Between Sunshine and Shadows

Cinematographer Jithin Stanislaus, who shot the heartwarming Tamil film 3BHK and the thrilling Malayalam web series Kerala Crime Files season 2, talks about his contrasting approach to both projects and the challenges involved

- VIGNESH MADHU

025 has so far been a special year for cinematographer Jithin Stanislaus, as it has seen him venture into new territories within his favourite realm of cinema. While his first release of the year, Kerala Crime Files (KCF) season 2, marked his foray into production, Jithin made his Tamil debut just a month later with 3BHK. "It has been a fantastic couple of months, but it's only now that I'm getting to process it properly. I was off to Chennai the next day after KCF 2 release, and when people were trying to reach me to congratulate me, I was busy with 3BHK's grading work. With 3BHK out on OTT now, I'm finally going through all the responses, and it's been heartening."

Even though KCF 2 and 3BHK were released back-to-back, both are completely contrasting in terms of genre, mood, and treatment. While KCF 2 is a thrilling police investigation story, 3BHK is about a middle-class family's struggles to own a home. Jithin, who loves experimenting with different genres, had an interesting time adapting to the demands of both projects. "We started 3BHK when there was still a schedule left for KCF 2. Both these projects demanded different working styles. KCF 2 is my fourth collaboration with Ahammed (Khabeer), and we have always been strong with pre-production. Almost 80 per cent of the work is done during that stage, and the rest is about executing it. It's a meticulously planned process where we're all on the same page. In Tamil, though, we can't always expect that. 3BHK was shot across multiple schedules because of the different looks we had to achieve and the fact that we had two big stars involved. There will be a lot of changes from what was originally planned, and you'll have to be equipped enough to adapt accordingly."