FRAMING CINEMA SHOTS

Chennai Photo Biennale is taking Chennaiites on a trip down memory lane with movie visuals at 'Maasaru Kaatchiyavaruku: Celebrating Lakshmikantan's Five Decades on Sets of Tamil Cinema'

- SONU M KOTHARI

AT sunset, the rays dance across the frames lined up at Thiruvanmiyur MRTS Park. Some glow in the golden hour light while others rest in shadow. People move through these shifting silhouettes, exercising and strolling past the large movie-set stills. A sparkle of recognition crosses their faces as they pause before each frame. Then, slowly, their lips curve into nostalgic smiles—one that carries them back to their younger days.

These photographs that have been exhibited were clicked by Lakshmikanthan T, a veteran still photographer, between 1977 and 1983. "We have had access to a very small slice of his (Lakshmikanthan's) archive, only 10 movies from a specific time. I had a list of about 60 movies I wanted to exhibit from the 200-odd films he worked on. Of the 60, 20 made the final list. From that, we got from one through 10, and it was time for his medicine, so we had to leave. So this six-year window is what we see here today," points out Nirmal Rajagopalan, curator of 'Maasaru Kaatchiyavaruku: Celebrating Lakshmikantan's Five Decades on Sets of Tamil Cinema', as part of Chennai Photo Biennale.

Frozen moments, lasting stories

Nirmal explains the role of a still photographer. The lensman has two important roles: to click continuity shots and to take photos for publicity. Continuity shots are used to check a scene's setting, the positioning of props, the actor's costumes, the lighting and more. "These photographers capture significant moments during the entire life span of a film. The second main responsibility is to click photos of casting, look shoots, costume shots, and film photos and send them out to the press," shares Nirmal.