Ratsasan was a tough film to edit: San Lokesh

Ever since the release of

Ratsasan

,

San Lokesh

, the editor of the film, says that a lot of projects have started coming his way. But the editor reveals that the film was a very tough one to edit. “Editing played a major role in determining how much to reveal to the audience and how much fear they should feel. The editing points needed to be precise to ensure that the intensity isn’t lost,” he explains.

Having assisted Suraj Kavi, who he credits for motivating him to pursue this path, he debuted with Urumeen, and went on to edit films like Uru, Iravukku Aayiram Kangal and Marainthirinthu Parkkum Marmam Enna. Point out to him about the fact that all these are crime thrillers and he says, “I like crime films. You can tell a story with an element of thrill. And seeing my work on such films, I keep getting crime thrillers.”

Interestingly, he had joined the project a little late. “After seeing Mundasupatti, I’d approached director Ramkumar sir, but at that time, he hadn’t decided on his next project. And then, one day, I came to know that he was doing a crime thriller. I knew the producer, so through him, I reached out to Ram sir. He initially hesitated as this is a tricky film to edit. They had completed some 15 days’ shoot by then, so, to impress him, I cut a teaser with that footage to show what kind of approach I’d take. He liked it a lot and understood that I was looking at the film from a fresh perspective. He gave me total freedom after that,” he recalls.

Interestingly, the teaser, which he had edited it in March 2017, was released as the film’s official teaser. For idea behind the trailer’s cuts (matching the music), Lokesh says, was something he was waiting with for the right project. “Since music is connected to this film’s villain, I felt that the cuts should match the rhythm of the music,” he adds.

His upcoming films include director Sasi’s film with Siddharth and GV Prakash Kumar, Yogi Babu’s Dharmaprabhu, an untitled film starring Amala Paul and Udhayanidhi Stalin’s Kannai Nambathey with Mu Maran.