Eye on the Viewfinder

For cinematographer Setu,the visuals of imagined worlds emerge from reality.

While any mainstream Hindi movie would generally avoid being filmed in the dull,uninviting glow of a tube light in the fear of losing out on gloss,cinematographer Setu used it to light up one of the most crucial scenes of Kahaani. The scene was to portray contrasting moods in and outside the guest house room the protagonists bleak private world and a festive city immersed in Durga Puja celebrations and Setu found lyricism in the unassuming presence of the tube light.

As a child growing up in Kolkata,I remember it as being a predominantly tube-lit city. It had a depressive quality about it. Ive never liked tube lights. I have them in frame throughout to invoke that cold,blue feeling; a seedy,grunge inside while the outside is in warm exuberant festivities, says Setu,sitting inside Reliance Media Works,Film City,colour timing his next release,Ghanchakkar.

Having grown up in the middle-class milieu of Kolkata,Setus celluloid images are rooted in reality. It comes from his schooling in documentary with his uncle,Ranjan Palit,a National Award-winning documentary filmmaker. I learnt photography based on the simple philosophies of seeing things around me,and natural,available light, says Setu,originally named Satyajit Pande.

Setus interest in the medium was sparked seeing Palit at work. Initially he assisted him during his shoots,picking up a thing or two. It turned into a serious passion and he decided to pursue it professionally after his graduation in commerce. He took tuitions to save money for a course at the Film and Television Institute of India,Pune. The course brought him to Mumbai where he shot prolifically from documentary films to commercials.

However,the Hindi films in Setus resume,from Tigmanshu Dhulias Charas to Aamir Khans Taare Zameen Par and Abhishek Chaubeys forthcoming,Dedh Ishqiya,indicate his discerning selection of Bollywood movies. Lets say I do films that I would want to watch, he says.

His images try to strike a balance between the two the trams and streets of Kolkata in Kahaani and the local trains and nighttime streets of Mumbai in Ghanchakkar. I love shooting such spaces because,while people are familiar with these spaces and you need to retain the associative elements,you have to tweak them to suit the script and drama striking that balance is an interesting process, says the 39-year-old,as he recalls the experience of shooting in a real Durga Puja pandal in Kolkata. While Ghanchakkar inhabits the zone of city life,Dedh Ishqiya will see his camera travelling to the palaces of Lucknow.

One of Setus biggest lessons in feature films came while shooting Taare Zameen Par. It made him look at cinematography as a part of the larger picture. In the process he also learnt to acknowledge the performer more. While shooting TZP,I realised the value of giving space to the actor rather than giving them marks the camera shouldnt restrict the actor.

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