Yashoda unit braves chilly weather!
It was challenging to shoot during such an unpredictable weather
AS A PASSIONATE FILMMAKER, YOU WORK HARD AND SLOG FOR SCENES, AND IF THEY TURN OUT TO BE GREAT THEN THAT’S THE GREATEST FEELING. IT WAS A GREAT LEARNING EXPERIENCE TOO, AS I REALISED THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING A BACKUP PLAN. I WOULD DESCRIBE THE KODAIKANAL EXPERIENCE AS ‘AN ADVENTURE RIDE’
While most parts of the country are reeling under a heat wave, the makers of the Samantha-starrer Yashoda had a very different experience — last month the Hari Shankar-Harish Narayan directorial wrapped up a
15-day schedule at the Kodaikanal hill station, where the 300-member unit had to brave extremely chilly weather, with temperatures sometimes as low as 12 degrees.
“While one day it would be chilly, the weather would turn sunny or misty the next day. There would be sudden rainfall too. It was challenging shooting during such an unpredictable weather,” says
Hari Shankar.
Adding to the irregular weather was t h e uneven terrain. The film was shot on roads, in the middle of forests and in high-altitude areas.
“We did a recce in Wayanad and other tourist places down south but due to logistic problems we couldn’t choose them. The entire unit felt Kodaikanal was the best location, because of the misty light and the beautiful setting,” shares Hari. As most of the unit members, including the directors, hail from Tamil Nadu, Hari says that they were aware of the inclement weather
and had prepared for a bumpy ride. “We had factored back-up days into the shooting schedules — so if we had
to stop shooting abruptly, we still had time to complete the work,” he explains.
Most of the shots were act ion sequences involving Samantha, in specially erected sets, and also outdoors. “Sam nailed the action sequences; she did them effortlessly,” says Hari, adding that
she too was
— HARI SHAKNKAR
aware of the vagaries of the weather, and extended complete support.
“I remember on the last day of the schedule, we were supposed to shoot a key scene in a misty background. But suddenly we had rainfall and we had to wait for more than an hour for the rain to stop so that we could resume the shooting,” says Hari. Since the sun sets early in the hill station, the unit had to wrap up by 5 PM, and since it was the last day of the schedule, the tension was all the greater. “Finally at 4:30 PM we got a break from the Rain Gods and we said ‘Pack-up’ at 5 PM” smiles the director. The unit is currently shooting in Hyderabad. And the director jokes that they are now getting used to another side of the weather
— the heat wave.