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New Indian Express

DOP Jai Karthik Interview: Ten Hours was more about what to hide than what to show

Actor Sibi Sathyaraj's recent whodunnit thriller Ten Hours is receiving Ayogya , where you will find several colours in the frame. I challenged myself not to be tempted to beautify any frame in Ten Hours ," he says, adding that the premise of the film helped him win over this temptation, "It's one thing that the film unfolds in one night, the majority of the film is either outside or inside a running bus on the road. On top of that, the protagonist too frequently keeps moving. The screenplay left us with no options to place a generator and get inventive with the lights. So, most of the film was shot in natural light." Jai goes on to elaborate on his process by giving examples of some scenes. "In the stadium fight scene, we did what we call 'the favour of light'. We shot the scene solely with the stadium lights and cut to close shots using the available light's favour," he adds. Jai Karthik says planning a shot in such a film involves deciding what not to show. "In films such as Ten Hours , what you hide is more crucial than what you reveal. What you leave in the dark is more important than what you throw light on. I guess most of those who have watched the film would not have noticed that we hid the bus' number plate till the climax. At the same time, it wouldn't have struck you as odd. Similarly, there would be a constant play of light and shadow in the interrogation scenes; we would have dimmed light on the suspects when the shot focuses on them," he explains. He also points to how shots involving Sibi's Castro stood out from those in a typical investigative thriller. "In a scene where you see Castro interrogating the bus driver and his helper, he would have suspected something inconsistent in their answers. There is another temptation here for a cinematographer. We usually cut to a focus on the lead actor's face to catch him reacting. I consciously avoided it. When Castro finds something suspicious, he looks at the suspects in the mirror while the shot covers every subject. We wanted Castro not to be the hero but a subconscious entity who observes everything. These shots are meant to show the kind of brainy cop Castro is," he says. He underscores the importance of mental preparation while working on such films. "We usually plan to shoot around 2 AM on the highway, as there would be less traffic during those hours. For completing things as planned, a DOP should be calm and composed. Too many discussions on the spot would attract the attention of the passengers, and it would delay the shoot. So every single discussion that needs to happen would have already happened, leaving the execution alone at the shooting spot," he says, adding that a cinematographer should only assess what a film requires and not what devices he could use to display his skill. "If the task is to buy vegetables, a bicycle is enough. It is pointless to demand a superbike," he concludes.