Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna was an Indian Carnatic vocalist, musician, multi-instrumentalist, playback singer, composer, and character actor. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1978. He has garnered two National Film Awards, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1975, the Padma Vibhushan, India's second-highest civilian honor in 1991, for his contribution towards arts, the Mahatma Gandhi Silver Medal from UNESCO in 1995, the Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government in 2005, the Sangeetha Kalanidhi by Madras Music Academy, and the Sangeetha Kalasikhamani in 1991, by the Fine Arts Society, Chennai to name a few.
Sri Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma III was the Maharaja of the Kingdom of Travancore. He was a great musician and composer who has to his credit over 400 classical compositions in both Carnatic and Hindustani style.
Bharathan was an Indian film maker, artist, and art director. Bharathan is noted for being the founder of a new school of film making in Malayalam cinema, along with Padmarajan and K. G. George, in the 1980s, which created films that were widely received while also being critically acclaimed. A train of directors, and screenwriters followed this school onto the 1990s including Sibi Malayil, Kamal, Lohithadas and Jayaraj.
Pallavi Anu Pallavi is a 1983 Indian Kannada-language romantic drama film written and directed by Mani Ratnam in his debut. The film stars Anil Kapoor, Lakshmi, and Kiran Vairale. It revolves around a young man falling in love with a slightly older woman. The music was composed by Ilaiyaraaja, while cinematography was handled by Balu Mahendra. The film is also Kapoor's debut in Kannada cinema.
Aloysius Vincent was an Indian cinematographer and director known for his works in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi language films. From the mid-1960s on, he directed some 30 movies including the landmark Malayalam films Bhargavi Nilayam, and Murappennu.
Indian cinematographers work in a number of regional film centres: Mumbai for films in Marathi and Hindi, Hyderabad for Telugu films, Chennai for Tamil films, Kochi for films in Malayalam, Kolkata for Bengali films, Bangalore for Kannada films, etc. Most Indian cinematographers are known for their work with one regional industry. Some cinematographers belong to various professional organisations and trade unions.
Kokila is a 1977 Indian Kannada-language romance film directed, written and filmed by Balu Mahendra. The film stars Shoba playing the title character along with Kamal Haasan, Roja Ramani and Mohan in other prominent roles. The film marked the directorial debut of Balu Mahendra, who was a cinematographer working predominantly in South Indian films then. The film also marked the acting debut of actor Mohan.
Sringaram is a 2007 Indian Tamil-language period drama film directed by debutante Sharada Ramanathan, a cultural activist. Co-written by novelist Indra Soundar Rajan and produced by Padmini Ravi, herself a dancer, it stars Aditi Rao Hydari, in her Tamil film debut, in the lead role alongside Manoj K. Jayan, Hamsa Moily and Y. Gee. Mahendra. The film depicts the life of a Devadasi during the 1920s. Sringaram became highly critically acclaimed, winning three prizes at the 53rd National Film Awards and two Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, besides several screenings at various international film festivals, much before its theatrical release on 5 October 2007.
K. Ramachandra Babu was an Indian cinematographer of over 125 films, out of which most are Malayalam films. He also worked for films in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Arabic and English languages. He served as the cinematographer for several documentaries and advertisement films as well. He was the founder of the Indian Society of Cinematographers (ISC).
Anjuli Shukla is an Indian cinematographer and film director. She is the first and till date the only Indian woman who has won the National Film Award for Best Cinematography. Kutty Srank, her debut film, won her the National Film Award for Best Cinematography in 2010. Her recent direction, ‘Happy Mothers Day’ a feature film by Children's Film Society, India (CFSI) was the opening film for the 19th Edition of the International Children's Film Festival India (ICFFI). An alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India, Shukla started her career as an assistant to cinematographer and director Santosh Sivan before making her feature film debut.
Jayanan Vincent is an Indian cinematographer. He is the son of cinematographer and director A. Vincent and elder brother to Ajayan Vincent. He is known for his work in Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, and Hindi films and he is a member of the Indian Society of Cinematographers (ISC). He won two Nandi Awards.
Yaro Oraal is a 1978 Malayalam film written, produced and directed by V. K. Pavithran. It was his debut as a director.. Employing a surrealist narrative, it dealt with cynicism about death. The film's music is composed by acclaimed film director G. Aravindan.
Adaminte Makan Abu is a 2011 Indian Malayalam-language social drama film written, directed and co-produced by Salim Ahamed. It stars Salim Kumar and Zarina Wahab, with Mukesh, Kalabhavan Mani, Suraj Venjarammoodu, and Nedumudi Venu in supporting roles. The cinematography was handled by Madhu Ambat. The film features songs composed by Ramesh Narayan and score by Isaac Thomas Kottukapally. The film tells the story of a poor attar seller Abu (Kumar) whose only remaining wish in life is the Hajj pilgrimage, which he strives hard to fulfill.
Ashok Kumar Aggarwal was an Indian cinematographer who worked mainly in the South Indian film industry. In a career that spanned nearly four decades, he worked in over 125 feature films in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Hindi languages. Aggarwal was a member of the Indian Society of Cinematographers (ISC).
B. S. Lokanath was an Indian cinematographer who worked in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi films. He is well known as the cinematographer of K. Balachander and has worked in 55 films with him. During his career, he won the National Film Award for Best Cinematography for Apoorva Raagangal (1975) and the Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Cinematographer for Ninaithale Inikkum (1979). He died of a heart attack in Chennai on 9 December 2011.
P. N. Sundaram was an Indian cinematographer and director who worked in over 250 films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi film industries. Hailing from a lower middle class family, he struggled in his early years and started working early in life. He started his career as a camera assistant at Vijaya Vauhini Studios in the 1950s and later assisted A. Vincent in cinematography. He was one of the founding members of Film Employees Federation of South India and served as the president of the South Indian Cinematographers Association. Sundaram has also directed a few films including seven in Malayalam. Kolilakkam is one of his best known films in Malayalam. Jayan, who was the lead actor in the film, died in a helicopter accident during the shooting of its climax.
Ishan Arya was an Indian cinematographer, and producer, best known as producer and cinematographer of Art cinema classic Garm Hava (1973). After working in theatre and advertising, he made his debut with Garm Hava directed by M. S. Sathyu. After that he worked largely in South Indian cinema, especially Telugu, though he work on two noted Hindi art films, Bazaar (1982) directed by Sagar Sarhadi and Anjuman (1986) directed by Muzaffar Ali. At the 23rd National Film Awards, he won the Best Cinematography Award for Telugu film, Mutyala Muggu (1975).
Isaac Thomas Kottukapally was an Indian film score composer, music director and script writer working mainly in Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi films. He scored music for several English documentaries and commercials.
K. S. Prasad was an Indian cinematographer, editor, production designer, producer, and director known for his works in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Hindi language films. He received the National Film Award for Best Cinematography (color) for the 1968 Tamil film Thillana Mohanambal at the 16th National Film Awards.
The 34th Kerala Film Critics Association Awards, honouring the best Malayalam films released in 2010, were announced in February 2011.
