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[madhuraman]

Vennira Aadai -IV Cinematography
Dear friends,
As hinted in the prologue, V A from Chitraalaya had a deviation from its long tradition of Vincent- Sundaram combo. [ The pair had opted out of Chitraalaya to be independent for other banners' movie offers. As later narrated by CV S , the separation was on cordial terms ]. For V A ,CVS had mustered the services of Mr.G.Balakrishna as Director of Cinematography [From the unit of Hindi doyen V.Shantaram] and N.Balakrishnan as the operative cameraman. Actually N B had already come into the fold of CVS even in KALAI KOVIL as the cinematographer and his name was Balu on the title cards.
V A was perhaps the earliest Tamil movie in colour to have adopted the lapse dissolve technique, whereby a scene fades out as the next scene fades in before reaching its full scale.
The entire movie was shot on Eastman Kodak colour stock and precise lighting techniques were required to balance shots indoors and outdoors.
V A had a rich combination of indoor and out door shots including those of song sequences. CVS had already built a reputation for aesthetic presentation, right since the days of B & W movies.
Special mention must be made of three song sequences where Cinematography ably matched the occasions.

1. NEE ENBADHENNA?
This was a song sequence when the mentally derailed girl performs absolutely articulate , rapid but unpredictable dance movements. Photography was at its best when the larger than life shadow and the mirror image of the dancer [J L] WERE INTERCHANGED with shadow and the dancer as live images with a pace matching that of the flamboyant music that accentuated the rich philosophy of the song.

2. ENNA ENNA VAARTHTHAIGALO?
Another song sequence where the movements of artistes were gentle but the camera had to quickly assume positions to capture the piano-playing hand [MSV] and the facial expressions of J L tapping her elbow in consonance with the play of the note. One of these frames proved a hotcake for product promotion in those days. Excellent lighting rendered a majesty to the scene.

3. KANNAN ENNUM MANNAN PAERAI SOLLA SOLLA
Another brilliant song sequence in which a new locale was identified in Kodaikanal area for song picturisation. To my knowledge this locale received greater attention of movie makers after VA. It was THE GOLF LINKS AREA. The vast stretch of green carpet of natural lush grass was indeed effectively recorded enhancing the viewing pleasure. Tiny specks of J L and Srikanth at the far end of the grass bed was a beauty of sorts when seen in fresh film.
Thus V A had excellent technical quality bya meticulous execution of work.
We would soon take up other areas of interest in the movie.
[To Continue]
Warm regards Prof.K.Raman Madurai
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Prof. K. Raman
Mumbai