Noted cinematographer Tirru, who has rocked the Bollywood scene with films like Krrish 3, is back to where he started — K’town, after a gap of six years with the Suriya starrer 24. The former assistant of ace PC Sreeram, who began his career with Kamal Haasan’s Magalir Mattum, has completed his milestone 25th film in the Indian film industry. Tirru, whose full name is Thirunavukarasu, talks about why he accepted 24, the challenges involved in it, the lead cast Suriya, Samantha and Nithya Menen and how Bollywood differs from the south in terms of grandeur and budget.
The script of 24 lured him to come back to Tamil, six years after the award-winning Kanchivaram. “When Vikram Kumar narrated this film’s script, I was floored, and the first thing I did was to text Suriya sir saying ‘we are doing the film’. It had a lot of scope for experimentation. Suriya plays three characters, so we had to plan a lot. I had to use different tones, ambience, and lighting compositions for the locations.”
About Suriya, who is ready to explore untested areas, he says, “He is one actor who goes the extra mile. His inputs are tremendous. Every actor has dedication and desire, but Suriya goes beyond that, and practically does it.”
Tirru adds that Priyanka Chopra, Kangana and Samantha are a cinematographer’s delight. “Priyanka’s beauty may contribute five per cent, but her screen presence elevates it to 200 per cent. Kangana is an effortless actress and Samantha is very professional. Nithya Menen has divine looks.” He is working with both Sam and Nithya in the Telugu movie Janatha Garage with Jr. NTR.
About the differences between Bollywood and Tamil movies, he says, “Basically, Hindi films are made for a worldwide market and have huge budgets. That said, Tamil critics were the first who wrote about camera work in their reviews, and our audiences give a standing ovation if they appreciate a film.”
