P. C. Sreeram

Biography:

P. C. Sreeram made his film debut in the early 1980s after earning a diploma in motion picture photography from the Madras Film Institute in 1979[8]. Meendum Oru Kaathal Kathai (1985), one of his early productions, earned the Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director in 1984. In Mouna Ragam (1986), he collaborated with Mani Ratnam for the first time after a string of critically and financially unsuccessful films.For both of them, the movie provided a much-needed breakthrough. The two continued to collaborate after the success of the movie for Nayagan (1987). Sreeram was given that year’s National Film Award, and the movie went on to win three National Film Awards at the 35th National Film Awards.All of Ratnam’s movies up until Geethanjali (1989) were filmed by Sreeram. In addition to receiving the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment and seven Nandi Awards, including the Best Story and Best Cinematography prizes for Ratnam and Sreeram, respectively, the movie received high praise from critics and was a financial success.

Sreeram contributed to Thevar Magan (1992) and Gopura Vasalile (1991) in the early 1990s. He made his directing debut in 1992 with the Vikram and Aishwarya starrer Meera. The movie’s release was postponed, and it did poorly at the box office. He reestablished his partnership with Ratnam in the Thiruda Thiruda of the latter the following year. Kuruthipunal (1995), a police procedural based on the Hindi film Drohkaal (1994), was directed by Sreeram. The movie served as India’s official submission to the 1996 Oscars. Eight years after its debut, it was shown in the “Director in Focus” category at the Rotterdam International Film Festival. He was the director of Vaanam Vasappadum, the first movie in India to utilise high-definition digital technology, which was released in 2004.The movie was shown in the ninth International Film Festival of Kerala as well as the Mumbai International Film Festival. With R. Balki’s Cheeni Kum, Sreeram made his Bollywood debut in 2007. All of Balki’s movies since then—Paa (2009), Shamitabh (2015), Ki & Ka (2016), and Pad Man (2018)—have been filmed by Sreeram.

For his extended collaborations with Mani Ratnam, Moulee, and Kamal Haasan, Sreeram is well recognized. For his work in movies like Mouna Ragam, Nayakan, Geetaanjali, Thevar Magan, Thiruda Thiruda, and Alaipayuthey, he garnered positive reviews from critics. Arun Vincent, Preetha Jayaraman, K. V. Anand, Tiru, Balasubramaniem, K. V. Guhan, Nirav Shah, Sivakumar Vijayan, Tanveer Mir, Vivekanand Santhosham, Sathyan Sooryan, and Arvind Krishna are just a few of the notable cinematographers he has mentored in the Indian film industry. Sreeram was chosen to lead the South Indian Film Cinematographers Association in January 2016.