One movie that's currently the hottest topic of discussion among film buffs is the recent Marathi Blockbuster flick, Sairat. Made with a modest budget of Rs 5 Crore, Sairat has now grossed over 70 Crore, this is a record for Marathi cinema. If you haven't seen this movie yet, do catch it immediately. The film depicts a love story of a boy and girl who come from different strata of society. It manages to highlight the evils of our caste system quite beautifully.
Now, it is a matter of great pride that the man who handled the cinematography for this film is a Telugu guy from Guntur. Sudhakar Reddy Yakkanti, hails from Guntur, he was enthusiastic about cinema from a very early age. He studied cinematography in FTII Pune. A short film that he had directed, Ek Akash, won a special jury award at the 2015 national awards. He has worked as assistant under the legendary A Vincent and went to handle the camera work for several Telugu films like Madhumasam, Pourudu and Manasara. He made a foray into Marathi cinema with Deeol, where his work was highly appreciated.
With Sairat, Sudhakar managed to perfectly capture the hard-hitting reality of the subject using minimalist techniques. The first installment which shows the love between the lead characters had a great dreamy feel to it. The movie then shifts to a highly realistic feel in the second half. Sairat is essentially cinematic poetry. Sudhakar conveyed a lot of unspoken emotions through his camera with great precision.
Check out a fantastic song from Sairat here,
The viral hit from Sairat that everybody is talking about now,
Also check out Sudhakar's interview with Jamuura to get a feel of his process and what motivates his work.