Cinematographer Karthik Palani on the making of ‘Varisu,’ Vijay’s electric presence, and the upcoming ‘Adipurush’

The cinematographer talks about designing the visuals of ‘Varisu’ along with director Vamshi Paidipally, why ‘Ranjithame’ is a special song to him, and how confident he is about his next project: Prabhas’ ‘Adipurush’

“You can’t put into words the happiness to see such a grand reception for the work you created,” says Karthik Palani, the cinematographer of the Vijay-starrer Varisu.

For Varisu, Karthik’s work started right after he met with director Vamshi Paidipally. Having seen Vamshi’s previous films, the ace technician says that he had an idea of the kind of visuals the filmmaker would go for. “They were all large-scale visuals with a high benchmark. But he had to brief us on the film that he had in mind. Then we, along with the art department, came up with different options and that’s what you get to see right now.”

A hero vehicle that marries action and drama, Varisu has a story that strings together set pieces that happen in a handful of locations. While much of the drama happens inside a bungalow, there is also a seaport, a mine, and a corporate establishment that are featured predominantly. Capturing the sets with novelty without forgoing the grandeur should have been a huge task, but clear communication at every stage of production helped, says Karthik. “During pre-production, the production designer would bring out layouts and 3D images of the sets, and we would discuss to get an idea of the look and feel.”

Vamshi would usually inform him on how he wanted to approach a certain scene, but Karthik had enough freedom to do it all by himself. “And mostly, my ideas would match with what he expected from me; that’s because we read the scene paper over and over.”

Karthik and Vamshi had to also be conscious of not repeating a shot or an idea that was already used in a Vijay film. For instance, Vijay played the head of a corporate company in 2018’s Sarkar as well, and it would have been easy to draw comparisons. “Vamshi sir was particularly conscious of not repeating anything. In fact, he watched all of Vijay’s major films just for that,” says Karthik.

However, good planning doesn’t always guarantee good execution, and in cinema, too many variables are at play. While there were quite a few challenges during the shoot, one particular scene demanded a lot from Karthik and the team; a fiery action sequence set in a port. “It was tricky because there was a cyclone warning in Vishakapatnam that day, and the weather was unpredictable. So bringing visual uniformity became difficult, but we pulled it off well.”

The colour palette in this scene was another major highlight; the scene has Vijay, donning an all-black costume, at the centre, being attacked by men wearing yellow construction caps, in the foreground of colourful shipping containers at a port, and the grading brings a tinge of grey to it all. “That palette looked beautiful, and it was meant to retain the attention to the action. Even in the fight choreography of that scene, there was a certain flow that worked well visually,” adds Karthik.