'Mahanati' cinematographer Dani Sanchez-Lopez reveals lesser known secrets about the film!

Nag Ashwin’s recently released ‘Mahanati’ has been in the news for all the right reasons – be it the lead cast featuring Keerthy Suresh, Dulquer Salmaan, Samantha and Vijay Deverakonda or for the way the film managed to tug heartstrings by showcasing a side of Savitri hitherto unknown. However, irrespective of how anyone felt about the film, it is an indisputable fact that the Spanish cinematographer Dani Sanchez-Lopez, who worked for a year on the film, did a stupendous job with the visuals.Talking to Hyderabad Times exclusively, he reveals lesser known facts from the shooting of the film.

“When Nagi (Nag Ashwin) brought the script to me, it was so long it seemed like it was going to be a lifetime journey,” reveals Dani. “I loved that the story was about two women fighting for who they were and defending their identity. The storyline drew me in, also because, we don’t idolise Mahanati on-screen. She’s Mahanati because of who she was as a person and because of her talent,” he adds, “The film was such eye-candy for us. We shot in so many locations be it in Chennai, Hyderabad or on set with different cameras. I honestly believe all that hard work paid off for us.”

Wanting to differentiate between the lives of Samantha character Madhuravani and Keerthy’s character Savitri even visually, the filmmakers made the choice of partially shooting on film stock with a super 16mm camera. While the output was a beautifully grainy vintage, it was no cakewalk, reveals Dani. “We shot with film for some portions as we wanted it to carry a very 80s look. We wanted to recreate the look that comes to your mind when you think of films from that era.” As for Savitri’s part, Dani reveals, it involved a lot of homework with him watching her films to know what was expected of him better.

The colour scheme of ‘Mahanati’ is something a lot of thought and effort has been put into. Apart from the song ‘Sada Nannu’, a lot of scenes involving Keerthy and Dulquer were shot during the golden hour. “We wanted the colour of love to come through in certain scenes involving them. We need the warmer tones to come through and not just through the costumes. It was really difficult to schedule the scenes during golden hour. It was a really tough choice but it had to be done and we managed to get everything we needed at the time,” he says.
Through the film, the colour palette of Savitri’s story changes, “However, more than the time period, the colour changes depending on the phase of her life,” says Dani. “We realised that putting in colours in sync with the time period wasn’t working with her psychological evolution. So instead, we decided to go along with whatever she was going through!”
Dani reveals how the organic colours of her childhood turn to blue by the time her story ends. “The organic colours of greens and browns change to warmer tones like pinks and yellows when she moves to the city and begins blooming like a flower. When she’s in love with Gemini, everything becomes brighter, there’s more gold and white, making everything bright and beautiful. As she becomes Mahanati, she attracts envy too, so green is incorporated even in her costumes. When she drinks contributing to her downfall, everything becomes darker with the usage of silhouettes and the blues begin to appear. When she’s hurting, with her heart bruising, purple and teal creep into the scenes.”

Keerthy Suresh impersonating Savitri and dancing to ‘Aaha Naa Pellanta’ from ‘Mayabazar’ was a high moment for many a cine-goer upon the film’s release. “Mayabazar is not just the people’s favourite, it is my favourite too,” says Dani with a laugh. “It’s the first movie of Savitri that I watched and it’s so amazing. Skype sessions on a golden box, being possessed, et al, what could be more fun than that?” Danireveals that they wanted to do nothing less than justice for the re-creations of Savitri’s movie scenes. “We managed to play close attention and pick colours when Mayabazar was restored. The jewellery flown in from Kolkata and Gaurang’s costumes were amazing for the song too. And Keerthy just became Savitri like no one! She just emulated Savitri from the song and was awesome at it. I’m really glad they included the song in the film.”

Dani calls working on the film an ‘adventure’. “More than the time we spent on it, it was the effort we put in that matters. Every day was an adventure on set and while making it, we were sure people were either going to love it or hate it. I feel so humbled to have been a part of this project that showcased the evolution of Savitri garu’s life.”
When asked what scenes he particularly liked from the film, Dani revealed the one he liked best. “The scene at the beach in Chennai where Ganeshan reveals to Savitri that he’s already married is hands down my favourite,” he says. “We stumbled upon that location while going along the coast. I saw some kids playing on the bridge and began taking videos of them on my phone. I kept telling Nagi that we should capture the location for the film and he just kept saying okay. The kids left by the time we could finally agree on it and the assistant directors had to rush to various schools to ask them to lend the kids for an hour,” he laughs. The film has some striking imagery; however, it is this particular scene that Dani likes best.

“The response for the film has been amazing! We recently even got a video from Times Square of women dancing to ‘Aaha Naa Pellanta’ in costumes! I really like that,” he rounds off.