Director T V Chandran shares memories of Shaji N Karun

It feels as though a friendship of 50 years has come to an end. Seeing Shaji at his home after his passing was painful.

My first memory of him goes back to the stunning visuals he captured for Thampu, a film that remains one of my all-time favourites even today. After the shoot, Aravindan, John Abraham, Chandralekha, Sadananda Menon, and I gathered in Madras. We were all mesmerised by the visuals Shaji had captured. That is where our friendship began.

In fact, it never felt like we didn’t collaborate, because most of my cinematographers — Sunny Joseph, Madhu Ambattu, and others — came from what I often call Shaji’s school of training. Whenever Shaji arrived on set, it was nothing short of a celebration.

His candid camera work was astonishing. In Thampu, he captured several breathtaking moments. One that has stayed with me is a shot of a child from the circus troupe smoking a ‘beedi’. It was a raw, unguarded moment caught with such authenticity that it still moves me. Shaji had an extraordinary gift for absorbing the essence of a moment without losing its naturality.