Never in his wildest dreams did Shameer Muhammad see director S Shankar calling him to edit his new big budget Telugu film. Shameer recalled that he had the paintings ‘Endhiran’, ‘Ind’ and ‘Anniyan’ in mind when he met Shankar in Hyderabad. After showing him a crazy sequence of songs, Shankar asked him – “Have you ever edited songs like this?
“No,” replied Shameer. “This film will have the same formula – social responsibility, action and masala. And Shameer has to edit it,” Shankar told him. Thus began their association.
RC-15
This is another Ram Charan after ‘RRR’. Since it is his 15th film, they have temporarily named it as RC-15. The film will be shot all over India. A song sequence is being shot in New Zealand. Filming may take a few more months to complete. Apart from editing several fight scenes in Hindi and Tamil films, this is his first full-length editing in another language.
Big change
Post-production work on smaller films is carried out within several technical constraints. But the big budget movie experience is different. There will be more artists and technical crew. There will be more rushes to edit. Some amazing action shots from different angles arrive on the editing table. One fight scene will be filmed with 7 or 8 cameras.
About director Shankar
He is someone who watches Malayalam movies religiously. He talked about ‘Trance’, ‘Helen’ and ‘Kumbalangi Nights’. He is very punctual and arrives at the studio on time. He will sit with you on the edits. He is someone who will laugh again and again at the comedy scenes of his films. Mr. Shankar approaches every film with absolute planning.
He is shooting two films at the same time. ‘Indian-2’ and this movie. Both are big budget movies. Despite such a busy schedule, he is so calm and cool.
1940s and prosperous
Shameer is excited to be a part of two Shaji Kailas films as he is a filmmaker he has admired since childhood. He started as a spot editor. His first independent work was “Charlie” by Martin Prakkat.
In 2022, he edited 10 films. ‘Kappa’, ‘Malikappuram’ and ‘Naalam Mura’ are the latest.
Producer and director
It was his friendship with cinematographer Jomon T John that resulted in a production company called Plan J. Fortunately, their first venture ‘Thanneer Mathan Dinangal’ was a big hit. After ‘Irul’, ‘Cold Case’ and ‘Vishudha Mejo’, their next production is Tovin Thomas directed by Anuraj Manohar.
“Basically, I’m an editor. And I’m not ready to give it up for something else. I want to direct a movie. If I get the right story and setting, I might go into production soon,” says Shameer.
