While Chiranjeevi’s ‘Waltiar Veerayya’ introduced Niranjan as an independent editor, he did onset editing for over 70 movies in Kannada, Telugu and Hindi languages.
Published Feb 13, 2023 | 1:45 PM ⚊ Updated Feb 13, 2023 | 1:45 PM
Niranjan Devaramane is a well-known name for his onset editing skills. (Supplied)
In filmmaking, a story is told thrice — first by the writer, next by the director, and finally by the editor.
Niranjan Devaramane, a young editor from Ballari city in Karnataka, has achieved success with his first Telugu debut as an independent editor: Chiranjeevi’s Waltair Veerayya. He is being spoken about in industry circles for his exceptional on-set editing skills.
In Telugu, he has wrapped up Chatrapati (starring Bellamkonda Sai Srinivas) and is now busy with Junior, which is being produced by Korrapati Sai.
Junior marks the debut of mining baron Gali Janardhan Reddy’s son Kireeti. It is a mere coincidence that most of the team belongs to Karnataka.
While the hero hails from Bengaluru, his father and producer Korrapati Sai are classmates. Niranjan, actor Sreeleela, and director Radha Krishna, too, are from Karnataka.
Niranjan Devaramane with the cast and crew of ‘Waltair Veerayya’. (Supplied)
“I am from Ballari. We speak a mix of Kannada and Telugu. My forefathers, from Andhra, settled in Karnataka long back. My wife is from Andhra, too,” Niranjan told South First.
Niranjan recalled that he would bunk classes and watch films regularly during his college days. But he never considered making films as his career. However, in the final year, he decided to switch gears.
“One of my classmates came to Bangalore and worked as an assistant director for Kannada films. We were roommates. He tried to get into the direction department and I would try for the editing department,” the editor recalled.
But why editing? “When I was toying with the idea of a career in films, I randomly thought that editing would suit me best. I came to Hyderabad and did a six-month crash course on software applications. I wanted something fast and opted for this,” Niranjan added.
Guess what? He never went to shoots. “But the director I teamed up with as an assistant director had sent me to the on-set editing.”
With director Vamshi Paidipally and actors Nagarjuna, Tamannaah and Karthi on the sets of ‘Oopiri’. (Supplied)
Niranjan Devaramane went to work on an action episode for Nagarjuna and Karthi-starrer Oopiri (on-set editing) where director Vamshi Paidipally enquired if he would edit the film completely and Niranjan quipped: “Yes!”
One film led to another and he became well-versed in the craft. He asserted that a week or 10 days would be enough to learn the software. “Editing courses do guide us but the practical knowledge shapes us as a craftsman,” he explained.
He has done live location editing works for around 70 films thus far, including Kannada, Hindi and Telugu. With Waltair Veerayya, he turned into an independent editor.
Guess what? Niranjan was recommended by Chiranjeevi for Waltair Veerayya. The actor was pretty impressed with his work in Acharya and Khaidi No.150 and asked him to work for Bobby’s directorial.
“I heard that Chiranjeevi encourages talent, but didn’t know it would happen in my case. He recommended me to Bobby for the big-budget flick. Earlier, I worked with Bobby on a couple of sequences in Venky Mama. Now, I am doing Junior and Chatrapati. I’m ecstatic about my promotion.”
So, who are online editors? They are confined to the shooting spot and are supposed to look at improvisation, continuity, etc.
“The director watches the camera on the monitor and the online editor captures it live. The footage is then fine-tuned in the edit suite,” the film editor elucidated.
Live/online editing is done at the scene level. An editor takes a scene of about six minutes and trims it. When you shoot a scene, it is mostly like a puzzle and won’t be in order. The editors check if something is missing in it and then, assemble the scenes in order.
How does one work in multiple films at the same time? Well, all editors have assistants who do the rough versions. They usually make creative decisions. Though it appears to be a minor task, it’s at the decision-making level that they play a pivotal role.
With late Dr Puneeth Rajkumar on the sets of ‘Doddmane Hudga’. (Supplied)
“First, we edit the individual scenes and club them together. Then, certain scenes look unnecessary and some look important. The continuity is established with the help and approval of the director. In a nutshell, film editors discuss why a scene is needed or not,” Niranjan Devaramane explained.
A film editor doesn’t need to know the director’s vision while editing because editing/trimming is done at scene-level and shot level.
Ask how Niranjan Devaramane gauges his progress on the work front and pat comes the reply: “The audience usually can’t judge. If they understand the plot and are kept engaged and entertained throughout the film, it makes for good editing. A technician can judge the craft though.”
During Waltair Veerayya’s success meet, Chiranjeevi praised Bobby and the writers’ team because no scenes were deleted in the movie.
“We used all the scenes shot by the crew. Sometimes we follow the screenplay, and sometimes don’t. It’s just like cooking; we may be using the same ingredients. But, in the end, our cuisines taste different. We, editors, use a creative licence and do the placement accordingly,” he smiled.
A working still from Chiranjeevi’s ‘Waltair Veerayya’. (Supplied)
While releasing the promo of Phalana Abbayi Phalana Ammayi recently, actor Naga Shourya said he was motivated to work for extra days abroad after seeing the edited copy of his forthcoming film.
“True. When shooting on tight budgets in foreign locations for several days, travelling from hotel to location seems tiring. So does waking up early and working late at night. It’s the reason why we get homesick working continuously for 30-40 days abroad,” the editor said.
“In such a scenario, it’s natural to feel motivated after watching the edited version. It is all teamwork and I’m glad that Naga Shourya recognised and appreciated the hard work we put in.”
Before signing off, Niranjan pointed out that editing used to be pure labour earlier.
“In the 1930s-40s, film editors used to club the scenes. But now, it is more of creative work. This is why we have an Oscar Award for film editing!”
