Who is Santosh Sivan’s inspiration?

Santosh Sivan speaks about his tryst with international cinema and being influenced by renowned artist Raja Ravi Verma.

How was Before the Rains conceived?
Post The Terrorist, many international producers and studios approached me. But studios were never an option. I prefer to make films which I believe in whole-heartedly. So when the Jewish producers approached me with a series of shorts The Desert Trilogy: Yellow Asphalt, of which Red Roofs was one story which they wanted to elongate into a full-length feature, I identified with the story about cross-cultural love with fatal ramifications and reset it in Kerala.

What about the period and thesettings?
The long winding roads within Vyanad, Kerala, which the Britishers had built, sparked a connection with the plot of the film. The illicit love angle was a neat fit within the turbulence of the 1937 backdrop. It was easy to bring in the freedom struggle angle and add-on a few native trials and rituals to strengthen the story. I also liked the idea of making a film about grey characters. The reason why the film was so well received abroad was also because the character of the foreigner (played by Linus Roache) could be identified with easily.

Did you expect the film to do so well abroad?
I did not go into the project expecting success. I had my own ideas about what I wanted to do and implemented them to the best of my abilities — like using Malayalam words in the conversations between the native protagonists, using stories I’ve heard over the years, about tribal conflicts and the punishments meted out.

What are the elements that  have influenced you in your cinematography?
I have been influenced by the culture and art of my home state Kerala. My cinematographic palette has been created by a mind that was enriched by the beauty of Raja Ravi Verma’s paintings — rich nature bound colours of the Kerala landscape and a mesmerisingly radiant culture of inimitable forms and visuals. My mother taught me painting. So whatever I shoot on film has the basic essence of a painting.

You are currently shooting for Raavan. How has the experience been so far?
It has been exhausting, but creatively very satisfying. It’s difficult to get the sequences right twice over, with different actors and in two languages. As a cinematographer, I look on it as a challenge.

Are you planning any other International projects in the near future?
The producers of Before The Rains have approached me with another interesting subject and I have agreed in principle. I also have plans to make a film based on the problem in Sri Lanka. But I guess it’s going to take a while before I get down to it.