As a child, filmmaker Satish Kasetty used to wait for everyone to sleep in the nights to draw without the distraction of an on-looker. He enjoyed the calmness during the time though there was no definitive pattern to his strokes. He would wrap up the artwork by about 4 am, remembers waking up to his father’s compliments each day. Satish won many prizes at art competitions and credits this facet came to good use when he visualised sequences as a filmmaker. His advertising, sound mixing, photography stints took over his painting priorities over the years-he was equipped with knowledge about 20 (of the 24) crafts required for a film. It was a medical issue where he was advised rest earlier this year that rekindled his love for painting after two decades.
“What I’ve done in life has always been instinctive and impulsive,” Satish says creativity came to him naturally. Colours fascinated him, he liked to paint than draw. His photography stint was instrumental in giving him an aesthetic sense. He never went to an art school, trusted his books and personal research to understand its nuances. While art began as any other activity in his life, he realised its therapeutic only after his ailment early this year. “I feel peaceful when I paint, don’t switch on music and can paint for hours together forgetting time.” Inspiration comes to him from photographs (which he later enhances and adds his own spin to it), sometimes it’s he who gives a grammar to his landscapes.
Satish now understands what colour palette works for him and what doesn’t. “I’ve read and studied about a lot of painters that enhanced my technique. I realise my preference to play around with nature, light and shade. I’m trying to be as diverse as possible, the variety is my quest to find myself as a painter,” he mentions. Comfortable with acrylic and oil paints, Satish enjoys modern art and the fact that it can be subject to many interpretations. “Every time I get a break, I try do something new, I taught about films a year ago, now it’s art.”
Despite examples of artistes-cum-filmmakers like Bapu and Ravi Udyawar (who directed Mom recently), he however doesn’t want to overemphasise the importance of art when it comes to filmmaking. “It makes you visualise a story, yes and for story-boarding action sequences. Most of our storytellers don’t know art and yet have a firm a grip over the medium.” He plans to host an exhibition of his art works soon. “The pre-production work of my next film has already begun and it’ll be a 2018 release.”