Cooke anamorphic lenses alleviate the concerns of Indian skin tones, field of view and close focus for the third film in the Lokesh Cinematic Universe
eo is the third film in the Lokesh Cinematic Universe. Inspired by the A History of Violence graphic novel series, Lokesh Kanagaraj's Tamil-language action thriller follows family man Parthi who resides in Northwestern India where he owns a coffee shop and helps the local forest ranger rescue animals. His attempts to keep a low profile fall short after he saves the townsfolk from a wild spotted hyena and makes national news. An army of crazed and dangerous gangsters begin to hunt Parthi, obsessed with their belief that he is in fact Leo, a master criminal and son of their kingpin Antony Das. Parthi must fight to protect his family and convince them of his innocence.
Leo was released in cinemas worldwide in October 2023 and cinematographer Manoj Paramhamsa spoke to Cooke Optics about his experience on the film and use of the Cooke Anamorphic/i FF lenses whilst working on the Dolby Vision trims for the film's Netflix release.
Manoj previously worked with leading man Vijay firstly as a camera assistant from 2006 onwards and later as a cinematographer. It was the lead actor who suggested the cinematographer to director Lokesh, in part because of his previous confidence in handling complex shots and visual effects. Despite the action-heavy nature of the film, Manoj was drawn firstly to the protagonist's journey.
I just thought the script was more pronounced on the actor s performance, the protagonist is more about how he s trying to protect his identity, said Manoj. That s the theme. So, I thought more than any backdrops or any locations, or for any lighting kind of things, I thought it was really important to stick to the basics of getting the performance.
Manoj and Lokesh's early discussions quickly migrated towards the question of optics and format.
The production team and Netflix wanted to shoot in full frame 1.85 ratio, but Lokesh is a person who is very strict in not using 1.85 he wanted Cinemascope 2.39. Although he didn't have the option to shoot film, at least he wanted to keep the aspect ratio the same as if he did. So, while it was no to 1.85 why not use anamorphic? That is how I ended up going for this. I tested a few other anamorphics, but out of all of them, it was the Cooke lenses that stood out really well.
Pairing the lenses with a variety of RED cameras headed up by the V-Raptor XL at 8K resolution, Manoj muses; Anamorphic gives a little more three-dimensional feel that the subject is isolated from the background, and it gives a much more prominent feel. The good thing about this particular 1.8x anamorphic and full frame pairing with the Raptor is I'm getting more POV with anamorphics than super35 and that is a big takeaway.
Prep was extensive with Manoj's expertise in pre-visualisation allowing him to maintain ownership of the process. As the co-founder of Stage Unreal', along with esteemed VFX supervisor Srinivas Mohan, the team had access to a cutting edge set of tools. Major portions of the film were pre-vized in 3D space inside of Unreal Engine allowing for real-time experimentation. Guidance would come in from the stunt choreographer and director from which Manoj could accurately simulate his shots with the same sensor size and focal lengths he'd have access to during the shoot.
With a schedule of some 125 days, Leo shot across a variety of locations including Kashmir in intense winter snow. Manoj credits both his on-set team and pre-lighting crew with making this schedule work. With only so much provision for pre-lighting the pre-visualisation aided Manoj in managing where to prioritise his resources along with matching exterior locations with interior builds.
The interior was built in the studio, explained Manoj. For example, the night coffee shop was entirely built in a studio space. We did a recce of the location and the coffee shop is very small but the exterior was so beautiful in Kashmir so we just bridged it, all the exteriors were real locations, all the interiors were in studio sets. Even the house was like that. We found one beautiful house in Kashmir, we extended compound walls and we put some more grass and stuff to give more chase space. Instead of using a greener screen I tried to use a lot of haze and fog and kept the depth, that s what we did for the windows, mostly all the interiors are set pieces.
Manoj is no stranger to Cooke lenses; he was the first Indian cinematographer to use the S4 s which he paired with 3-perf 35mm on an ARRI 235 after that he utilised the 5/i's before jumping to 35mm anamorphic films and then later full frame spherical digital. Leo marks his return to Cooke, combining full frame RED with anamorphic.
I'm so happy, and the next film which I'm presently doing will be the same setup.
With engaging and pacey camera movement throughout the film, Manoj employed a variety of rigs including FPV drones and the ARRI Trinity system. The RED V-Raptor XL acted whenever possible as the hero camera. The main lenses were the Cooke 32mm, 50mm, 85mm Macro, 135mm and 180mm 1.8x Squeeze full frame Anamorphic/i with the special flair coating a personal set of Manoj's. The 85mm Macro in particular proved to be invaluable for bold closeups reflective of Parthi's intensity.
We wanted to keep the subject closer, said Manoj This 85mm Macro was everyone s favourite lens. So, whenever Lokesh wants something dramatic we go for the 85mm. The 32mm is beautiful, because all the lines are curved. It was really interesting to have that filmic distortion with the 32mm. These are my two favourites.
On his previous films with Cooke spherical lenses, Manoj had utilised low intensity Tiffen Glimmerglass but beyond int
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
28/11/2025
Nadia Fall attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Brides at the Egyptian Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Donyale West/...
