Manushnandan is over the moon. The 35-year-old cinematographer, who calls himself a 'total Chennai boy', is delighted that his latest film Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl has been getting good reviews and word of mouth. The film, starring Janhvi Kapoor, released on Netflix last week and is about Indian Air Force officer Gunjan Saxena who flew in the Kargil War.
For Manush, who grew up in a home where discussions on politics, art and society were common, an interest in cinema happened organically. The son of late writer and journalist Gnani and feminist writer AS Padmavathi, Manush says that he directed two short films, both based on Tamil writer Ashokamitran's stories, when he was only 11 years old for a Children's Day programme on Doordarshan.
"There was never a time in our house when it was just the three of us. We would always have friends visiting. The exposure I had as a kid, in that sense, was much wider than what any other kid in a normal household would have had. My father was also a documentary filmmaker who had worked a little in television serials. My mother too. I had a sense of the medium from a very young age," he says.
Manush remembers traveling with his parents for their work, observing and picking up skills on the way.
Before Gunjan Saxena, his last film as cinematographer was Thugs of Hindostan, an ambitious film with several A-list stars that ended up a box-office disaster. The success of Gunjan Saxena is therefore especially sweet.
"When a film works overall, everyone who worked on it receives appreciation. I personally feel that the film releasing on OTT has given it a much wider audience than what it would have got in theatres," he says.
When Manush was in Class 9, he would shoot films with the handycam at home. His parents never pushed him into a particular line of work and the film technician says that they were thoroughly supportive of his decision to pursue cinema.
"I was studying in an English medium matriculation school till Class 10, but I shifted to a Tamil medium Corporation school in Choolaimedu after that because it had a vocational group which had a course in photography. It was the only school in the state to have such an option. I passed out of there, finishing my course in photography. Film schools actually had a preference for students who studied this course, and of course, there's also the fact that you're spending your time on what you actually want to do," he says.
The course, however, does not exist any more though many like Manush tried to revive it.
"It was a boon to a lot of underprivileged and lower income group children, to choose a different career," he says.
Manushnandan went on to study cinematography at the Film and Television Institute of Tamil Nadu (now called MGR Government Film and Television Institute). He was keen to work with three cinematographers — Santosh Sivan, Ravi K Chandran and KV Anand.
"Fortunately for me, I managed to meet with Santosh Sivan on a Saturday, KV Anand on a Sunday, Ravi K Chandran on a Monday and on Tuesday, I joined Ravi K Chandran," he chuckles, recalling how he went to their homes with his portfolio.
That's how Manush ended up in Mumbai for a shoot, without knowing a word of Hindi, as Ravi K Chandran's assistant.
"Assistant days are quite tough. Things have evolved over the years. When you're assisting someone, it's like you're going there to learn your craft. It's not the norm to demand money for the job. You go with the intention of learning. But that said, you have to survive and not everyone has a parent who can support them back home," he says.
Manush adds that the scenario has changed now, with more directors and cinematographers willing to provide for their assistants' basic survival.
For Gunjan Saxena, Manush received a call from Dharma Productions and that's how he met director Sharan Sharma. Manush says that he'd never heard of the IAF officer at that point and he was thrilled to listen to the story.
"I was fascinated by the subject. And also Sharan's approach. He wasn't looking at it as a nationalistic film or a patriotic film where women have achieved so much for the nation. He was looking at it as a journey of a girl who had a dream and that dream happened to be becoming a pilot," he says.
The biggest challenge they faced was balancing real life with cinematic aspects.
"Especially in terms of the visuals. This film could have been made very heroic, with a low angle shot of Janhvi jumping out of a chopper at high speed and uttering a very bold dialogue. But Sharan wanted to stay away from that and that's what I really liked about the film," he says.
It was also tricky to do the aerial shots because the team was keen that the film looked realistic. For one, the audience should not feel like Janhvi was not really flying the chopper, and they shouldn’t be able to make out which portions were VFX. The team also had budgetary constraints since the film is heroine-led. However, they overcame this by storyboarding every shot, shooting the film with an assistant director, making an edit and trimming it before they went to the actual shoot.
The cinematic liberties taken with the film, however, have not gone down well with everyone. The IAF has objected to how the force has been depicted and Gunjan's course mate, officer Sreevidya Rajan who also flew in the Kargil War, has slammed the film for portraying male officers in a negative light and leaving out her character entirely.
Manush, however, says that all biopics made in India have taken such creative liberties and deviations.
"Was the father really locked into a room when his daughter won a medal as shown in Dangal?" he asks. "The larger picture is that it was tough for women to get into the forces and get equal opportunities. This film has brought out that conversation. There will be issues that people have with the details — did this really happen or not. I respect everyone's opinions."
Manush adds that no institution, whether it's the judiciary or the armed forces, is above opinion or review, and that people can always engage in a discussion if they disagree.
"I welcome the conversation because as filmmakers, we also need to understand what has offended people, what needs to be portrayed. I feel it's a healthy conversation," he says.
However, discussions on cinema are usually on the story and performances. Technical aspects are rarely discussed, even in reviews. Does Manush find that frustrating?
"I'm really glad you asked this," he says, laughing. "It does get frustrating. I was surprised that you even wanted to interview me. The larger audience doesn't know what an editor or production designer does. But when it comes to critics or reviewers, I feel there's a lack of knowledge in terms of what you really appreciate. I still see phrases like 'refreshing visuals'...is it a lime soda?!"
Manush says that though he's currently based in Mumbai and mostly working in Bollywood films, he feels the southern audiences have much more respect for technicians.
"I've sat in a theatre and heard claps for PC Sreeram's name. In Hindi, the audience won't know even the topmost DoP's name. I think this has a lot to do with the media in the south too. There's immense respect for technicians as opposed to Mumbai," he says.
Watch the trailer of Gunjan Saxena: The Kargil Girl here: