First Day, First Show

Pai is working on the final cut of Jhankar Beats, the level at which he thinks the editor takes creative decisions. 8216;8216;You put a pa...

SURESH PAI
Film Editor

IT is a wry, but believable admission. When editor Suresh Pai says that the most shocking part of his job is watching the uncut version of a film for the first time, you can almost picture the innumerable jumbled shots he has to put together like a giant jigsaw puzzle. 8216;8216;That8217;s when you know that there8217;s something amiss,8217;8217; Pai says drolly, as three monitors in front of him freeze three different frames.

With Rahul Bose8217;s Everybody Says I8217;m Fine, the documentary A Memory Of The Seas, the still-to-be released Dimple-starrer Leela and Sunhil Sippy8217;s Snip which won him the National Award behind him, Pai is now fine-tuning Sujoy Ghosh8217;s Jhankar Beats. Seated in a tiny room at a Mumbai studio with just machines for company, Pai admits that he works best this way. 8216;8216;Except for an assistant, I like to work alone. I know I have to shake it off, but I can only concentrate this way,8217;8217; he shrugs. Tapes are piled on a table next to him and he cradles the umpteenth cup of tea while he selects one second of a scene over another.

Pai is working on the final cut of Jhankar Beats, the level at which he thinks the editor takes creative decisions. 8216;8216;You put a pattern to the film, try to take it forward. A film is a collaborative art. While editing, you work with the director. So if you don8217;t have an egg, you will discover more,8217;8217; he says.

It is a collaboration that begins much before Pai steps into the avid room. While building up a rapport with the director, he prefers to quiz him on his/her favourite films. 8216;8216;It gives me an idea of what the director wants,8217;8217; Pai explains. Like Ghosh requested Pai to watch Darren Aronofsky8217;s Requiem For A Dream. 8216;8216;I liked the style, but I had to remind Sujoy that his film was different 8212; more feel-good,8217;8217; he explains.

But the real work begins when Pai starts fashioning the first viewing into a 8216;rough cut8217;. First he sorts the scenes into sequences, then syncs it with the sound and finally 8216;arranges8217; it into a cohesive structure. 8216;8216;Most directors appreciate the fact that I like to do the rough cut myself,8217;8217; Pai says. His unwritten rule is that he works by daylight, but this often means skipped lunches. The rough cut is the most time-consuming, and Pai reveals that he has worked upto 24 hours straight on Snip.

Pai then works on the final cut, taking suggestions from the director, which sometimes results in his favourite scenes. Like the comical run-ins Rahul Bose8217;s character has with a pigeon in Jhankar Beats. 8216;8216;Sujoy wanted it to be cut like a Mexican stand-off between the two and it really worked,8217;8217; he enthuses.The best work, Pai concedes, is the crispest final cut. Snip to that!