28/11/2025
It's easy to ignore those little red update available badges. But when it ...
28/11/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for the December Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 18, 2025 ...
28/11/2025
The Professional Fighters League is looking to super-serve fans of mixed martial...
28/11/2025
Fubo has released in beta on select Roku devices a new feature that lets users display up to four simultaneous streams at once....
28/11/2025
The WNBA playoffs and Week 4 of the NFL regular season highlight the list of live sports events airing on television this weekend....
28/11/2025
The 32nd class of honorees to the B+C Hall of Fame took to the stage at New York's Ziegfeld Ballroom on September 26 for a gala induction event. Click below...
28/11/2025
We hold in our hands the very last Next Text for Next TV, the weekly back-and-fo...
28/11/2025
DirecTV said it made a deal with EchoStar to buy EchoStar's video businesses, including satellite-TV provider Dish TV and virtual MVPD Sling TV, for $1 plus...
28/11/2025
The Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame, the premier industry event paying tribute to the influencers, innovators and shining lights of broadcast, cable and streami...
28/11/2025
Friday 28 November 2025
Sky Sports x Slawn drop limited-edition football jersey...
28/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz shows resilience in a challenging environment, revenue exceeds t...
28/11/2025
Unwrapped: The Toy Show Appeal - airing this Sunday on RT One and RT Player- s...
27/11/2025
LONDON Vizrt has added several AI-driven advanced features offering improved speed, intelligence and accuracy in the newest version of its media asset managemen...
27/11/2025
Prime Video has launched AI-powered video season recaps in a beta version for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., a move Amazon is callin...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders Marks a Grand...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things 5': Prepare for One Last Adventure With O...
27/11/2025
The media industry has a paradox at its core. It's an industry built on light, color and imagination, yet behind the scenes, it's powered by one of the ...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
27/11/2025
Black Friday is leveling up. Get ready to score one of the biggest deals of the season - 50% off the first three months of a new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership...
26/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Prime Video EP Mike Muriano Previews Massive Black Friday Slate Fe...
26/11/2025
A cinematic snow sculpture at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. Photo by Randall Michelson...
26/11/2025
Book podcasts are booming. On Spotify, you'll find everything from celebrity book clubs to deep dives with bestselling authors. And in markets where audiobo...
26/11/2025
Mumbai, November 24, 2025: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, JioStar, in collab...
26/11/2025
LONDON Factual content producer ITN Productions has launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins....
26/11/2025
MIAMI TelevisaUnivision said it struck a new multiyear distribution agreement with YouTube TV that includes distribution of TelevisaUnivision's U.S. network...
26/11/2025
OpenDrives, Inc., a leader in software-defined data storage and data services, today announced the launch of the Atlas Corporate Creative Solution. This new Atl...
26/11/2025
Disguise, the industry-leading company powering the world's biggest live performances, is partnering with pioneering LED wall manufacturer DVS to give atten...
26/11/2025
HighField AI, the pioneer in agentic and multimodal automation for broadcast and media production, today announced the expansion of its global channel partner n...
26/11/2025
As high-stakes Premier League fixtures approach and additional premium content launches, with MONO positioning themselves to dominate Thailand's sports stre...
26/11/2025
Hosting a wide variety of events from high-intensity NHL games to complex live music concerts and major entertainment productions, Montreal's 21,000 capacit...
26/11/2025
Vizrt, the leader in live production technology revolutionizing viewer engagement and experience, releases AI-driven advances focusing on speed, intelligence, a...
26/11/2025
ITN Productions, an award-winning factual content producer, today launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins. Responsible for delivering a leading...
26/11/2025
Ikegami reports ongoing advances throughout 2025 in developing and delivering coordinated television production solutions that maximize quality, versatility and...
26/11/2025
Following the Nov. 21 blackout of NBCUniversal channels on Fubo, the two sides have traded barbs about their inability to reach a new carriage deal....
26/11/2025
LONDON As TV sports rights become increasingly important for both broadcasters and streamers, Ampere Analysis predicts global investment in the genre will surpa...
26/11/2025
LOS ANGELES Vubiquity said it has achieved the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Media & Entertainment Competency as part of the AWS Partner Network (APN). This designa...
26/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau said it has entered into a consent decree with Comcast calling for the cable company t...
26/11/2025
Berklee Named to the Hollywood Reporters Top Music Schools List The publication highlights the college's screen scoring program, industry partnerships, and ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
Animated Series Love Through a Prism' Casts New Light on ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
NALIP Unveils Fifth Cohort of Director Incubator
Social Impact
26 November 2025
United States
Link copied to clipboard
The National Assoc...
26/11/2025
YouView Achieves Greenly Gold Certification for SustainabilityNov 26, 2025
YouView is proud to announce a Gold Certification award from Greenly for our perform...
Cooke anamorphic lenses alleviate the concerns of Indian skin tones, field of view and close focus for the third film in the Lokesh Cinematic Universe
