Cinematographer Donald McAlpine viewed old Delhi through a different lens for the film Rajma Chawal
Academy award-nominated cinematographer Donald McAlpine of Moulin Rouge! fame presented Delhi with a different visual perspective in the web series Rajma Chawal, said director Leena Yadav and producers Aseem Bajaj and Gulab Singh Tanwar.
Bajaj, a celebrated cinematographer himself, was asked about the difference that McAlpine brought to the table.
He said, “Sixty years of experience as a cinematographer in every frame of our story. In Rajma Chawal, there are characters, the city, a different culture and several elements that have been amalgamated in the story.
“It is easy for any celebrated cinematographer to feel tempted and flaunt his craft that could overpower the subject matter. Maintaining the simplicity is actually a challenge and he did that beautifully.â€
Remembering the first day of their recce at old Delhi’s Chandni Chowk with McAlpine, Leena said, “We were walking about the place and he looked above at the wires hanging all over the places near the roof and walls in those narrow lane. He then told me, ‘Look at them, it is so like the connection between people in any relationship... wrong connection creates problem, the right one, brings people closer.’â€
She added, “I was so impressed with how he was looking at every corner of the place from the perspective of our story.â€
Adding to that, Tanwar said: “It was a conscious decision to bring someone on board from abroad because that always adds a new perspective; because as an Indian, when we look at our own places, we tend to capture the mundane part of it — the noise, traffic, dirt and everything that bothers us in daily life.
“When the same place is viewed through a person from a different background, the perspective changes,†she said.
The film Rajma Chawal, released on Netflix, is set in Delhi featuring Rishi Kapoor, Amyra Dastur, Nirmal Rishi, Aparshakti Khurana and Harish Khanna. The film premiered at the BFI London Film Festival this year and was screened at the 20th MAMI Film Festival.
Leena, known for her film Parched, said, “It was interesting when Donald sat down with me just before we started rolling and said that though he knows the story and script, he does not know Hindi.
“Since all the actors will speak in Hindi, he said if he can ask me about it, when capturing an emotional moment, because without knowing the language, there is a possibility of catching false moment in the performance.â€
She added with a smile, “The good thing is that after looking at a few shots, he came to me and told me how the portrayal of emotions were touching his heart, despite not knowing the language... I realised that is the purpose of universal storytelling, which crosses the boundaries of language and culture and touches the right cords.â€
