Exclusive! Highway director KV Guhan: Heroism isn’t only about achieving things, it’s also about attempting

KV Guhan belongs to the long, elite list of cinematographers who’ve successfully proved themselves as capable storytellers too. After an immensely fruitful stint as a technician for nearly 15 years with films like Kushi, Athadu, Aarya, Dookudu and Seethamma Vaakitlo Sirimalle Chettu under his belt, he has committed to direction fully with films like Kalyan Ram’s 118 and the SonyLIV release WWW.

His latest release is also a thriller – Highway – a road film, made for an OTT platform aha. In a chat with OTTplay.com, Guhan talks of his fondness for the thriller genre and the reasons that compelled him to make Highway under a low budget. From the ideation to casting and characterisation, the cinematographer-cum-filmmaker offers us a sneak peek into the making of Highway.

The motivation to make Highway – the genesis story

Generally, the thriller films you watch are laced with abundant action and are designed for theatrical experiences. During the lockdown, when it seemed like the theatres wouldn’t open anytime soon, the popularity of OTT was on the rise and I felt I had many stories to tell that were ideally designed for streaming. Till theatres were open, I wanted to try my hand at concept-oriented, offbeat films that were a departure from the mainstream cinema norms.

This was a time to try and OTTs were encouraging us to explore newer horizons. Once WWW was over, I immediately connected with a psycho thriller that happens on the road. Even if there was a danger of the pandemic, Highway was a film that can be shot with a basic crew and luckily, things were bright when we began the shoot.

When we cross paths with someone, either of our lives will likely change - it may be very marginal or even huge. You may meet someone on a train and they may become your soulmate. Ten people like us go to a tea vendor and ultimately help his survival. What if the destinies of a cop, a serial killer, and an innocent girl are entangled with one another on a highway? The film was born out of that idea.

There is nothing heroic about any of the characters in the film. All of us are connected to nature at some level. When everything is connected, how does nature react to it? That is the climax of Highway and there’s a surprise element associated with it.

The challenge of doing a road film with limited backdrops/characters:

It was very challenging to ready the screenplay because it doesn’t come with any reference points. I tried to be true to myself in telling that and I’m not sure how will audiences react to it. I’m not even sure if the inner story will reach them. I gave it my everything. Even though it’s a road film, Highway isn’t restricted to the ‘roads’ but is about the situations where the life of the characters change drastically. How can one stop change someone’s life?

The creative choice behind telling Highway through the eyes of a photographer:

It’s a life that I know pretty well. I wanted him to be a very soft-natured guy who’s put in a situation where he has to handle a serial killer. He’s not a hero and doesn’t try to do anything larger than life. If it’s a regular film, the character would go all out and attack the villain. He’s an ordinary man and even if I step into his shoes, I’m not sure if I’ll be able to handle the situation.

Heroism isn’t only about achieving things, it’s also about attempting. During hijacks or train accidents, a human stands up for the co-passengers and tries to save them even without knowing them, risking his life in the process. A father doing odd jobs for the well-being of his children is also heroism for me.

Anand in Highway is someone who doesn’t shy away from trying and gives his best shot at rescuing a girl. It’s a girl whom he had met only hours ago, was instantly smitten by her. Someone can decide on the love of their life in an instant; it’s a stroke of magic. He helps her not only out of love but also due to human concern.

Creating the character of a psychopath without overstating the obvious:

I had a very tough time dealing with his character in the script. If you read Ted Bundy or the life of any other serial killer in world history, they are like regular human beings. Ted Bundy, in fact, had a chemical imbalance in his brain and it drove him to find pleasure in killing people. He is otherwise known to behave very with friends and family and not many could believe that he had killed over 40 people. He doesn’t have any control over him. I tried to design a character like that and he may not have any reason to commit crimes. Indian cinema always demands that a criminal needs to have a motive behind his acts and I’ve given a brief backstory to justify his behaviour. The story lets you know the trigger point why he has become a monster.

Unconventional casting for Highway – Anand Deverakonda, Abhishek Banerjee, Saiyami Kher and Manasa Radhakrishnan

Even before Anand Deverakonda came on board, I roped in Abhishek Banerjee for the serial killer role and he was my first choice for it. After watching Paatal Lok, I wanted to cast him in our films too. He’s an unconventional, strange-looking guy and breaks all the stereotypes of a regular villain with his looks. He wouldn’t stand out in a crowd. Abhishek had a childhood near Chennai. He was looking to make his debut in a South film and I approached him at the right time. He connected to the character and immediately said yes. He was very cooperative and spontaneous.

