Behind the camera; but in the limelight

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: He is young, too young that he is just two documentaries, three short films and a feature film old. His experience as a cinematographer counts for just five years. Yet, Shehnad Jallal will share the state honour for the best cinematographer with a much more aged and acclaimed M J Radhakrishnan, a man enriched with frames and frames of experience and thrice a winner of the same award himself. It is this sheer stature of his co-awardee that adds to the value of the honour Shehnad, 32, has managed to claim at this age. This city-based young man has been recognised for the complex, probing images he painted on screen for the film ‘Chitrasutram’, directed by Vipin Vijay. Talking to City Express about the honour, he is pretty much like the visuals he framed for ‘Chitrasutram’; meditative and intriguing. ‘’I was least expectant about winning the award though everyone had told me that I could expect an award. Only when it was flashed on television did I believe that I had, in fact, got an award,’’ he said. The visual element of ‘Chitrasutram’ was noted as a revelation, even when many have sulked at the shocking nature of the visuals. The man behind the visuals says that every single frame of ‘Chitrasutram’ was well-worked out. ‘’The film is fraught with imageries which called for some unusual frames. Vipin was clear about what he wanted on screen. As for the criticisms, I don’t believe there has ever been a creative criticism about ‘Chitrasutram’. You cannot just pass unconvincing comments about a film that deserves to be viewed from a different perspective,’’ he says in piercing tones.  A diploma holder from Satyajit Ray Film Institute, Kolkata, Shehnad has an added reason to wear a smile on his face. He did the camera for the film which won the national award for the best investigative film, ‘A Pestering Journey’, directed by K R Manoj. The film, which journeys along the pesticide-ridden lives of farmers, was noted for its telling visuals of human suffering and grim portrayal of the endosulfan tragedy. ‘’It was a completely different theme to work on. It was a socially relevant subject and it had to be realistic,’’ he puts it short and brief like a sharp inter-cut. Having worked with off-beat genres, Shehnad does not, however, proclaim a single leaning. ‘’I am a cinematographer and I would like to work for all films beyond genres,’’ says the cinematographer, who has just returned after completing the first schedule of the Bangla period film ‘Hason Raja’.