Embracing a new era

Most of the interactive sessions at the 9th edition of Bengaluru International Film Festival (BIFFES) have been extremely insightful and engaging. The weekend saw an interesting session by National Film Award-winning cinematographer, Mahesh Aney, who shared his views on cinematography during the VK Murthy memorial lectures on Cinematography.

Mahesh began the session by hailing V K Murthy’s contributions to Indian cinemas as ‘unparalleled’. “It takes a different sort of determination to work on films of V K Murthy’s calibre. He dared to attempt different things and succeeded in all of them,” said Mahesh.

Sharing his own experience of shifting from film to digital cinematography, Mahesh said that he was wary of switching from a medium that he was familiar with and grew up with to something that was totally new. “I was scared of anything that even remotely worked like a computer. But I knew that I had to keep pace with change. Once I embraced the digital medium, I loved it. I think one should focus on the positive aspect of change rather than getting stuck with the negatives,” said Mahesh.

He also drew a parallel to Murthy’s approach and attitude towards change. “Murthy had predicted the onset of digital cinema, ahead of its time. I always admired Murthy’s humility when it came to learning something new. He always encouraged young filmmakers to learn from mistakes and be open to change,” added Mahesh.

Mahesh said that he too was initially reluctant to let go off the tried and tested method of making films but then decided to go with the flow. “I realised that one can’t really hold onto the old methods of filmmaking anymore. I think we must work to benefit from the digitisation of films and explore and exploit its infinite possibilities,” expressed Mahesh.

The audience comprised students from different film institutes across the country. Neha Sharma, a student from a film institute in Pune, who has come down for the festival, said, “Everybody must embrace change. It is inspiring to hear about how veteran cinematographers like Mahesh have moved on and adapted so well to the digital ways despite its challenges.”