Variety is the spice of life and that is what is missing in television today: Cinematographer Sudesh Kotian

Well-known television cinematographer Sudesh Kotian has carved a niche for himself in the world of entertainment via his creative histrionics behind the camera. And in shows that he has been associated with, he has captured both happy and sad times with equal zest and aplomb. In a candid interview with Tellychakkar.com, Sudesh talks of himself, his trade and shows he was involved with and much more. Excerpts: Tell us something about yourself? Since the last 20 years I have been in this industry and have worked as a cinematographer for many daily soaps like Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Desh Mai Nikla Hoga Chand for Star Plus. As a matter of fact, these shows were landmarks for new daily soaps. And do you know that I have even worked for a film titled Idiot Box. I have also worked for Mukti Bandhan. Currently, I am the cinematographer of Diya Aur Bati Hum for Star Plus and Punar Vivah for Zee TV. I am also working for an upcoming show Khoobsurat for Sony Entertainment Television. Your journey as a cinematographer? Since my college days, I was keen on pursuing the art of photography. Later, I started my professional career in the industry when I started assisting Raju Tendulkar. Later I assisted Ram Alam who was a cinematographer of regional films. While working with him, I got a break in Marathi shows. It was a great feeling when I got a call from Balaji Telefilms to do the cinematography for Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi. Tell us something about working in international shows? I was associated with Bombay Talking, that was telecast on Z Café. But the channel was not available everywhere back then, so that was a drawback for me because very few people are aware that I was associated with the show. Then the most important aspect about the channel was that there were no restrictions on the working pattern. I, for one, had the freedom of doing anything and to any extent. In a way, you can say that the entire show was mine where I had no rules to follow. How is cinematography different in film and television? (pauses) When you are doing a film, you get a lot of time to work on it. In a way, it gives sufficient time for one to do his homework rather than taking a decision on the spot. In the other hand, in television, the time limit is very less. It’s like shooting today and the show needs to be aired tomorrow. While you can plan for films, for television, everything is instant. How does lighting help you in cinematography? For a cinematographer, lighting is like painting of script on a canvass with camera. For every show, lighting needs to be different in order to make it look different on screen. How has the industry changed down the years? Now, everything is digitalized. Earlier, we had to come across many hardships as we had to work according to the budget. But, now, since the budgets have increased, shooting is done with no barriers whatsoever. Though matters in television is improving, but there needs to bring in certain changes. Like the channels concerned should give more time for working so that effective changes can be brought about. And most importantly, there should be a minimum of 4 days holidays in a month. They should treat people concerned more like humans than machines. What makes a show successful? (smiles) Well, there are certain shows which are really bad but still become a huge hit and vice versa. There is no formula for any show to be successful. According to several researches, rural topics work well on television. But nowadays, even they don’t work. Television is majorly around kitchens, so there has to be change like one show should work for 3 months. Then it should be followed by its season 2 and so on with certain changes. Variety is the spice of life and that is what is missing in television today. How is Diya Aur Bati different from Mukti Bandhan? I consider Mukti Bandhan to be one of my favorite shows, so working in Mukti Bandhan and Diya Aur Bati is more or less the same. Since both the shows are based on family drama, you can’t really explore much in such daily soaps. What advice would you give to aspiring cinematographers? Firstly, one must enter the field with abundant knowledge about the field. You cannot come on the sets to learn for no one will pay you while you learn your job. One should always be good, humble and passionate about his work. And a final piece of advice: Try and be good listeners than observers. Your future plans? I want to try and make an ad film and if I get a very good script to work on, then I don’t even mind working for free.