Kola Bhaskar used silence to enhance scenes: Kannan

Popular editor

Kola Bhaskar

, who has worked in several noteworthy Tamil and Telugu films, breathed his last in Hyderabad on Wednesday. It’s being reported that he was getting treated for throat cancer at a private hospital when he succumbed to his condition. Bhaskar has edited most of Selvaraghavan’s films, apart from Vijay’s Pokkiri and VIllu and Dhanush’s Yaaradi Nee Mohini and Kutty, among others, in Kollywood.

Director Kannan, who teamed up with Bhaskar for Kanden Kadhalai, says the editor has a knack for using silence as a key element to enhance scenes. “Most editors cut a scene after the dialogue ends. But he would linger a few more seconds. There would be silence, and that would add a lot of value to a scene. I thought that was very unique about his style of editing. He used silence to enhance scenes,” he says, adding, “We shot

Kanden Kadhalai

in film format and I loved how he patiently went through all the footage. He kept the cuts crisp and engaging. That was my second film and I used his experience to my advantage.”

Kannan says the two kept in touch after Kanden Kadhalai. “In fact, we were supposed to work on two more films, but it didn’t materialize because of date issues. He had produced Maalai Nerathu Mayakkam, which had his son (Balakrishna Kola) playing the hero. Gitanjali Selvaraghavan had directed it. He was very excited when the film released and he called me to ask if I have seen the movie. We used to text and call each other often. He was a very good editor. It’s so shocking that he is not with us now,” he says.