Film Editor A Sreekar Prasad on his long association with Shaji N Karun, “Whatever he directed and left for us, we can cherish for generations to come” : Bollywood News

Veteran filmmaker Shaji N Karun passed away on April 28 after a prolonged battle with Cancer. His long-time associate and veteran film editor A Sreekar Prasad spoke about the late filmmaker in an interview with us.

Film Editor A Sreekar Prasad on his long association with Shaji N Karun, “Whatever he directed and left for us, we can cherish for generations to come”

How would you evaluate the contribution of Shaji N Karun to Indian cinema?
Shaji Karun to me was such an inspiration, in not only making his films but the way he looked at cinema itself as such an artistic expression.

How long had you known Shaji Karun?
I had known him for 25 years ever since I edited his film Vanaprastham and since then have continued to be part of his cinematic journey till he left us all. Ever since then, he has been a mentor, a friend and well-wisher to me.

How was he on a personal level?
He was such a soft spoken man that people could hardly hear his voice while working, many a time when we were editing, I could understand his mind and wavelength. But his own assistants sometimes could not hear Shaji sir’s soft spoken words and I had to brief them sometimes. He was so gentle in the way he communicated in person. But in filmmaking, every shot or every detail he put in the film had so much to say.

What according to you made Shaji Karun a storytelling genius?
The best part of his storytelling was the subtext and the metaphors he brought in organically in his films.

How closely did you work with him?
We used to think alike that the cinema was an art and that artistic expression would remain in history for perpetuity and that is why films had to be made with a view that it could be watched over the years and decades like books or paintings and not just entertain for a few days only.

I feel he did too little work
His visual sense was such a blessing to watch. It is sad that he is no more and I had always wished he had made more films in his lifetime. But whatever he has shot or directed and left for us over the last few decades have so much depth and emotion that we can cherish them for generations to come.

Also Read: Malayalam filmmaker Shaji N Karun passes away at 73