Cinematographer Dani Sanchez-Lopez: Sai Pallavi emerging from the tent in camouflage clothing is a powerful moment

Dani Sanchez-Lopez, cinematographer of ‘Virata Parvam’, on taking cues from documentaries and Russian cinema for a realistic depiction of Telangana villages

Dani Sanchez-Lopez was barely seven when he had made up his mind that he would grow up and be a part of cinema. His initial fascination was for acting until he discovered that actors spoke lines written by others. He grew interested in writing, direction and editing and got an introduction to all of these. It was while studying filmmaking at Chapman University, California, that he realised he enjoyed narrating stories visually. 

He had found his calling in cinematography. What Dani, of Spanish origin, did not foresee was that he would take up projects in India and work in Telugu cinema. His collaboration with director Nag Ashwin for the Savitri biopic Mahanati had him experimenting with visual textures that complemented every decade of the story. Post Mahanati, Dani came on board for director Gunashekhar’s Hiranya, starring Rana Daggubati as Hiranyakashipu. The project is in the works and, in the meantime, he was roped in for Virata Parvam. Incidentally, his first Indian project was supposed to be Chaitanya Tamhane’s Court. “We spent countless evenings in Versova, Mumbai, discussing the film and how we can portray India. By the time Chaitanya got funding and the project was ready for filming, I was in Pakistan working on another project,” Dani recalls.

Content, not scale

Dani has different agents coordinating projects for him in Spain, India and Los Angeles and says his focus has been to take up films that are exciting, irrespective of their scale and budget. 

The Sai Pallavi and Rana Daggubati starrer Virata Parvam directed by Venu Udugula is a niche project that is getting noticed for its offbeat approach to filmmaking. 

Dani, who gave the film a distinct visual quality, says he was impressed reading a 30-page synopsis translated from Telugu. “When I first met Venu, he apologised stating that his English was not good. I felt awkward and said it should be the other way around — I am the outsider who does not know Telugu.”

Soon, Dani and the director watched documentaries filmed in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to observe how the villages were portrayed realistically. The two also share a common interest in Russian films. “I like the hypnotising camera movements in Andrei Tarkovsky’s and Andrey Zvyagintsev’s films. We wanted that kind of camera movement and realism.”