Rajinikanth praises Lingaa movie editor Samjith

Dubai served as the stepping stone to a film editing career for Samjith Mhd, who lends the last cut to this week’s release, the Rajinikanth-starrer Lingaa, finds out Deepa Gauri

It is not always that you have Rajinikanth, the reigning superstar of India whose fandom extends as far as Japan and more, to watch and applaud your work.

For Samjith Mhd, much like Rajinikanth’s legions of fans, it has always been the other way round. You whistle, clap and celebrate as the superstar performs ahead of you on-screen.

But here, in person, was the man himself watching as Samjith edited the frames of Lingaa. When the edit was completed, all Samjith heard was a loud applause. It was by none other than Rajinikanth.

“It was an unforgettable moment in my life,” says the young editor, who cut his teeth in editing in Dubai. A computer graduate, he was initially interested in doing software. Passionate about drawing and painting, he turned his attention to graphic art, which fetched him a job with Kairali TV in Kerala.

Moving to Dubai to work with Asianet, he turned to editing – and that was the start of a journey that was truly unprecedented for this unassuming youngster from Tirur.

Alongside editing for television shows, he was occasionally called to do spot-editing for movies. Among the first movies he worked for was Ellam Avan Seyal, the Tamil remake of the Malayalam film Chinthamani Kolacase directed by Shaji Kailas.

Impressed by Samjith’s talent, Shaji roped him in for Red Chillies, starring Mohanlal. Samjith hasn’t looked back since, having already edited more than 28 films in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Bollywood.

If the crispy, fast cut style of Samjith got him his film entry, it was his penchant for editing fight scenes that made his career. “Kanal Kannan, the stunt master, used to assign me for editing his fight scenes. He is very particular about providing edited fight cuts to the director. He recommended my name to KS Ravikumar.”

Ravikumar, a veteran director who has delivered a string of superhits with Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan, was directing Police Giri, starring Sanjay Dutt in Bollywood. “He called me to his office, asked me to edit two sequences and before I knew it, I was assigned to edit the film,” says Samjith.

Ravikumar also promised Samjith that he will be working on his next project – a film with Sudeep (of Eega fame). “All of a sudden, there was a new buzz that Rajni Sir had okayed a new project to be directed by Ravikumar Sir. He kept his promise and I was chosen to be the film’s editor. It was totally unexpected and I was super-thrilled. It is not always that one gets to work on a Rajni film.”

Shot in a record six months, Lingaa was a fantastic learning experience for Samjith. “When you work for a Tamil film, it is like you are an employee in a company. Every need of yours is taken care of and there is so much respect even for the technicians.”

Samjith says he learnt a tremendous lot from Ravikumar, “who is a perfectionist by nature. He was particularly picky about every reaction shot. He needed absolute clarity on the need and relevance of every frame. I really understood what detailed editing was by working with him.”

For Lingaa, the unit also had a parallel editing suite set up in hotels near the shooting location. Almost every day after work, the team including Rajnikanth would come to the editing room to okay the scenes.

“Rajini Sir is so down to earth and what makes him different is how much he personally cares about everyone. He will ask you questions about the family and make sure you are comfortable. He would even ask if the shot he did was ok and seek suggestions. His genuine concern for people was a big revelation for me.”

With parts of the film shot in Abu Dhabi, Samjith also had the opportunity to revisit the country he has documented in many television programmes at the editing table of Lingaa.

He says that Dubai indeed gave the opportunity to experiment boldly with editing techniques using pace and graphics, which he took to films. “It was a novelty and that is perhaps why directors took notice,” he says.

While that helped him create an identity in the industry, Samjith says editing is not about gimmicks, and has great respect for the earlier generation. “Their art is one of perfection; I have heard stories of directors standing scared at the editing table when veterans like K Shankunni were editing their movies.”

Today, as with any field in film, everyone with a graphic software on his computer claims to be an editor. But Samjith says technology can only go so far; ultimately it is about finding the rhythm of the movie.

Even as he was working on Lingaa, Samjith edited Njan Ninnodu Koodeyundu, a Malayalam film by accomplished indie director Priyanandanan. “Nearly 90 per cent of the films I edited were ‘mass movies.’ But the style for this movie was entirely different, and again, it was a great learning experience for me.”

Looking ahead, Samjith sees himself directing a film – not a mass or arthouse – but something that will put a smile on viewers’ face and make them feel good. Right now, however, it is all about celebrating Lingaa – and his career-defining moment.