P. C. Sreeram

PC Sreeram
Sreeram in 2015
Born (1956-01-26) 26 January 1956[1]
Chennai, India
Other names P. C, P. C. Sriram
Occupation Cinematographer, Film Director
Years active 1982–present
Title ISC
Relatives P. R. Sundaram Iyer (grandfather)[2]

P. C. Sreeram (born 26 January 1956) is an Indian cinematographer and film director who works mainly in the Indian film industry. He is an alumnus of the Madras Film Institute. Apart from his cinematographic works, he was much appreciated for his directorial venture Kuruthipunal which was submitted by India as its official entry to the Oscars in 1996. Sreeram is well known for his association with Mani Ratnam and received critical acclaim for his work in films such as Mouna Ragam, Nayakan, Agni Natchathiram, Geethanjali, Alaipayuthey, O Kadhal Kanmani. He has worked as a cinematographer in over 30 films spanning across Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi language, besides directing three films and a few TV commercials.[3]

Early life and family

Sreeram was born on 26 January 1956 in Madras, (now Chennai, Tamil Nadu). He was the third child in the family and has two sisters. Sreeram's aspiration towards films grew much during his childhood days.[4] He was educated at the Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary School, Mylapore, Chennai. As a student he was not interested in studies and barely managed to pass the exams.[4] He had a passion for photography and after many years of struggle he joined the Madras Film Institute to pursue a course in cinematography.[4][5][6] Together with his friends Kamal Haasan, C. Rudhraiya, Santhana Bharathi, Radharavi, R. C. Sakthi and few others they were called "sanmac" group where they used to join together at a hotel in Chennai and share their learnings about cinema and future dreams of making a perfect cinema.

Sreeram is married and had a daughter named Swetha who died in 2010. His son Skanda is pursuing his studies in Australia.[7] His niece Preetha Jayaraman, a cinematographer in the Tamil Film industry, was inspired to her calling largely by her uncle's work in the field.[8]

Career

Sreeram received his diploma in motion picture photography from the Madras Film Institute in 1979,[9] and made his cinematic debut in the early 1980s.[1] One of his earlier works, Meendum Oru Kaathal Kathai (1985), won the Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director in 1984.[1] Following a few commercially unsuccessful releases, he worked with Mani Ratnam for the first time in Mouna Ragam (1986).[10] The film gave a much needed breakthrough for both of them. Following the film's success, the pair went on to work in Nayagan (1987). The film went on to win three National Film Awards at the 35th National Film Awards; Sreeram was awarded that year's National Film Award.[1] He used new techniques in the camera for their next film Agni Natchathiram and was praised very much for his work. Sreeram shot all of Ratnam's films until Geethanjali (1989). The film was both critically acclaimed and commercially successful besides winning the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment and seven Nandi Awards—including the Best Story and Best Cinematography awards for Ratnam and Sreeram, respectively.

During the early 1990s, Sreeram worked in Gopura Vasalile (1991) and Thevar Magan (1992).[5] He made his directional debut in 1992 with Meera, starring Vikram and Aishwarya in the lead roles.[10] The film had a delayed release and was a poor grosser at the box-office. The following year, he renewed his association with Ratnam in the latter's Thiruda Thiruda.

Sreeram directed his second film Kuruthipunal (1995), a police story based on the Hindi film Drohkaal (1994). The film was India's official entry to the Oscars in 1996.[5] It was showcased at the Rotterdam International Film Festival under the category "Director in Focus" eight years after its release.[11] In 2004, he directed Vaanam Vasappadum, the first Indian film to make use of high-definition digital technology.[12][13] The film was screened at the Mumbai International Film Festival and the ninth International Film Festival of Kerala.[13] In 2007, Sreeram made his Bollywood debut with R. Balki's Cheeni Kum.[14] Since then, Sreeram has shot all of Balki's films—Paa (2009), Shamitabh (2015), Ki & Ka (2016) and Pad Man (2018).

Legacy

Sreeram is well known for his longtime association with Mani Ratnam, Moulee and Kamal Haasan. He received critical acclaim for his work in films such as Mouna Ragam, Nayakan, Geetaanjali, Thiruda Thiruda and Alaipayuthey.[15][14] He has mentored some of the prominent cinematographers in the Indian film industry including Jeeva,[10] M. S. Prabhu, Ramji, Chezhiyan, K. V. Anand,[16] Tirru,[17] Balasubramaniem, K. V. Guhan and Nirav Shah.[18][19][20] In January 2016, Sreeram was elected as the president of South Indian Film Cinematographers Association.[21]

Filmography

As cinematographer

As director

Awards

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "35th National Film Awards" (PDF). International Film Festival of India. p. 41. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  2. ↑ S., Muthiah (15 May 2006). "Helping green Madras". The Hindu. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  3. ↑ http://www.thehindu.com/yw/2004/02/28/stories/2004022800530300.htm
  4. 1 2 3 Pain, Paromita (28 February 2004). "Beyond the future". The Hindu. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  5. 1 2 3 "P C Sreeram – He can make pictures look real, pretty, stark". Sify. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  6. ↑ "P. C. Sriram" (PDF). cameraworking.raqsmediacollective. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  7. ↑
  8. ↑ "Snap, click, roll". India Today. 6 March 2008. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
  9. ↑ Bal, Mieke (2004). Narrative Theory: Interdisciplinarity. Taylor & Francis. p. 323. ISBN 978-0-415-31661-3.
  10. 1 2 3 Rajitha. "My goal is to be different". Rediff. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  11. ↑ Rangarajan, Malathi (30 July 2004). "Award, accolade and much more". The Hindu. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  12. ↑ Frederick, Prince (11 February 2004). "Is the future DIGITAL?". The Hindu. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  13. 1 2 MovieBuzz. "P.C.Sreeram's film at MIFF". Sify. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  14. 1 2 Ramnath, Nandini. "Sage – whispers Words of wisdom from PC Sreeram". Time Out Bangalore. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  15. ↑ "Cheeni Kum – A sugar free romance" (PDF). Eros International. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  16. ↑ Manmadhan, Prema (30 April 2011). "Zooming in on "trends of life"". The Hindu. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  17. ↑ Sangeeta (6 July 2007). "Realistic frames". The Hindu. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  18. ↑ Kamath, Sudhish (15 September 2011). "Zen and the art of light". The Hindu. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  19. ↑ Profile: DP – Balasubramaniem Cine Herald, 21 Apr 2011
  20. ↑ "K. T. Balasubramaniem BIOGRAPHY (First look..)". Chennai Patrika. 14 February 2011. Archived from the original on 2 November 2011.
  21. ↑ M, Suganth (12 January 2016). "PC Sreeram elected president of cinematographers association". The Times of India. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  22. ↑ R, Manoj Kumar (20 February 2018). "Nithya Menen's Praana is a one-actor movie made in four languages". The Indian Express. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  23. ↑ V, Lakshmi (3 September 2018). "Udhayanidhi turns 'psycho' for Mysskin". The Times of India. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  24. ↑ "Winners: Reliance Mobile Vijay Awards 2006". starboxoffice.com. Archived from the original on 26 July 2008. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
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