American Cinematographer - June 2013 - I3

GLAMOUROUS
THE
HERO
the high heat and bright sun
of Rajasthan. As always, 50D
[Film] did not disappoint.”
Where does Hero go to up
their glamour quotient? India.
For Hero’s Glamour — a
popular motorbike in the traffi ccluttered
cities of India — the
company chose cinematographer
Paramvir Singh to shoot their
latest ad. The DP is a graduate
of the Film & Television Institute
of India, and also a former
creative in advertising.
The ad portrays women
falling in love while riding in the
comfort of the back seat of the
new Hero Glamour. Director
Shikha Makan envisioned a
series of female protagonists
thrown into a romantic fantasy
the minute they catch sight of
the bike. But she aimed to keep
the dream world more based
in reality, showing different
women going about work or
daily activities — to create a
feeling that this scenario could
actually happen to them.
“Shikha used Indian visual
metaphors of love like yellow
autumn leaves, bursts of Holi
(the blazing oranges and
reds from the Indian Festival
of Colors), and vistas of the
high mountains,” explains
Singh, “which all translate the
imagination of the women into
a visual image. Our locations
were varied. We shot in the
streets of Mumbai, a dark
tunnel in Pune city, a heritage
palace in the heart of Jaisalmer,
Rajasthan, and the beautiful
sceneries of Kashmir.”
To capture all of these colors,
Singh chose KODAK VISION3
50D Color Negative Film 5203
for its color saturation and vivid
blacks. Throughout the ad, it
was very important that the red
color of the bike stood out like
the star — and also the elements
of leaves, Holi colors and the
Kashmir valley’s alpine greens.
“The 50D [Film]
did wonders in
controlling the
saturation,” he says.
“I wanted to use
a stock that was
also able to hold
For the misty scenes of the
Kashmir Valley, Singh used the
low-contrast KODAK VISION3
500T Color Negative Film 5219.
“It is an excellent stock that
brings out a great tonal range
in dense environments,” offers
Singh. “Thanks to [5219 Film],
we kept shooting, even past the
light meter signaling ‘E.’ That is
the beauty of shooting on fi lm.
It brings to my mind what my
cinematography teacher said
once: ‘When
in doubt, close
your eyes and
roll. Eastman will
save you.’”
Including
travel, the shoot
schedule was
roughly 15 days
with many of
the locations
lacking an airport
or a railway station. But despite
the slower travel by vehicle
and other logistical challenges,
Singh felt secure the whole
time knowing that they were
shooting on fi lm.
“We wrapped the shoot in
Gulmarg and the nearest airport
was Srinagar,” remembers
Singh. “But that is an ultra-high
security, old and small airport. I
was worried about the baggage
scanners. Not wanting to take
chances, we sent the stock to
New Delhi via cars, from where
production carried it to the lab
in Mumbai by air.
“A lot of cinematographers
still love shooting on fi lm in
India,” adds Singh. “I think it
is only aggressive marketing
for (digital) that has led many
uninformed people to opt for it
as a choice above fi lm. Ask any
trained, visual aesthetician what
medium he would choose, and
he would pick fi lm.”
Photos: Courtesy of Kiss Films, India.
American Cinematographer - June 2013

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