Chennai: National award-winning documentary filmmaker Sruti Harihara Subramaniam recently directed a non-fiction series that features Academy award winning composer A R Rahman as the show host.
The series, titled ‘Harmony with AR Rahman’, a five-part series, streams on Amazon and shows the music maestro travel across India and meet four indie musicians. The show has received positive reviews so far.
Speaking to News Today, Sruti Harihara Subramaniam talks about her diving into the world of cinema.
“Nobody in my family come from film-making background. While growing up, I don’t even remember going to a theatre. My little exposure to cinema was when I watched Malayalam films while visiting my family in Kerala,” she says.
“My first major exposure to films came when I was in high school and when I used to go out with friends. I have been very active in extra-curricular activities in school. I was into singing, dancing, did a lot of theatre and poetry recitation,” she recalls.
Sruthi says she knew she could not just be a dancer or a theatre actor or a singer because she felt with whatever little knowledge she had, she could converge it together to get into cinema. “I studied visual communication which had various creative fields involved, like photography and arts. That was a good base for me,” says Sruthi.
In 2002, Sruthi was approached by the organisers of Ms Chennai and invited to be a participant. “I couldn’t imagine myself as a participant,” she smiles. But the organisers convinced her that she had the potential. She gave her best and was the runner-up that year. “This happened when I was in college. It gave me a good start in the media world,” says Sruthi.
She adds, “Director K Balachander noticed me and gave me a role in his serial, Sahana. It was my debut as an actress.” She also had the curiosity to know how it felt to be behind the camera. “So, once I completed my course, I started assisting many film-makers of mainstream films in Tamil and Telugu. That is how I learnt the craft of film-making.”
Soon, Sruthi was approached by Primal Art Foundation that wanted to document a painter, Krishen Khanna. “I had no clue about the artist or art in general,” she says. “Krishen Khanna had some of the most amazing stories to tell. He was 89 when he started painting. It was a 20-foot art work. He was 90 by the time he finished it. I went to the producers and said there is a big story behind it and they should make it into a documentary. Though they weren’t keen on the idea, they eventually gave me the go-ahead.”
The documentary, ‘A Far Afternoon â A Painted Saga’, went on to win two national awards for best documentary film and best music in non-feature categories. “That’s how I ended up being a documentary film-maker. It was all an accident,” smiles Sruthi. “Eventually, I had a lot of offers,” she said.
Sruthi speaks about the research she had to do once she was approached by the producers of Harmony. “When the idea came up, it was very exciting for me. The producers of Harmony are from the same company that was started by director K Balachander. We were reconnecting after nearly 10 years,” she says. “I wanted to break the myth that documentaries are boring or informative. I had this big responsibility to make this documentary reach a wider audience,” she adds.
For this reason, she wanted to make it a ‘human story’.
“Even if people are not connected to music, they can connect with human emotions which meant that instead of focusing on the instruments, I had to focus on the musician, about his journey and his struggle,” says Sruthi. For over eight months, they did extensive research.
“We would interview a musician and again come back for another session with new questions. More than executing the film, I think researching took a lot more time,” says the young film-maker.
EXPERIENCE WITH ARR
Sruthi talks about her experience while working with A R Rahman. “I run out of words when I talk about him,” she smiles.
“I have been a hard core Rahman sir fan. I used to buy his albums whenever they got released. He made us feel very comfortable during the shoot. He is open to new ideas and collaboration. He is extremely down to earth. To work with him was one of the best experiences I ever had.”
Sruthi runs The TCRS – The Cinema Resource Centre. “Once I started exploring cinema, I started my own collection of books and posters,” says Sruthi. ‘Over time, my collection became huge and I realised that they have become a wealth.”
Sruthi offers tips to aspiring film-makers. “I still consider myself a newcomer and keep learning. But for those who have just started, I would say always have the drive to keep learning and continue to be passionate about the story you want to say and be honest in the way you say it. Eventually, you will find your own voice.”