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Shelly Sharma is a dynamic and innovative cinematographer whose journey began with a background in mass communication before discovering her passion for cinematography. After assisting on various film sets as a 2nd unit DOP, Shelly gained invaluable experience and transitioned into commercials and documentaries, gradually developing her own unique style. Throughout her career, she has successfully leveraged Cooke lenses to enhance her visual storytelling, using their capabilities to shape the mood and texture of her films.
“I’ve always been drawn to cinematography because of my love for movement and light—watching how the sun filters through leaves, or how the world is bathed in different hues as I travel. Once, while riding a bike through Meghalaya, I was mesmerised by the dramatic dark clouds and the way life’s colours seemed to pop against the greys of the sky,” Shelly recalls.
For her, lighting serves as a subconscious layer of storytelling, delicately bridging the worlds of realism and drama. This versatility shines through in her ability to seamlessly navigate between fiction and documentary filmmaking, each offering a different creative process. Documentaries, in particular, push her to handle realism with limited resources, often empowering her vision in ways that fiction films don’t.
With advancements in camera technology, Shelly acknowledges that post-production can manipulate nearly any image. However, for her, the choice of lens remains crucial to the integrity of the visual story. When reflecting on her work for the Marathi film Gharat Ganpati, Shelly explains her thought process behind the film’s visual style. The family drama, set primarily in a traditional heritage bungalow in Kerala to evoke a Konkani atmosphere, presented unique lighting challenges due to low ceilings and expansive open spaces.
“For this film, Cooke Anamorphic FF lenses were perfect. They offered the exact balance I needed—less digital, less vintage, but with the ideal focus fall-off to highlight key characters while subtly pushing others into the background. This helped me keep the audience always aware of the space, even in close-ups, as the characters navigated through the various rooms and areas of the bungalow.”
Shelly also highlights the importance of maintaining natural skin textures, a critical element of her visual approach. She avoids relying too much on post-production filters, which she believes can harm the natural separation of elements in a scene. Cooke lenses, particularly the Anamorphic/i FF series, offered her a refined and naturalistic rendition of skin tones, eliminating the need for heavy filtering or softening in post-production.
Gharat Ganpati
“For me, skin texture is everything. I’m not a big fan of adding filters unless absolutely necessary, and with Cooke Anamorphic FF, I didn’t need to. The naturalistic tones it produced were stunning, and it saved me from having to soften the image heavily in DI.”
Shelly’s career spans over six years, including her work alongside masters like DOP Sylvester Fonseca. Today, she is proud of her accomplishments, especially with Gharat Ganpati, which is currently streaming on Amazon Prime. Her low-key lighting approach has garnered significant praise. Despite facing challenges during the shoot, including an accident that left her confined to a wheelchair for two weeks, Shelly’s perseverance and dedication shone through.
“In the end, seeing how people have responded to my lighting and visual storytelling is incredibly rewarding. There’s a deep sense of satisfaction, knowing that I pushed through some really tough moments. The grandeur, the intimacy, the play of light—all of it came together beautifully, thanks in no small part to the Cooke lenses.”
Shelly Sharma’s journey is a compelling testament to the power of resilience, technical expertise, and artistic vision in the craft of cinematography.
