No doubt, Telugu filmmakers are trying to raise the bar with their films and joining hands with talented overseas cinematographers to deliver visual splendors. Take for instance, Hollywood cinematographer Sheldon Chau and Polish cinematographer Miroslaw Kuba Brozek who cranked the camera for big-ticket Telugu films such as ‘Mosagallu’ and ‘Gang Leader’ respectively. Followed by Serbian cinematographer D George who is capturing breathtaking visuals for futurist sci-fi film ‘Project K’, while Spanish lensman Dani Sachez Lopez proved his mettle with ‘Mahanati’ and ‘Virataparvam’ and set to do another film director Venu Udugulla.
Talking about Telugu filmmakers' fascination for overseas cinematographers, producer Ravi Yallaminchili says, “Director Sukumar liked the brilliant work of Miroslaw Kuba Brozek and he was roped in for 'Pushpa The Rise.' He captured breath-taking visuals in deep forests and other spots to enhance visuals for our action adventure. Impressed with his work, Sukumar is repeating Kuba for ‘Pushpa 2’ and he is again on the job of canning splendid visuals.”
Born in Fiji and raised in California, Shaneil Deo is another name to reckon with in cinematography in Tollywood. He proved his mettle with the finest camera work and some breath-taking visuals in films like ‘Goodachari’, ‘Evaru’,‘World Dog,’ etc. Followed by Spanish-origin Dani Sanchez Lopez who made heads turn with his work in ‘Mahanati’ and ‘Virataparvam’. “Dani Sanchez is a brilliant cinematographer and it was great working with him for ‘Virataparvam’. Since we don’t have translators on sets, I had to explain things to Dani with my limited knowledge of English. But he keenly observes and understands the ideas behind my words and comes up with sensational visuals,’ says director Venu Udugula and adds,
“Foreigners have an eye for beauty and new angles. For instance, when we go to a new state or country we tend to click pictures fascinated with the locales, while people living there don’t show such excitement. Similarly, overseas lensmen arrive in India with a fresh mind and begin to look at our picturesque spots from a new perspective and capture it from varied and interesting angles. I will work with Dani again for my next film to be produced by People's Media Factory," he informs.
However, Hemant Madhukar brings a director’s perspective in roping in talented cinematographers. "For Nishabdam, we roped in American-born Shaneil Deo to deliver a movie in anamorphic format," explains Hemant.
He states that unlike a few seasoned Telugu cinematographers, Shaneil is well-versed in technology. "He is also exposed to world cinema and comes up with fresh ideas on location to capture stunning visuals. Besides, he understands the temperature of foreign locales, which is the key for beautiful cinematography. With Telugu movies turning global, we are now able to afford foreign lensmen," Hemant concludes.
