Rajiv Menon

Information is available freely on the Net, but what's missing is passion. And only a teacher can impart that passion and deep desire for excellence every day. Moreover, a classroom environment helps overcome certain psychological aspects, including inferiority complex.

I can't write about NRI romances.

I was witness to a beautiful relationship between cricketer Anil Kumble and a boy suffering from muscular dystrophy. Moved, I wrote 'Spin' - a small film about a cricketer and a spastic boy. But I couldn't find backing.

I do what I feel like doing.

You know, writing isn't easy. It's tedious. Ideas have a gestation period, and after a while, it becomes difficult.

Everyone thinks I am rich, I have a plush office, I make advertisements and travel - but only I know the kinds of problems I face.

I think I have underperformed as a filmmaker.

Nothing prepares you for shooting in the sea. Some days the sea is choppy, some days the waves are long. When there is no wind, it's fantastic to shoot, but your brain is burning because of the heat. You are shooting hand-held and taking a crane on a boat, which is risky since you can get toppled over.

Some films survive long in theatres, and some stay longer in people's minds.

Sarvam'... has no gloss that you associate with my earlier work.

I like to shoot feature films because it's about capturing emotions... words like guilt, hurt, betrayal.

When you are shooting over a period of six months, you tend to forget how dark or bright it was. And when you are using different technologies, having a look book helps during the final grading of the film. So you can design what the film is going to look like even before the colouring process begins.

We have to create images that remain in people's memory because a film is judged by what they have already seen. You are trying to create an image that is unique and you have to employ all the resources available to you.

You have to keep the audience glued by hook or crook.

I like fractured characters with human follies.

Looks are not important when it comes to acting.

It is how you approach the role given to you, and how you relate to that character and then how you adapt and gel into that role which makes you a good actor.

Developing aesthetic sense is vital for actors. They must understand that there is no small role, only small actors. A good actor will do the smallest role to perfection, and be recognised.

I believe that films are meant for entertainment, but in that process, you have the possibility to think about what kind of entertainment you're giving to audiences.

I'm usually known for films that look beautiful and attractive, probably because I am a cinematographer too.

Dangal' worked because it dealt with the universal emotion behind the father and daughter.

If the human story in 'STM' is relatable, it will work.

As an actor, one should be aware of all their capabilities. This is important, as films are becoming more realistic.

Accents are not for comic relief anymore; they root the character to the place they're from.

With realistic and deglamourised roles and live sound, the charisma of a star is not enough. Can you be many different people?

The actor should understand the script and come prepared to play the role. At the same time, they should be flexible enough to take the director's input and portray his vision.

Cinema is about transferring thought into action.

I used to be a reasonably good student.

When an actor constructs reality, it has to be riveting and entertaining. There has to be an emotional connect with the audience.

Good acting is confused with good dialogue delivery. Acting is about all about performance, and the way we interpret and understand the character that we bring alive onscreen.

The film industry is moving towards digital technology.

Music is one field where your caste and religion is not important. People accept you so long as you can move them. It is a medium that allows you to fly beyond your caste.

I make my living by shooting ad-films, and, in fact, that's how I began my career.

Rajarathinam Pillai was a performing genius and a crusader. His was a shining mind, prone to excesses of temper and his life can be seen as a continuous struggle for recognition.

I don't have any romantic notions about villages.

Film music is always given a step-motherly treatment though it is the most popular form of music.

When '36 Chowringhee Lane' was released in 1981, I was a student of the Film and Television Institute of Tamil Nadu. Everyone who had seen the film was very impressed with its flawless direction and acting. But we, cinematography students, were stunned by the visual style, which was truly international.

Ashok Mehta did not go to any institute. He did not carry the baggage of formal education.

Ashok Mehta was the man who brought contrast and lighting back to mainstream Hindi film cinematography.

Three years at the institute had not taught me as much as two weeks on the sets of 'Susman.'

When in school, I was interested in many things other than studies.

I am very much open to doing cinematography for any talented filmmaker, if the script is good.

When I was in the 12th standard itself, I decided to join the Adyar Film Institute and study photography. I specifically chose photography because I see photography as an applied science. There is an artistic element also in it. If you perfect your scientific element, you can attain certain quality.

I love telling stories. But I believe that nobody could teach you to direct a movie.

I think directing a film is like a woman going through labour. After she goes through the labour pain and delivers her first baby, she says she will not going to have another baby. Then, when she sees the child growing up, she decides to have one more child!

Minsara Kanavu' was a hit in the South, but not in the North.

I have a brother and we lost our father when I was 15. And that was a big emotional upheaval in my life.

You no more have to come to the city and access a laboratory to make a film. If you have a DSLR and a reasonably powerful laptop, you could be making films anywhere.

In Berkley, they have academic studies on all genres of music including rock and jazz, but in India, we don't have serious academic research and studies on film music; it is such an interesting area of study.

For example, Taj Mahal is the first thing which comes to the minds of many foreigners who visit India, and how Eiffel Tower in Paris, but there is lot more to every country.