Rajamouli Studied Live Flies For Eega Shoot, DoP Senthil Kumar Calls It More Challenging Than RRR

KK Senthil Kumar is a well-known cinematographer who has shot big-budget films such as Magadheera, Baahubali: The Beginning, Baahubali 2: The Conclusion, and the critically acclaimed RRR. Recently, he claimed that the most difficult film of his career was Eega, a 2012 Telugu fantasy drama directed by SS Rajamouli. Senthil Kumar, who has worked with Rajamouli on numerous films over the last two decades, discussed how shooting for the film, which featured a fly as its protagonist, challenged him as a cinematographer.

KK Senthil Kumar narrates his challenges while filming Eega

During an interview with Film Companion, KK Senthil revealed that Eega was one of the most challenging films of his career. He said, "I’d say much more challenging than RRR. We had no reference point. We had not seen anyone do it. The closest that people could come to doing something like this animation. I watched A Bug’s Life for inspiration but hadn’t done something like this in real life. Creating the hero of the film, which was a fly, was the biggest challenge."

Senthil further added that creating the fly and shooting it required a lot of observation and macro photography. He said, "We caught a lot of flies and studied them. We released that they get unconscious when exposed to cold temperatures for a minute or two and then gain consciousness and fly away. We observed them under macro photography, they were really ugly and of various kinds. After studying them, we worked with a lot of artists and created a custom-made fly."

What is the fim Eega about?

In the film film Eega, Nani is in love with Bindu but gets killed by a jealous Sudeep, who lusts after her. Following that, Nani gets reincarnated as a fly and vows to avenge his death. He works with Bindu to make Sudeep's life a living hell. The film released in theatres back in 2012.