several important scenes. He also revealed how the scene where Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's character Nandini meets Karthi as Vanthiyathevan for the first time in Ponniyin Selvan: 1 was a big challenge to shoot.
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Speaking about the making of Aishwarya Rai's palanquin scene in PS: 1, Ravi Varman said, "She's a glorious beauty and someone who has the ability to cast a spell on anyone and get them attracted to her. This is a feeling that will be mutual among everyone around her. When a writer or a director creates a character, it is a bigger challenge to bring it to life in all its glory in the visual form. We should make the character believable. For the palanquin scene, we took a wide shot on the banks of the Godavari River. We shot it early in the morning at around 6 a.m. and mounted the palanquin on a rock-like structure." He continued, "While filming during the time of the sunrise, I saw the sunlight coming through the curtain that Aishwarya Rai opens to see the commotion outside when Karthi makes his entry. When we went for the final shot, the time was 11 a.m. and I had to recreate the sunlight that I saw at 6 a.m. I took a photo and recreated the same sunlight using artificial lights in the same environment. I got the feeling I had wanted when she opens the curtains and she gets introduced like an angel."
Ravi Varman continued, "In the previous shot, we see Karthi as Vanthiyathevan making his entry and observing where the palanquin is going. In the cinema format, we can always match early morning and late evening. So, when we were shooting in the evening sometime around 5 p.m., the light that I saw in the morning, I got the same effect in the opposite direction this time." He added, "It was a challenging shot as the light will come at a 180-degree angle and fall on Karthi's face. Horses don't stay in one place usually as they keep changing their position often. The shot will be in silhouette and the sun will not be completely visible since it's behind Karthi and the horse. Karthi's entry shot and Aishwarya Rai's introduction are important shots as they created a mystery, I feel."
Watch Ravi Varman in conversation with Baradwaj Rangan in the video below:
