O2 on Disney+Hotstar: Thamizh Azhagan says it's heartwarming to receive appreciation for hard work in the Nayanthara-starrer

Cinematographer Thamizh Azhagan, who impressed both the audience and critics alike, by shooting Venkat Prabhu's quickie, Manmatha Leelai in 18 days, is once again in the spotlight for his work in the recently-released Nayanthara-starrer O2.

Directed by GS Viknesh, the film has been receiving appreciation ever since it was released on Disney+ Hotstar. In particular, the visuals of a bus buried in a landslide, and the shots inside the same, have caught everyone's eye.

Sharing his experience of working on O2, Azhagan says, "Director GS Viknesh is a close friend. He narrated the script back in 2019 and I was keen on delivering visuals that looked real. Although sets were erected for the landslide and bus scenes, I wanted them to look so real, so that the audiences didn't get to know that it was a set."

Besides, Thamizh Azhagan wanted to make sure that the audiences understood and felt the characters' desperation to survive. "I started preparing for O2 in 2019, even before the commencement of the shoot. Every single scene was visualised first, with appropriate detailing, and a lighting graph and was finalised before going to the set. All these measures have helped us deliver a positive output."

Thamizh Azhagan says the entire film was shot by hand. "Throughout the filming, I had the camera on my shoulders. Although it was a complicated and exhausting task, it was what was required. The cinematographer had the responsibility of conveying the pathos, pain, and fear of every single character inside the bus to the audience. So, I decided to experience the same emotions and behaved like a victim trapped in a similar situation. This, I believe, has helped me deliver their emotions.”

The film is about a mother, who with her eight-year-old son, gets stuck inside a bus that is buried in a landslide. The kid, battling a chronic lung disorder, cannot survive without the aid of an oxygen cylinder. A cop, who is also a passenger, looks to get his hands on the oxygen cylinder to survive. How the mother deals with the situation and saves her son forms the crux of this story. “It is heartwarming to receive appreciation for two years of backbreaking hard work,” Thamizh Azhagan signs off.