Rajiv Menon

:: Rajiv Menon
An engaging combination of reserve and warmth is Rajiv Menon's trademark characteristic. The acclaimed cinematographer-turned-director shot into the limelight as cameraman for Mani Ratnam's 'Bombay'. His first directorial venture 'Minsara Kanavu' was dubbed into Hindi as 'Sapnay'. While the film did not do too well, his 'Kandukondein Kandukondein' created ripples internationally. Released with subtitles, this adaptation of Jane Austen's 'Sense and Sensibility' was a hit at national and international film festivals and theatres.
A conversation with this adman, cinematographer and director, reveals much about the man and his work...
Among his early influences, he fondly recalls his Achamma, his father's mother. Every morning, she would wake up at 4.30 a.m. and begin reading the Upanishads. The young Rajiv, who shared a room with her, would squat on the floor, immersed in some book of his own. "It was her wisdom I gained," he says.
Achamma was P.K. Kunjilakshmiamma. She held a graduate degree in 1920. She participated in the Simon Commission stir. Her passion for the Upanishads has already been mentioned. When she lost her only son, Rajiv's father, she said that God was testing her knowledge of the Upanishads. The pain of losing her son seemed far greater than the pain of losing her husband. The way she sought to come to terms with this untimely loss deeply influenced her grandson.
Rajiv Menon's father was in the navy and died when his son was only ten. "People simply forgot my father. Several people stopped coming to see us," he says.
Now 37, his grandmother's vision forms his cinematic endeavours. "That element of Thomas Hardy, dark sorrow and the ability to see light in between, is thematic of Kanukondein Kandukondein. The counterpoint between tragic movement and positivism is very important, especially in the second half of the film."
The autobiographical distractions of the film were avoided by changing the gender of the protagonists in the film. The switch was easy for the man in whose life women have had an immense impact.
His mother, Kalyani Menon, is a popular Malayalam playback singer. She warned her sons, "Don't come back at 45 and wonder 'what did I do?'" She was not the type to wonder why fate with her cruelly either. "She might have cried once a year maybe," he recalls, "If she was feeling depressed, she would go into a room and sing for an hour. She would come out beaming."
Kandukonein Kandukondein tells the story of modern migrants, the interaction and movement between rural and urban sensibilities, making new beginnings and letting go - all that Rajiv Menon has seen in lived experience.
This Indian film in an Indian setting, adorned with the verse of Subramania Bharathi, surprised the international audience "with its full blooded tamasha, despite its English inspiration".
After an early preview in London, he was asked how he would have made the film if he had been given 6000 pounds and the same cast. The audience applauded his reply, "Exactly the same as now. With all the songs. Ang Lee's adaptation of 'Sense and Sensibilty' was an English adaptation of an English novel. Kandukondein Kandukondein is an Indian film based on an English novel." The sub-titled version, by the way, did not have a single cut from the original. Peter Bradshaw, critic at respected English daily, The Guardian, rated Kandukondein Kandukondein among his top 12 films at the Regus London film festival. He was thoroughly impressed with 'this entertaining reinvention of the Austen novel' that allowed the story to be 'exuberantly transposed to modern-day India'. The film is further securely anchored in the contemporary by mythic references. The film is also dealing with the dispossessed family, the 'vanaprastham', leitmotif of the epics Ramayana and Mahabharatha. The tale still belongs to the urban, globally connected generation. "For the protagonists to have gone back to the feudal mansion would have meant supporting an anachronism. In the 50s, most portrayals of the city showed it as corrupting as its rural migrants. Now, we of the second generation are no longer scared of the city. We know how to get right on top of it, in fact. We don't need to romanticise the rural, either. Just looking at box office trends will prove that. There has been no hit based on a rural theme in the past twenty years or so. Urban and economic values are the ruling values of contemporary India. In cities now, the themes are violence and the search for love. It's the easiest thing to kill someone off on screen. That's why I have chosen marriage for my theme." He, too, married the woman he loved after waiting three years for her mother's consent. They were of the same caste but films were still a risky venture. "As an individual I am quite conservative. Though, as a creative person, I think the greatest risk is not to take a risk." For a man who loves to shoot pictures, there are no photographs of his family in his albums. "My wife keeps asking me when I am going to take some," he smiles. Lata, his better half, did her degree in mass communication from Sophia College, Mumbai. She runs her own agency called 'Iris' and is the 'strong, silent type'. She is a vivid contrast to her husband, his mother and brother, who all 'sing and are very demonstrative'. "She is doing very well professionally. I am constantly marveling at the mother in her. I am usually terribly tired when I get back from work. She, on the other hand, will sit down with our two daughters, Lakshmi and Saraswati, and go through their homework." Reverting to Kandukondein Kandukondein, he asserts that international audiences require better quality films, which in turn require superlative writing. "Our gift is our knowledge of English. If Indo-Anglian books can sell well, so can Indo-Anglian filmmaking. Our filmmaking is so unique that it is a barrier to be broken if we have to reach out to wider audiences. Just like a modified curry has become the largest selling food in the United Kingdom." Holding on to the comparison, he explains, "We are used to drama in a film, so we are used to watching all the navarasas on the silver screen. Those are like the spices in our curry. In that sense, the curry is different from, say, cold cuts. All that is needed is for the writing to improve." His favourite authors are Arundhati Roy and Vikram Seth. "These people are writing for an international audience. Though the ambience is Indian, the conflict is international."His next directorial venture is a small film. "Celluloid is an expensive medium but now you can film on the cheaper video and stream it on broadband. A sub-titled Kandukondein Kandukondein would not have been possible five years ago but mini theatres helped pull off a success." Besides having lower overheads, mini theatres may actually push up the success of a film by frequently sporting the 'house full' sign.He is currently busy with Hindi films though. Another Tamil film may be a long time coming because of other commitments.Also, he is busy with an important new venture, his very own film-training institute. "I am busy developing talented young people to join the industry," he says.