Saiyami Kher was coming afresh after Special OPS and she is well-aware of the body language, and composure to pull off a cop role. She did a fine job. Manasa Radhakrishnan’s eyes are slightly unusual, I wanted someone to look usual and innocent. And you never know what may captivate a viewer. What is Om Puri without the many pores on his face? What is Nasser sir without his nose?

Being a cinematographer, I appreciate every skin type, texture, find beauty within everyone and don’t like makeup. When you apply makeup to the lead actors, you make everyone look alike. I didn’t want Manasa to have any makeup and she is a good performer. She was a child artiste before and I always believe they are groomed to act well. As a child, they understand the acting process better and evolve well with time.

For Vishnu’s character, I wanted to cast someone who’s non-heroic and would share screen space among four characters equally, because we focus on all their lives. He has very brief screen-time in the first hour too. Only a secure actor who trusted the story could have done it. Anand Deverakonda did a fantastic job with the character. Whenever I work with actors, I only explain the situation and give them the scope to improvise and add a few lines even if they aren’t on paper. It was a good experience for Anand. He generally took time out for workshops before his previous films and he didn’t have that luxury here. The spontaneity also helped in our case, he was a natural performer.

Pulling off a low-budget film without compromising on the craft:

I didn’t face many budget limitations with WWW, but Highway was a huge responsibility. It revolved around four characters on a highway and the narrative had to be eventful, keeping the audience glued. It was tough but I think we managed to pull it off. With Highway, I’ve done whatever I can within the limitations of the budget. After finishing the film, I humbly accept what audiences say - I’m alright even if they praise or trash it.

Being a cinematographer for the films he also directs:

As far as it doesn’t go beyond limitations and deals with a bigger canvas, working as a cinematographer for my films is always easier. It’s a challenge yes but the process is helpful. It is like switching between two channels - I need to view a scene both as a director and a cinematographer. I don’t let any of the specialisations compromise. At the end of the day, the director in me has to be happy. If I make a film on a bigger scale, I may need someone to take care of the cinematography, so that I can focus more on the performances and the emotions, overall craft.

The possibility of working as a cinematographer for other directors:

I actually want to do cinematography for other directors too. It opens up my learning process and pushes my boundaries. Ultimately, I have to bring someone else’s vision to life. I’m thrilled when a director is satisfied with my shot and it shapes up as per his expectations. It’s a beautiful challenge. I want to do cinematography for other directors but script writing takes a lot of time out of me, at least six months. When I work as a cinematographer for another film, I don’t have much time for my scripts.

The difference in approaching the technicalities of filmmaking between feature films and OTT:

Except for the concept, a film remains the same everywhere regardless of the medium. People are starting to buy television sets of huge sizes and quality home theatre systems - one can’t leave anything to chance. For all my OTT films, I did Atmos and I have worked on sound design extensively. Nothing changes about the making, only the release medium is different.

The desire to take up a web series soon:

I would love to take up that and even streaming platforms are expressing more interest to back them. I want to web shows on a big scale. I don’t want to limit my scope to thrillers and look to tell stories on a big canvas. Something like Mission Impossible and Lord of The Rings is happening on OTT today. It takes a lot of time to make web series. A few years from now, there will be clear demarcations on the people working on feature films and web shows. Web shows demand time and effort and one needs to stay in the same zone. As of now, my focus is on theatrical films.

The reason behind the popularity of thriller as a genre and his preference for it:

Even as a viewer on OTT, I look for thriller films first. Audiences want something unpredictable and unusual these days - thrillers fit into this space well. For someone like me who has shifted from Chennai to Hyderabad and focusing on Telugu content, I may not be aware of the nativity as much as the other local storytellers here. I don’t want to touch something I’m unsure of.

Thrillers are universal, the same concept can work in multiple languages. I don’t think I’m cut out to make family dramas or romances. The genres demand a great understanding of minute details and nuances. I might even have the courage to take them up in Tamil because I understand the mindset of audiences better.