Cinematographer Krishnan Vasant prefers not to distract audiences. “I like to use the visual language to emotionally engineer them towards the narrative. I try to balance style and realism,” he says. The attempt to keep the visuals grounded and let the characters take centrestage is evident in his Telugu film, The Girlfriend directed by Rahul Ravindran, starring Rashmika Mandanna.
Krishnan, who has worked on more than 10 films in Tamil and Telugu, is ecstatic with the response to The Girlfriend. “It is gratifying to see women turn up in large numbers and champion the film in theatres,” he says.
The Bengaluru-based cinematographer divides his time between Chennai and Hyderabad for Tamil and Telugu cinema. Born in Bengaluru, he grew up in Chennai where he went to film school.
Krishnan’s father gave him a point-and-shoot camera for his seventh birthday, and he has been fascinated by images ever since. “My parents gave me a guitar, mridangam, and violin, to see what I gravitated towards.”
Lessons from Balu Mahendra
In high school, he developed an interest towards design and art though he was a Science student. The turning point came when his mother, a client service executive with Prasad Labs, introduced him to veteran filmmaker Balu Mahendra during a summer break. “I showed him my photographs and he took me under his wing. My first-ever lesson in using the camera came from him; I still have those sheets.” The learnings shaped his interest in street and documentary photography.
Krishnan Vasant
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Special Arrangement
Encouraged by Balu Mahendra, Krishnan studied visual communication at Loyola College. Initially, he was interested in the advertising field, to sell products through compelling visual stories. But watching and dissecting films for the Elements of Filmmaking class opened up his world to cinema. That is also when he rewatched Mani Ratnam’s Iruvar. Krishnan then pursued film studies at the LV Prasad College of Media Studies.
Krishnan’s first film was the 2013 Tamil movie Kalyana Samayal Saadham. Buddy, the Telugu remake of the Tamil film Teddy, marked his entry into Telugu cinema.
However, he was already on board for a film directed by Rahul Ravindran starring Rashmika, to be produced by Geetha Arts. “That film got shelved, and we regrouped for The Girlfriend,” he says.
The collaboration with Rahul was an unexpected but happy turn of events. Krishnan was taken in by director Tharun Bhascker’s 2016 Telugu film Pelli Choopulu, which he describes as “a small film with a big heart.” “If ever it was remade in Tamil, I wanted to be a part of it.”
Much later, when he learnt that a Tamil remake was being planned, he contacted the producer. “I was told that they were not looking at an established cinematographer due to budget limitations, but I was keen. I took a big pay cut and worked on Oh Manapenne. During the pandemic, the film was released directly on a digital platform. Rahul happened to watch this film and told the director that he liked my visual aesthetics.”
“Meanwhile, I had watched Rahul’s debut film Chi La Sow and observed how he broke away from the norm. I called to thank him and said I’d like to work with him some day.”
When the initial film for which he and Rahul were to collaborate got shelved, Krishnan took up Buddy. Eventually, Rahul contacted Krishnan for The Girlfriend. “He sent me the 80-page script one evening. I was blown by the simplicity of the idea and the great impact it could have. I eagerly waited till dawn to call Rahul and tell him that I would be game.”
Krishnan worked on a lookbook, detailing the colours, composition, and technical aspects. Rahul and he had further discussions with the production and costume departments. For this character-driven story, Krishnan wanted the cinematography to be uncluttered.
Four chapters
He had to achieve a curious balance though. Rashmika, a pan-India star, was to portray a young, middle-class woman. “The lighting had to flatter her, yet not appear flashy. Her character, Bhooma, needed to stand out more than her star aura.”
Further, he broke the film into four chapters and lit Rashmika’s face accordingly. “The idea was to follow her emotional arc. Starting with a bright frontal light, to half lit faces, and reverting to a bright front lighting with a colour difference for the climax. It is not something that will jump out as a design; I kept it muted and subtle.”
Rahul Ravindran and Krishnan Vasant on the sets of ‘The Girlfriend’
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Considerable portions were filmed on the NALSAR University of Law campus in Hyderabad. “We designed the visuals in such a manner so nothing would be in your face, not even the use of red for Vikram’s (Dheekshith Shetty) portions that suggest that his character is a red flag.”
Krishnan wanted the hostel rooms of Rashmika and Dheekshith to appear airy, even if small, and the production department designed makeshift rooms on the campus corridors, allowing the light from the windows to add depth.
“I used full format lenses, and kept the depth of focus shallow so that the attention is on Rashmika. Even the smaller locations get an illusion of larger space in such a method,” Krishnan explains.
Softer colour tones were used for Rashmika’s costumes, contrasting Dheekshith’s blue in some sequences. Krishnan says the choice of colours did not stem from gender stereotyping. “Pinks and whites represent freedom and life while blue represents conformity to norms.”
The mirror sequence featuring Rashmika and Rohini, and the shower sequence in which the walls close in on Rashmika are being widely discussed. Krishnan says the mirror sequence was fairly simple to execute. “A day prior to shooting, we decided the camera angles and the light, and I blocked the shots using my iPad. In this sequence, the protagonist has a hallucination. The panic attack she experiences soon after dictates her journey. It had to be dramatic but look real.”
Krishnan acknowledges the effective use of mirrors in Mani Ratnam’s filmography: “To observe ourselves in the mirror is a basic trait, and his films used it well.”
Physical, movable walls
For the shower sequence, Krishnan recalls how Rahul, being an actor himself, wanted the walls to be physically moved so that Rashmika’s portrayal of fear is realistic. “We set up the scene in a studio and the production team moved the walls at strategic points. Visual effects were used only to finetune the outcome.”
Reflecting on The Girlfriend, Krishnan says, “The storytelling was simple so as to reach maximum audiences. It was liberating to craft visuals organically from the script, rather than relying on hacks the way we do for a mass film. My wife watched the film and said she was proud of me; that was my biggest award.”
Krishnan is now working on debut director Jason Sanjay’s Tamil film Sigma starring Sundeep Kishan, and Anurag Kashyap’s Tamil film Unkill 123 directed by Sam Anton. The latter involves visual experimentation: “With each film, I challenge myself and try to avoid a signature style.”
Published – November 19, 2025 04:14 pm IST
