Bhuvan Gowda interview: On shooting ‘Salaar’ and working with Prashanth Neel

The cinematographer opens up on his lighting and framing techniques for the two-part epic action drama, shooting action sequences, and his working chemistry with Prashanth Neel

Ever since the teaser of Salaar: Part 1 - Ceasefire dropped online in July, the period action drama has drawn comparison with the KGF films. Salaar is from the team of KGF: Chapter 1 and KGF: Chapter 2, so it’s natural for people to find similarities between thenmovies, but outright comparison is unfair, says the film’s cinematographer Bhuvan Gowda.

“You cannot show the entire film in a teaser or a trailer. It’s too early to say Salaar looks like the KGF films. When we were shooting for KGF: Chapter 1, we had a limited budget for the film. But for Salaar, there were no budget restrictions. So, our first aim was to increase the scale of the film; we have made it bigger than the KGF franchise,” says Bhuvan.

Salaar, directed by Prashanth Neel and produced by Hombale Films, will release worldwide on December 22. Starring Prabhas and Prithviraj Sukumaran in the lead, the film is a tale of friendship set in the fictional empire of Khansaar. Bhuvan explains how they created the world of Khansaar. 

“Prashanth sir and I don’t emphasise much on CGI. After listening to his narration, I sat down with the production designer to get the designs drawn. We bought a 100-acre space at the Ramoji Film City and named it Ramoji 2, and the entire film was shot there. Once we created the geography as per Prashanth sir’s vision, we built the sets,” he says.

The film’s lighting resembles KGF for its distinctive tone and setup, and in some scenes, the use of colour seems motivated by popular epic movies such as Dune or Mad Max: Fury Road. “If you feel the tone is similar to KGF, then it means it’s my signature,” says Bhuvan, dismissing the comparison talks.

“In an intense or raw scene, I opt for contrast lighting. I don’t care for the crores of money they have spent on the sets. I will highlight my subject (the main performers) and ensure that people’s attention doesn’t go to the background, and remains firmly on the actor.”

Going by the promotional videos, it’s apparent that Salaar has big action set pieces. “I love fights when they look natural on-screen, but fans also want to see people flying in the air in action sequences. So we have to cater to that and yet hold on to realism in fights,” says Bhuvan.