“With everyone’s coordination, we completed the shoot of ‘Memu Cop’lam’ in just 17 days” – Cinematographer Kishore Boyidapu

A cinematographer is the creative force who beautifully translates a director’s vision onto the screen. Not only that, but they are also the magician who multiplies the value of a producer’s budget through visual storytelling. If the producer is the father of a film and the director is the mother, then the cinematographer is undoubtedly the elder son who stands by the film from beginning to end.

One such talented cinematographer making his mark in this crucial department is Kishore Boyidapu. Starting his journey from the grassroots level in the camera department, he proved his talent not only in Telugu cinema but also by working in Bollywood and Hollywood films. Recently, he earned appreciation for the series “‘Memu Cop’lam’”, directed by Pradeep Maddali with Naga Babu in the lead role. The series is currently streaming on Zee5.

Kishore Boyidapu, who played a key role in completing the series shoot in just 17 days, shared several insights about his cinematic journey, the challenges he faced, and experiences from the series.

Background

My full name is Durga Kishore Kumar. Since my entire family was associated with the film industry, I naturally developed an interest in it. My father used to take our photographs and narrate stories through those photos. That’s where my interest in this field began. From childhood itself, I was fascinated by cameras.

Cinema Journey

I started my career in 2002 as a camera assistant in Ravi Prasad’s unit. After about four years, I moved to Mumbai. My first project there was working in the camera department for Slumdog Millionaire. Later, I also worked on English films and gained experience working on nearly 15 Hollywood films, including Mission: Impossible 4.

In 2012, I worked as the Director of Photography (DOP) for a film titled Boy Meets Girl. During that phase, my journey with Anil Mehta began in 2015. That journey started with Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and continued until Jersey. In between, I also got the opportunity to work on nearly ten more films.

Working with sir as one of the main assistants gave me immense happiness and valuable experience in my career. Everything I learned from him has been extremely useful in my cinematography journey. Every lesson from that phase remains very valuable to me. Thanks to Anil Mehta sir.

After COVID, when I received opportunities for films like My Name Is Shruthi and 105 Minutes, I spoke with him. At that time, he encouraged me by saying, “Go ahead and start your own work independently.” That’s how I restarted my journey as a cinematographer with a fresh beginning.

A Challenging Experience

Making a film in a single shot is extremely challenging. In 105, starring Hansika, we made the film with a single character and in a single-shot format. The audience need not know the effort behind it — what matters is whether they liked the film or not. But nobody really understands the difficulty involved in making a single-shot film. If even one mistake happens anywhere, the entire process has to begin again from scratch.

From Film to Digital

Earlier, films were shot on film stock, but now everything has shifted to digital. Today, we can take as many takes as we want. In the past, filmmakers had to constantly monitor film length while shooting. Those limitations no longer exist.

Now, everyone does extensive research about lenses. We choose lenses according to the story and budget. Researching every lens and selecting the right one itself is a huge task. I mostly use Cooke lenses. For the upcoming film Premaku Namaskaram starring Shanmukh, I used the Cooke 7 lens.

People I Follow

Every cinematographer has their own style. I follow Ravi Varman sir, Anil Mehta sir, and Sudeep Chatterjee sir a lot. There’s no fixed rule saying something must be done only one way. It depends on the scene and situation of that day. Sometimes, even when there’s room for improvement, pressure forces us to move on. What matters most is delivering the best possible output within the available time.

The Difference Between Hollywood and Indian Cinema

Hollywood films generally use more natural, soft, and cinematic color tones. They prefer realistic lighting and controlled coloring. Indian films, on the other hand, feature vibrant colors, rich skin tones, and emotional lighting.

This is because our culture, festivals, costumes, atmosphere, and emotions are deeply connected to our storytelling style. That’s why colors hold immense importance in Indian cinema.

Hollywood films use advanced color workflows like ACES, RAW, and HDR. Indian cinema, especially OTT projects, is now moving in the same direction. Simply put, Hollywood presents colors realistically, while Indian cinema presents colors emotionally and culturally rich.

The color tones used in Hollywood are different because their stories, culture, and environment are different from ours. If we completely adopt those depressed tones here, the audience may not connect with them. We use the same lenses they use, but the difference is that they spend much more time on DI (Digital Intermediate). Here, we usually don’t have that much time. By the time we do four or five layers of grading, time runs out. If the sky isn’t bright enough there, they enhance it using VFX.

Shoot Completed in Just 17 Days

We completed the entire shoot of ‘Memu Cop’lam’ in just 17 days. That was possible because of strong pre-production planning and the hard work of every department. From planning to execution, everyone gave their best and supported the project smoothly.

Special thanks to director Pradeep garu for always leading with clarity and support throughout the journey. Heartfelt thanks to producer BVS Ravi garu and the entire production team for believing in us and supporting the project.

Special thanks as well to Naga Babu garu, Srinu garu, Ravi garu, and the entire cast and crew. With everyone’s teamwork and coordination, we successfully completed the shoot on time. Even during location recce, Pradeep and I discussed how each scene should be shot and how quickly it could be completed. We spent a lot of time discussing everything in the office itself. We had complete clarity during pre-production, and because of that coordination, we finished the series even ahead of schedule.

Thoughts on Direction

Transitioning from cinematographer to director is not an easy task. Direction is a highly responsible job and involves immense pressure. I too have some ideas, but I’m not planning to move into that side anytime soon. Right now, I’m trying to learn AI technology.

Current Projects

Premaku Namaskaram is ready for release. It stars Shanmukh, Shivaji garu, and Bhumika garu. Another film titled Mana Doctor Babu, featuring Rajeev Kanakala in the lead role, is currently completing post-production work. Apart from these, two or three more projects are in the discussion stage.