7 December 2023
Hyderabad
With mass maharaja’s last two films –Ravansura and Tiger Nageswara Rao – underperforming at the box office, there’s a lot riding on Eagle, his Sankranti offering. The innovative posters and the action-packed teaser released recently have brought a hurricane and a sense of euphoria among Ravi Teja fans. The film marks eminent cinematographer Kathik Gattamneni returning to the director’s saddle after his debut venture Surya vs Surya (2015), starring Nikhil Siddhartha. In an exclusive conversation with idlebrain.com, Karthik spoke about how he got the nod of Ravi Teja for Eagle. “During COVID-19 second wave, there were continuous gaps in my schedule. I was the cameraman on Dhamaka and Karthikeya 2 at that time and both were in pause mode. I had an idea (of Eagle) and was writing it, due to the gaps. I wanted somebody who is intense and can play that age. After some time, the second wave was over and we resumed shooting. During one rainy day, I told Ravi sir that I have an idea. ‘Is it developed’, he asked. ‘No sir, I’m doing it,’ I replied. ‘Narrate to me after you finish it’, he said. Then the third wave came and we were not shooting for some time. During this time period, I narrated the complete story to him. He liked it and said, ‘let’s do it,’” the director reminisces fondly.
Shedding light about the film, he adds, “It’s not a typical mass masala film but it is a film with a lot of elevations and commercial tonality. Of course it has entertainment but it will not be in the space of Dhamaka. It is the story of one man, a sniper, who is protecting and safeguarding a certain thing which is a mystery. Why doesn’t he let anybody touch it is what the film is all about.”
The teaser painted Ravi in an intense, calm and cool avatar going about his job with precision. What is the brief Karthik gave to the actor to nail the part? Any references as such? “Ravi garu is a very spontaneous actor. You don’t need to brief him completely. He acts with a lot of common sense. He already knows what is the metre required for a particular scene. So the job gets easier. You just have to ask for different variations. That’s it. His reactions –whether sarcastically, angrily or emotionally – to any situation are on point. All you have to do is properly capture them. They say acting is reacting and he is terrific about this aspect. Also, he doesn’t know that he is doing all these nuances but he will do it. It is like he’s a gifted spontaneous actor with common sense,” Karthik raves.
The director considers Eagle as a great opportunity to have worked with someone like Ravi Teja. “In addition to giving me the space I need, he gave me the technicians I needed for the film. We started out thinking to do something different, so the prerequisite was different people. He let me take those decisions,” Karthik points out.
He admits to have pushed the envelope as far as action is concerned. “Eagle is filled with action but it will be slightly different. The film has an action mood to it. If you watch a military film, there’s a certain build up of what unfolds next. The action in Eagle belongs to that type. It was new for me but not for Ravi garu as he is used to action for a long time. He knows those small techniques of doing action. He completed his action part at a breakneck speed. But with this film, the difference is that the action shot is longer, so you will find it more real and in the middle of it. You will also see that expression and intensity in action scenes,” he explains.
Karthik is also discharging editing duties for the film. Didn’t he feel the need of another editor who looks at the film objectively? “With so many gaps during the shoot, it is easy to know what you’ve tried to accomplish and where you’ve failed. It gives you a space to correct. I wanted to edit it in different paces, tempos and see it. Moreover, it was not like I was shooting, immediately editing in the night and later submitting the film for release. If it was the case, I wouldn’t have done it. Just because I had lot of gaps, I thought I could sit, try and work out new things. (And) I tried doing it. Additionally, I enjoy editing because the process involves storytelling at its best if you sit on it. Luckily I had a co-editor, Uttara. If I thought a particular shot was not conveying what it meant, she was always there. Together we’ve kind of pulled it off,” he signs off.
-NAGARAJ GOUD
