“Every film has its own soul. My job is to find that soul and translate it into images.” It’s less a guiding principle than the quiet rhythm behind everything he creates. His cinematography isn’t driven by technique so much as intuition. That belief—quietly held, fiercely practiced—has shaped the way Ravi Varman frames, lights, and composes every shot.
Over the course of his 26-year career, spanning more than two dozen films, his work has moved fluidly between the kinetic energy of Anniyan, the melancholic stillness of Barfi!, the theatrical opulence of Ram-Leela, and the introspective quiet of Tamasha. His visual style isn’t merely about aesthetics—it’s about creating moods, evoking emotions, and immersing the viewer in worlds that feel both grand and intimate. His most recent project, Ponniyin Selvan: I & II, which earned him the National Award for Cinematography, is proof.
Varman is now the second Indian, after Santosh Sivan, to be inducted into the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), a 106-year-old institution whose roster includes some of the most revered cinematographers in history. Unlike most professional guilds, the ASC doesn’t accept applications; it selects its members based on a body of work that speaks for itself. For Varman, the recognition is more than just a credential. “It’s a validation of all my years spent in the industry and deeply gratifying.”
A Cinematographer by Accident
Unlike many filmmakers who grow up with celluloid dreams, Ravi Varman never set out to become a cinematographer. Born into modest circumstances, his first foray into the visual arts was a humble one. “I began working at a young age and with my first earnings bought a Zenit TTL SLR and began experimenting with photography.” But a chance encounter with a photographer named Mr. Mani changed everything.
Mani noticed something unusual about Varman’s compositions, something instinctive and deeply visual. It was this recognition that set him on an unexpected path. Before he knew it, he found himself working in the Malayalam film industry, where he gradually ascended to the role of cinematographer. “What began as an accident soon became a calling.”
Crafting a Visual Language
If there is one thing that defines Varman’s cinematography, it is his ability to adapt his visual style to suit the emotional and narrative demands of a film. While many cinematographers develop a signature style, Varman believes that a film’s script should dictate its visual approach, not the other way around.
“The director’s vision is paramount, and my role is to translate that vision into a tangible visual language. It’s a process of balancing one another’s vision and arriving at a delicate balance, an exchange of ideas, where each of us refines the other’s perspective.” He adds,
Every film has its own soul. My job is to translate it into images
His ability to do so comes, in part, from literature. His grandfather instilled in him the habit of reading from a young age, and that habit shaped his approach to cinematography in profound ways. “I was particularly interested in fiction and period dramas. As I read, I instinctively visualized those stories, translating words into mental images. The practice cultivated a strong sense of visual composition and storytelling.”
Varman has worked with some of India’s finest filmmakers—Mani Ratnam, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, and Anurag Basu, to name a few. Each of them has a distinct visual grammar, and Varman’s challenge has been to merge his own instincts with their vision.
“The best collaborations are not about compromise but about convergence,” he explains. “It’s about finding a shared language. For Bhansali’s Ram-Leela, that language was vivid, operatic, and larger-than-life. For Ratnam’s Kaatru Veliyidai, it was ethereal, introspective, and quietly lyrical.”
The Unpredictability of a Cinematographer’s Job
Even the best-laid plans can unravel on a film set. Unexpected challenges arise—lighting conditions change, equipment malfunctions, nature refuses to cooperate. But for Varman, these moments aren’t crises. They are part of the organic flow of filmmaking.
“You cannot control everything. But you can adapt,” he says.
One such moment occurred during the filming of Ponniyin Selvan. “In the scene when Aditha Karikalan comes to meet Nandini in Pazhuvur, one of the challenges was that the horse would never stand at the same place. Focus too was a big problem. And we were shooting in heavy rain and winds. And you’ve got to maintain the visual continuity throughout. It took a full day to shoot.”
But Varman acknowledges that such challenges are a part of the natural rhythm of filmmaking. “My focus, particularly on set, remains on executing the vision with composure, regardless of external pressures. Ultimately, what commands my attention is the frame and the realization of my vision.”
Lighting: Painting with Shadows
Lighting, for Varman, is more than a technical necessity—it is a storytelling tool. He explains,
Light is not just about visibility. The way light falls on a character can change the way we perceive them
His approach to lighting is deeply intuitive. The idea is to translate the emotional core of a scene through light. “Rain, for instance, can hold entirely different meanings in different contexts. A child sees an invitation to play, while an adult experiences it as a moment of solitude and reflection. The challenge, then, is not just about illuminating the scene but shaping its emotional texture—controlling natural light when shooting outdoors or crafting it from scratch within a studio to reflect the mood.”
The Role of VFX in Modern Cinematography
With the rise of digital effects, many worry that the art of cinematography is losing its authenticity. Does Varman see VFX as a crutch? “It’s an extension of the cinematographer’s toolkit. VFX should never overpower the story. It should serve the vision.”
In large-scale productions, “60% of the visual elements come from cinematography, while 40% is enhanced by VFX,” he notes. This balance ensures that the organic feel of real-world cinematography is never lost, even in the most elaborate of spectacle-driven films.
Advice for Aspiring Cinematographers
As Ravi Varman continues to refine the visual language of Indian cinema, his work underscores the idea that cinematography exists to support the story, not to overshadow it. For those hoping to follow in his footsteps, Varman has a simple but profound piece of advice: read, observe, and trust your instincts.
Aspirants today have more resources than ever before—the internet, film schools, endless technical manuals. But while technical knowledge is essential, what truly makes a cinematographer stand out is a “deep, innate understanding of storytelling.”
“You have to develop your own eye,” he says. “A camera doesn’t make a cinematographer. A cinematographer makes the camera.”
(Interview by Dipankar Sarkar, written by Mansi Dutta)
