Cinematographer Jay Oza, who is working on Aryan Khan‘s debut streaming series Stardom, spoke about the young filmmaker’s approach and the differences in working on smaller films and more mainstream projects. Oza said that actors often have the final say on who gets to be a part of a crew, and recalled a story about a female actor refusing to let him be a part of an ad shoot because she felt that he doesn’t know how to do ‘beauty lighting’.
Speaking with Film Companion alongside cinematographer Shreya Dev Dube, Oza was asked how he navigates the demands of mainstream projects, which tend to be star-driven, as opposed to the gritter indie projects that he has been a part of before. He said, “A film like Raman Raghav 2.o, we all knew what we were aiming for. The nature of the story is that. But for example, the show that I’m doing with Aryan, I can’t take the Raman Raghav approach because there is a certain level of comedy, entertainment. Aryan personally likes to see things bright, I have to adapt to him and give it to him, even if it’s against…”
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He said that in Bollywood, stars still hold the power on set, and can often dictate who gets hired on a project. Recalling an incident, he said, “Before we are finalised, the actor has approved us. On big films, I’ve gone through a certain process, and I’ve been told that the actress doesn’t think that you can do justice to…” Asked if he has been rejected by a star, Oza said, “I got a call one night from a producer saying that we might have to change the DP because the actress doesn’t like your work, in terms of, you’re great but you can’t do beauty lighting.”
Oza said that this happened on an ad shoot, mere hours before he was supposed to show up on set. Eventually, the director put his foot down and stood up for him. But he admitted that his ego was hurt. “At 7 am, I woke up to an email from the management telling me how I should light the actress. Of course, my immediate artist’s ego was hurt, but I calmed myself down and told myself that as long as I’m getting my per-day, I shouldn’t get affected. I decided to play it the other way and obey the rules.” Oza said that on set, he made it a point to deliberately go to the actress after every shot and ask her if she was satisfied. “She got the point,” he said.
Oza is known for films such as Raman Raghav 2.0, Gully Boy, Toofaan, and his work on the Prime Video series Made in Heaven. He is also working on the upcoming action film Yudhra, and the long-delayed road trip film Jee Le Zaraa. Aryan, Shah Rukh Khan’s son, is making is writing and directing debut with the show Stardom, reportedly set in the world of entertainment. Produced by Red Chillies Entertainment, the series doesn’t have a streaming home yet.
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