Rathnavelu’s body of work is distinctly known for the way he captures human face. Be it Sameera Reddy’s close-ups in Vaaranam Aayiram or the sensuous scene in Endhiran, where Sana (Aishwarya Rai) lures Chitti amidst a candlelight setting. “Actors translate the story to screen. The priority is to capture the mood and within that, the actors must look good. Once, after watching the rushes, Nayanthara complimented me for the way I photographed her face in the film.

I study the artists’ face and light accordingly. The complicating aspect of the film is that unlike the usual movies where you can do poetic lighting for two actors, every scene of this film involves huge crowds with varying skin tones in the midst of dust, sweat and heat. To showcase them in a beautiful way despite the harsher conditions was a challenging task.”