‘Drishyam’ still my most rewarding script: Sujith Vasudev

Sujith Vasudev, the cinematographer of ‘Empuraan’, the most expensive Malayalam film released last year, says a cinematographer’s connection to a film goes far beyond technical choices. Speaking to Manorama Online’s Soul Side interview series, Sujith, who has completed 15 years in cinema, says that like a director or writer, a cinematographer also develops a close emotional bond with the characters.

Two of the films shot by Sujith Vasudev, ‘Drishyam’ and ‘Lucifer’, feature in the list of the 25 most popular Malayalam films of the past 25 years, selected by Malayala Manorama through audience voting. Sujith says the emotional weight of scenes often affects those behind the camera as much as the audience watching them.

“The emotional struggles of characters affect us too. I have cried many times while sitting behind the camera,” he says. Recalling the filming of the riverside sequence in ‘Drishyam’, Sujith describes it as one of the most emotionally challenging moments of his career. He adds that he tends to get emotional even while watching films.

Talking about ‘Papanasam’, the Tamil remake of ‘Drishyam’ starring Kamal Haasan, Sujith says the biggest challenge was the lack of visual flexibility. Unexpected flooding in Tirunelveli forced the team to shoot the film in the same house in Thodupuzha that was used for the Malayalam version. “Not being able to visually differentiate the film as planned affected me mentally,” he says, adding that ‘Papanasam’ was also one of the Kamal Haasan films completed in the shortest number of days.

Sujith says working with Prithviraj as a director on ‘Lucifer’ and ‘Empuraan’ was largely smooth. “Prithviraj had a clear understanding of what he wanted and what he didn’t,” he says. The main challenge, according to Sujith, was aligning with the director’s vision. “He will introduce new visual patterns in his upcoming films as well. Keeping pace with that vision is the real challenge.”

Reflecting on his career, Sujith says ‘Drishyam’ Part One had the strongest screenplay he has worked on so far, while ‘Lucifer’ demonstrated the scale Malayalam cinema is capable of. He adds that it was after these two films that he began receiving more offers from Tamil and Telugu cinema.

Sujith says he has no regrets about not being part of ‘Drishyam’ Parts Two and Three. “I am proud that I shot the first part of ‘Drishyam’. That itself is enough,” he says, adding that the makers may have been more comfortable bringing in someone else for the later films.