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K. Ramachandra Babu
Born	(1947-12-15)15 December 1947 Maduranthakam, Tamil Nadu, India
Died	21 December 2019(2019-12-21) (aged 72)
Nationality	Indian
Alma mater	Loyola College, Chennai FTII
Occupation	Cinematographer
Years active	1971–2019
Spouse	K. Lathika Rani
Relatives	Ravi K. Chandran (brother)
Awards	Kerala State Film Award for Best Cinematography 1976 – Dweep 1978 – Rathinirvedam 1980 – Chamaram 1989 – Oru Vadakkan Veeragadha
Website	www.ramachandrababu.com

K. Ramachandra Babu (15 December 1947 – 21 December 2019) 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).

Early life and career

Ramachandra Babu was born on 15 December 1947 in Maduranthakam at Chengalpattu District, Tamil Nadu, as the eldest son of Malayali parents, Kunjan Pillai and Padmini Amma, both from Alappuzha, Kerala. After obtaining his B.Sc. (Chemistry) degree from Loyola College, Madras in 1966, he went on to join the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune to study cinematography. In the Institute, he made friends with Balu Mahendra, John Abraham and K.G. George, who would go on to become noted film directors. He obtained his Diploma in Cinema (Motion Picture Photography) in 1971.

He made his feature film debut in 1971 as a cinematographer even before completing his FTII course, for Vidyarthikale Ithile Ithile. It was also the debut film of director John Abraham and writer Azad. Ramachandra Babu became noted in the industry after he served as the cinematographer for Nirmalyam (1973) and Swapnadanam (1976), which were directorial debuts of M.T. Vasudevan Nair and K.G. George, respectively. All these films were shot in Black & White.

Later career

Ramachandra Babu's first colour film (Eastman Color) was Dweepu (1977), directed by Ramu Kariat, and it won him his first Kerala State Film Award for Best Cinematography. He went on to win 3 more State Awards for Rathinirvedam (1978) and Chamaram (1980), directed by Bharathan, and Oru Vadakkan Veeragadha (1989), directed by Hariharan.

He played a prominent role in ushering in the technical advancements in cinematography into Malayalam cinema. The transition from Black & White to colour aside, he served as the cinematographer for the first CinemaScope film to be shot in South India, Alavuddinum Athbutha Vilakkum (1979), directed by I. V. Sasi. Despite featuring major stars like Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth and Jayabharathi, the film was delayed and another CinemaScope film Thacholi Ambu (1978) was released ahead of it, leaving the latter to be considered as the first CinemaScope film in South India. He was the cinematographer of the first film to be released with 70 mm film in Malayalam. The film, Padayottam (1982), directed by Jijo Punnoose, was from the production house of Thacholi Ambu, Navodaya. The film was photographed in CinemaScope format and was converted to 70 mm blow-up prints with 6-track magnetic stereo sound during post-production.

His noted films include Nirmalyam (1973 – National Award For Best Feature Film, directed by M. T. Vasudevan Nair), Swapnadanam (1975 – Kerala State Film Award for Best Film, directed by K. G. George), Bandhanam (1978 – Kerala State Best Film, directed by M. T. Vasudevan Nair), Agraharathil Kazhuthai (1978 – Best Tamil Film – National Award, directed by John Abraham), Sandhyakku Virinja Poovu directed by P.G. Viswambharan, Itha Ivide Vare directed by I. V. Sasi), Patita (1980 – Hindi, directed by I. V. Sasi), Yavanika (directed by K. G. George) & Marmaram (directed by Bharathan), both Kerala State Best Film Award – 1982, Padayottam (first Malayalam 70 mm feature film, 1982, directed by Jijo), Pagal Nilavu (1985 – Tamil, directed by Mani Rathnam), Oru Vadakkan Veera Gaadha (1989 – Malayalam, directed by Hariharan), Aadhaaram (1992 – Malayalam, directed by George Kithu), Sallapam (1996 – Malayalam, directed by Sunder Das), Ghazal (1993 – Malayalam, directed by Kamal), Kanmadam (1998 – Malayalam, directed by Lohithadas), Beyond the Soul (English – 2003 – directed by Rajiv Anchal) and Al-Boom (Arabic – 2005 – directed by Khaled Abdul Raheem Al-Zadjali).

Awards

• Kerala State Film Award for Best Cinematography
  • 1976 – Dweepu
  • 1978 – Rathinirvedam
  • 1980 – Chamaram
  • 1989 – Oru Vadakkan Veeragadha
• Kerala Film Critics Award (1981) : Nidhra
• Kerala Film Critics Award (2009) : Kadaksham

Filmography

The list of films for which Ramachandra Babu served as the director of cinematography:

Unreleased films

1. Kaadhal Viduthalai (Tamil) – Dir: Jayakumar
2. Puthiya Swarangal (Tamil) – Dir: Vijayan
3. Puthu Mazhathullikal (Malayalam) – Dir: Raghavan
4. Kavaadam (Malayalam) – Dir: K.R.Joshi
5. Professor Dingan (director) - Died during the production

Gallery

• Ramachandra Babu with Arriflex 535 B Camera on the location of the English film Beyond the soul, directed by Rajeev Anchal
• Screenwriter Lohithadas and director Bharathan along with Ramachandra Babu at the location of Venkalam.
• Along with writer M.T. Vasudevan Nair
• Ramachandra Babu with Mammootty and Saiju Kurup who did their debut films with him.

References

1. Kumar, P. k Ajith (22 December 2019). "Lensman of iconic films Ramachandra Babu dead". The Hindu. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
2. "Veteran cinematographer Ramachandra Babu passes away". The News Minute. 21 December 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
3. Official biodata- Google Docs
4. Ramachandra Babu (5 December 2007). "Remembering Film Institute Days". institutewallah.blogspot.in. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
5. ^ "kodak_Images_interview.pdf". google.com. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
6. "Filmiparadise Movie Portal Online Malayalam Movie Magazine Tamil Movies,Malayalam Movies,Telugu Movies,Kannada Movies,Movie Wallpapers, Movie Trailers, Movie Previews, Movie Reviews, Videosongs,Latest Film News, Actors Profile". filmiparadise.com. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
7. "News Archives". The Hindu. 6 December 2010. Archived from the original on 9 November 2012. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
8. "70mm Film in India". in70mm.com. Retrieved 29 March 2015.

External links

• Official website
• Ramachandra Babu at IMDb
• The Hindu: Metro Plus: Tiruchirapalli: Cinema goes haiku
• The Hindu: Friday Review Thiruvananthapuram / Cinema: Waxing lyrical on film
• Official Website of Information and Public Relation Department of Kerala

• 1947 births
• 2019 deaths
• Cinematographers from Kerala
• Malayalam film cinematographers
• Film and Television Institute of India alumni
• Cinematographers from Kanchipuram district
• Loyola College, Chennai alumni
• 20th-century Indian people
• Malayalam film directors
• 21st-century Indian people
• Film directors from Kerala
• 20th-century Indian photographers
• 21st-century Indian photographers
• Cinematographers from Tamil Nadu