A cinematographer's mind should be sharp and he or she should be hardworking: Raju Kumar

In our ‘Behind The Lens’ section, we at Tellychakkar.com have been introducing our readers to those people who stay behind the camera but play pivotal roles in making TV shows successful. Taking the initiative forward, we are glad to present an interview of cinematographer Raju Kumar, who is associated with Rajshri Productions. Was it your dream to be a cameraperson? No, not all. It was never in my mind to be a cameraperson. On the contrary, my ambition was to scale heights in swimming. For your information, I was with Indian Navy before I could join this field. That’s great. Then why did you leave the Navy? Well, I was a scuba diver in the Navy, in fact was an underwater cameraperson. It was due to a few unfortunate incidents that I had to opt out of the armed force. Would you mind sharing those incidents with us? Well, as I was an underwater cameraperson, the job demanded me to be under water for hours together. Well, that was not an issue with me. But to my misfortune, once I got caught in fishing net and the incident was so bad that I would have lost my life. After another similar incident that happened in Chiplun, my family forced me to quit the profession and stay away from water. I abided by their diktat. Your educational qualification? I am basically from Jammu Kashmir. I am an Arts graduate and a swimmer and also a national level basketball player. As mentioned, I was with Indian Navy after which I switched to TV. Which was your first project on television? Well, I started by doing Kasauti Zindagii Kay for Balaji Telefilms, followed it up by Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Maayka, Ranvir Rani and Saath Saath after which I joined Rajshri where I am stationed since the last two and half years. Rajshri is the second production house that you are working for. Do you feel more comfortable working here? Among both the employers with who I have worked (Balaji prior), I found Rajshri Productions most comfortable. There is always a space given to each person to explore their talent without any interference. Rajshri comes from a very traditional background that reflects on its work. There are good mannerisms, no politics and we never have to crib for our payments. All in all, Rajshri is the best place to work in. I haven’t found such a good production house till now. You must be used to the back-to-back shooting schedules on small screen? Initially, we find some problems but once we get used to it, it’s all fine. As I said earlier that one must be creative and sharp as a cameraperson; he must know what the shot is like and which angle must be given for the same. All this comes as we gain experience. Tell us something about cameras that are used in the small screen? There are many kinds of cameras but HD camera is something which is used for television. They give best results. We normally use HD P2, Panasonic cameras for our show. Lastly, which extra quality, according to you, should a cameraperson possess? In my view, a cameraperson’s mind should be sharp and creative and last but not the least, he should be hardworking.