We came to know that a few people thought that a non Hindu, Christian P.J Antony should not enter the temple. Our main location, the Temple was really in a neglected state with out any puja or rituals being done for a long time. It was really like a rainy day and with the help of the fire engine we made it very realistic. Any how we decided to start shooting the scene and, fortunately as the shoot progressed the weather Gods pitied us and filled the clear blue sky with clouds and the atmosphere got totally changed. Since we had hired a Fire engine for the afternoon ( they charge per hour) we could not afford to waste our time. We were lucky to have found a large cave in a nearby hillock and when we started shooting the scene it was a bright sunny day with clear skies and I was in a dilemma whether to start shooting the scene or not because it was supposed to rain in the end. Only much later I came to know that he originally started his career as camera assistant to Vincent Master!Īnother location we needed was a natural cave where the characters Unni Namboothiri and Ammini take refuge when it suddenly rains.
I told him "I am confident about my exposure, I'll show you the rush print" When he saw the rushes afterwards, he really appreciated my work. He exclaimed that even an expert cinematographer like Vincent master will not shoot in this light.
I took out my meter, checked the light and told him, " Why not? I have enough light to take a few more shots". He asked me whether I will get any image in such a poor light. When the light was really low, some one tapped me on the shoulder and when I looked back it was Samiyettan ( S.Konnanatt) the Art Director. When there was not sufficient light to shoot with normal film, I loaded my camera with higher speed ORWO NP7 film ( 400 ASA ) and went on shooting. The sun was setting, the light was low and we had many more shots to be taken. It was an overcast day, dull and dark, a suitable mood for a sad situation. The steps of T hirumittakode temple on the Bharathapuzha riverside was the location for the song " Thinthinathano " where the Unni Namboothiri departs the village as his beloved Ammini, looks on with teary eyes. Most of the locations were situated within a radius of few kilometres from our main location.
PALLIVALUM KALCHILAMBUM MALAYALAM NOVELS FULL
That made our night shoots extending till the wee hours! For daytime shooting we used reflectors which we got fabricated at Calicut in Balan K Nair's workshop, since we did not have the luxury of having a full out-door unit from Madras at our disposal. Then the power consumption load goes down and the voltage rises to a usable level of around 200 volts. Hence most of our night shooting was done after 9 PM only when people switch off the lights and go to sleep. But the power situation in those days was worse in Malabar area and the voltage was very low at night, around 100 – 120 volts only. We managed with one connection for both the locations. Fortunately we required the use of lights in two locations only, the Temple and the Velichappad's house which were adjacent to each other. We have to apply in advance for Temporary 3 phase connections with separate meters in all the locations where power supply is needed.
In those days we could not afford to have generators for our power supply and had to depend on the State Electricity Board outlets for our lighting needs. At night after the shoot we will sit around Antony Asan as he had bottles of different varieties of fish pickles with him as accompaniment to his drinks, and he will offer us some of the tasty fish pickles which to an extent fulfilled our craving for non vegetarian fare.
Since we were shooting mainly in and around the temples we had to be satisfied with only vegetarian food. Sukumaran was acting in his debut film and though his house was nearby in Edappal, he also joined us to become more familiar with film making methods. Ravi Menon, Azad and myself slept there on grass mats spread on the floor. MT took one room, P.J.Antony the other and the Hall was for the rest of us. We were able to get that building for ourselves. There was a rice mill in Edappal where a building with two rooms and a hall was available. Actor Sukumaran's uncle Edappal Kuttan made arrangements in his relative's houses for Kaviyoor Ponnamma, Sumitra etc to stay. The shooting location was in a small village near Edappal called Mukkola (Mukuthala) and there were no lodges or hotels capable of accommodating all the unit members.
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