Ruben, the young editor who worked in movies like ‘Darling’, ‘Raja Rani’ and ‘Trisha Illana Nayanthara’ is one of the hottest properties in Tamil Film Industry. With his slick cuts, he has impressed both audiences and critics, and many big banners are awaiting to make him the part of their technical team.

This week,movieclickz.com has selected Ruben as our ‘Star of the Week‘, and it is our pleasure to pen some words for this aspiring editor who will surely climb more heights of success in the coming years.

A honest disciple of Anthony

Anthony is a trademark name in the editing arena of Tamil Film Industry. The acclaimed editor has worked in many impeccable films, and the career of Ruben is very much obliged to this remarkable personality.

It was during the time of Ruben’s Visual communication studies that he met Gautham Vasudev Menon. Gautham Menon selected Ruben as an intern, and give permission for him to assist in ‘Kaakha Kaakha‘. At this time, G V M introduced Ruben to Anthony, and soon the duo built a good rapport. In a recent interview given to a leading online portal, Ruben shared his experiences he had with Anthony.

“I am very much obliged to Anthony throughout my career. I learned AVID from his studio. During my college days, I spent most of the time in his studio, not in my campus. Many promising contemporaries in the editing arena are disciples of Anthony, and this clearly indicates his versatility and helping nature towards upcoming talents”, said Ruben.

Anthony was deeply impressed by the talents of Ruben, and he selected him as an assistant in the movie ‘Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu‘. Some of the noted projects which they worked together are ‘Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya‘ and ‘Paiyaa‘.

In the meantime, Ruben was given the chance to work for many theatrical trailers. Some of the movies for which he have crafted trailers are ‘Thoranai’, ‘Avan Ivan’ and ‘Vedi’.

According to Ruben, editing a trailer is a more challenging task than editing a movie. “While editing a trailer, you should convey the whole idea of the movie within two minutes, and I consider it as a tough challenge. I am known in the industry as an expert in crafting trailers, and it has helped me to get a lot of contacts with directors”, said Ruben about his trailer editing experience.

A humble entry as a solo editor

It was Mughil, one of the associate of Prabhu Deva who first gave Ruben a chance to work as a solo editor. In 2011, Ruben debuted as an editor in Kollywood through the movie ‘Kandaen‘ which had Shanthanu Bhagyaraj, Rashmi Gautham and Santhanam in the lead roles. Even though, the movie performed in an average manner in the Box Office, Ruben’s slick cuts garnered appreciation from many corners.

His work in ‘Muppozhudhum Un Karpanaigal‘ too was appreciated widely. His editing style in the song ‘Oru Murai’ fetched him praises from many industry personals.

Rising to the big league through ‘Raja Rani’

Atlee’s ‘Raja Rani‘ helped Ruben to rise into the big league in the editing arena. This film was appreciated by both critics and audiences, and it emerged as a huge hit in Box Office. The editing style in this movie was so innovative in nature, and the audiences felt the movie as a smooth flowing river.

Ruben later revealed that he was sure about the Box Office verdict of ‘Raja Rani’ in the first day he heard the script. He also added that Atlee was quite open to his suggestions during the making of the movie. During the time of filming, Ruben has asked to eliminate ‘Angnyaade’ song from the movie. The crew were planning to head to a foreign locale to shoot this song, but as per the instruction from Ruben, they canceled the plan, and it was proved beneficial in the future.

Later, he worked in movies like ‘Naan Sigappu Manithan‘, ‘Darling‘, ‘Jeeva‘, ‘Trisha Illana Nayanthara‘ and ‘Inimey Ippadithaan‘. His latest movie which got released is ‘Vedalam‘ which featured Ajith Kumar in the lead role. The movie has already hit the Bull’s Eye, and it is heading towards the 100 Crore Club. ‘Vijay 59‘ and ‘Veera Sivaji‘ are the upcoming movies which Ruben will be editing.

Editing: The art of story telling

According to Ruben, editing is an art of story telling. “The main job of an editor is to translate the the director’s vision on screen in the most perfect manner. As an editor, I dont believe in doing gimmicks and unwanted visual transitions. My concept of editing is different, as I wish to make this process as smooth as a river. If you want audiences to get immersed in the movie, then the movie should be neat and smooth”, says Ruben.

Ruben admitted that transitions are needed while shooting colorful songs. But when it comes to story telling, it is always wise to make it neat.

Ruben is undoubtedly a promising talent, and Tamil movie Industry expect a lot from this young man. It was our pleasure to select Ruben as our ‘Star of the Week’, and now, we wishes All the Best to this master ‘CUTSMAN‘.