Women with a View

82 THE WEEK sEpTEmbEr 29, 2013 THE WEEK sEpTEmbEr 29, 2013 83 is saddening that only a handful of women like Vijayalakshmi have taken up the camera in India. To date, there is not even a single registered woman member in the Indian Society of Cinematographers (ISC), which works cinema on an invite-only membership scheme. Growing interest B.R. Vijayalakshmi Santosh Sivan, national award-win- I don't feel that as a ning cinematographer and one of the cinematographer founding members of ISC, agrees that Women the numbers are few but is quick to add I have put in more that this is not India specific . “It is true all over the world,” he says. manual labour “But the numbers are definitely grow- than the women ing.” As for the membership issues, with a view who work on Sivan says, “As it is the ISC has very few members. But there are plans in As India celebrates 100 years of its cinema, here’s agricultural the near future to invite deserving cin- fields. ematographers and I’m sure it will cer- a look at an unsung breed of technicians, tainly include a few women, too.” the women behind the camera There is a healthy progression in the number of women students enroll- By Monty MAjeed Rajini sir. If not for his confidence in ing for the cinematography courses, me, I couldn’t have done well that day.” says Meghana Ghai Puri, president, ochin, 1984. National The daughter of legendary south Whistling Woods International Award-winning cinema- Indian filmmaker B.R. Panthalu, Institute of Film, Fashion and Media, tographer Ashok Kumar Vijayalakshmi had started assisting Mumbai. “There is a certain percep- Agarwal was in a dilemma. Agarwal on the sets of her brother B.R. tion, which has been built over the CBecause of a clash of dates, he had to Ravishankar’s first film, after gradu- years, about cinematography as a man’s choose between India’s first 3D fea- ating in interior design. In those days job,” says Ghai Puri. “The heavy cam- ture, My Dear Kuttichathan, and a the only women on the sets of a film eras and the physical effort involved Rajinikanth-starrer Kai Kodukkum were the actors and the occasional might have kept women away from it. Kai. Finally Agarwal decided to send choreographers and make-up artists. But times have changed now and girls his young and chirpy first assistant Although Vijayalakshmi expressed do not shy away from following their to film Rajinikanth. All of 26, B.R. interest in studying the craft profes- dreams, whichever field it may be.” Vijayalakshmi became the first Asian sionally, her mentor advised against It was such a dream and a love for woman to crank the camera indepen- it saying that on-the-job training was ‘good old Doordarshan movies’ that dently. the best. She later went on to work with brought Anjuli Shukla from her home “I put on a brave face even while renowned directors from the south like town Lucknow to Film and Television the direction assistants teased me that J. Mahendran, Bharathan, Padmarajan Institute of India (FTII), Pune. there wouldn’t be any images on the and Fazil and worked on 21 Tamil films “Although I had made up my mind to film,” recalls Vijayalakshmi, now 55. and one Kannada film. learn filmmaking, it was only at the “The only person who wasn’t tense Cut to 2013. While the country is institute that I realised what interest- and had no reaction whatsoever was celebrating 100 years of cinema, it ed me more was shooting images that told a story,” says the first woman cinematographer to win a national award PRiya seth (for Kutty Srank). She started as an I am aware that as a woman, the physical assistant to Sivan, with whom she has done over a dozen films, including two demands of this profession are higher for Hollywood productions Before The me than it would be for a man. So, I’m Rains and The Mistress of Spices. Picture imperfect particular about my fitness. Shukla says she has come across no discrimination based on a technician’s 84 THE WEEK sEpTEmbEr 29, 2013 ident of audio visual content at the Chennai division of Saregama India Ltd. Seth accepts that her line of work involves physical effort and that she tries to adapt to these needs. “Underwater cinematography is replete with challenges for anyone, man or woman,” she says. “I am aware that as a woman, the physical demands of this profession are higher for me than it would be for a man. So, I’m particular about my fitness. Maybe, more than a man would be. I need to have a certain level of body strength to shoot underwater, so I make an effort to stay fit.” View finder Many directors believe women cin- there is rampant discrimination in our ematographers have an eye for detail. anjuli shukla ‘testosterone-driven’ industry. “There Gender doesn’t define sensitivity, feels have been instances when many pro- Seth. “Maybe it defines sensibility Although I had made ducers and directors did not want to and perspective. Yes, the female gaze up my mind to learn shoot with me, even before they were might exist. But at the end of the day aware of my work, purely on the basis of filmmaking is a collaborative process,” filmmaking, it was my gender,” says Seth. Vijayalakshmi, she says. “So how much a woman cin- only at the institute too, recalls an incident that happened ematographer’s gender sensibilities during her days as an assistant. “I once influence the final product is hard to [FTII] that I realised heard a very famous producer remark say. A woman filmmaker will definitely what interested me that it wasn’t possible for a woman to bring about a big difference in perspec- shoot an entire film alone,” she says. “I tive.” more was shooting felt a bit depressed since I had already Alexis Krasilovsky, professor, images that told a worked as an assistant for four years department of cinema and televi- story. then.” But she continued to chase her sion arts, California State University, dream and after she finished work on Northridge, has directed a documen- her 19th film, the same producer came tary on women cinematographers, around and complimented her. titled Shooting Women. She believes gender. Says Sivan: “I can’t think of Weighty issues? the Indian industry is much ahead of any general bias against women and Many women refuse to accept the Hollywood with regard to the oppor- most camera persons do encourage popular notion that the weight of the tunities available for women. “While women cinematographers who want camera and equipment is the main travelling around the world for my to train under them. There are so many deterrent in this field. When a produc- documentary, I found that French women behind the camera today like er teasingly asked Brianne Murphy, the and Indian cinema seem less sexist Anjuli Shukla, Bakul Sharma (Vroom), world’s first woman cinematographer, than Hollywood,” she says. “A cam- Fawzia Fatima (Mitr, My Friend) and whether her camera was too heavy for era woman in these industries can be Deepti Gupta (Honeymoon Travels Pvt her, she retorted: “No more than car- an artist, dealing with focus, light and Ltd), to name a few. In fact, a very good rying a child”. Murphy became the movement, whereas in Hollywood, the friend of mine, Keiko Nakahara from first woman member of the American emphasis is more on the latest techni- Japan, is shooting the biopic of Mary Society of Cinematographers in 1980, cal gizmo and whether you can schlep Kom.” almost 60 years after the organisa- it across the ranch.” Shukla, too, feels But Priya Seth, an FTII alumna who tion was founded. “I don’t feel that positive about the future of women specialises in underwater cinematog- as a cinematographer I have put in cinematographers in the country. raphy and has worked in films like more manual labour than the women “There is a world out there waiting to Dhobi Ghat, 1947 Earth and the Kate who work on agricultural fields,” says be photographed,” she says, “and there Winslet-starrer Holy Smoke, feels that Vijayalakshmi, who is now vice-pres- is a place in it for everyone.” l.

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