Exclusive! Cinematographer Sajeesh Rajendran talks about turning an editor for a single from Habeeb

Habeeb, directed by Jennifer Alphonse, stars Satyadev Kancharana in the lead,

Sajeesh and Jennifer on the location of Habeeb

Noted cinematographer Sajeesh Rajendran, who's filmed several advertisements, corporate films, OTT projects like Chitra Vichitram (ZEE5) and Run (Aha), has now donned an additional role, as an editor, for his latest single from an unfinished Hindi feature film Habeeb. Directed by Jennifer Alphonse, the single starring actor Satyadev Kancharana is an attempt to highlight the exploitation of children by terrorist groups, charting the relentless quest of an Indian army officer to find his only son in Afghanistan.

The officer's son is part of a group of children sent across the border (to Pakistan and later Afghanistan) who're trained to undertake terrorist activities. The father is seen helplessly searching for clues that could lead to his son across the length and breadth of Afghanistan. Sajeesh was the cinematographer of the project, whose filming couldn't resume owing to various reasons nearly four years ago. The heartwrenching Dhari song from Habeeb, edited and shot by him, provides a context to the film's hard-hitting premise.

"It would be fair to say that I was an accidental editor for the single. The project holds a special place in our hearts (the team) and was lying in the cans for a long time. We've been endlessly expecting to make a feature film out of the footage someday. We had only completed 35-40% of the filming and the project couldn't pull through despite repeated attempts. Many actors in the film had grown up, a few of them are no more. One of the producers (Habeeb Safi) had shifted his base to India some time ago. However, the footage was so magical that it had to see the light of the day," Sajeesh says.

"Moreover, I just fell in love with the composition (by Jaya Phani Krishna) from the time it was out. I had to edit this and string the story together because no one would've been able to do justice to it otherwise," he adds. Sajeesh began working on the single during the second lockdown owing to the pandemic this year and a wave of memories flashed before him as he put this together. "Not many know that I was a part-time editor during my undergraduation days. I took assignments for pocket money back then. I couldn't have asked for a better project than Habeeb to brush up on my editing skills."

Going through the footage, Sajeesh reminisced the wonderful reception their team had in Afghanistan. "The kind of love that the locals had showered on our team is hard to put into words," he shares. Habeeb Safi, one of the producers of the film, was a native of Afghanistan, who was in the hospitality sector for a long time and took care of all the shoot permissions. "The locals share a special love for Indians, but the emotion isn't the same for Pakistan. The breathtaking landscapes and the warmth made our 30-day-long shoot in the country a breeze and a rollercoaster ride of sorts."

Sajeesh recollects that the team faced several roadblocks right from the initial stages. "Unfortunately, the project began on a false note. A day after we commenced it, demonetisation was announced. Before it even took off, the visa process got delayed for over a month in mid-2016 where we were stuck in Delhi. We were shooting for the project in Afghanisation in December amidst heavy winter for over a month and the shoot had to be called off midway owing to security scares, work commitments of a few members in the team," he states.

The team was to return in mid-2017 for a schedule in summer in Afghanistan, but destiny had other ideas. There were factors beyond their control in Afganistan and the 'passion project' had to be put behind the backburner. In retrospect, for all the hospitality and love the team received from Afghanistan, Sajeesh is pained to witness the current-day situation in the country today. "I wish the single had released in happier times. It's hard to imagine such a nation go through such turmoil and pain. They only had so much love to give and I sincerely hope their situation gets better at the earliest."

Does he see hope for the revival of Habeeb in the times to come? "I strongly hope so. There are only a few projects in your career where the entire team works with the same level of passion. Habeeb is a story that has a timeless quality and the vibe was so special that I'm sure we'll have a better ending in store. While we may take up many projects in the name of work, only something like Habeeb has the potential to unify us again," he exudes optimism, on a parting note.

Also read: Satyadev Kancharana-starrer 47 Days springs a surprise, clocks 1 million views on Amazon Prime Video

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