Acclaimed cinematographer MJ Radhakrishnan passes away

Popular cinematographer MJ Radhakrishnan passed away on Friday following a heart attack. He breathed his last at a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram. The 61-year-old has cranked camera for over 75 films. Though he predominantly active in the Malayalam industry, he has also worked in a few Hindi and Tamil films.

In a career that spanned over four decades, MJ Radhakrishnan won the Kerala State award for best cinematographer seven times. He has also won awards at the international level for his works in ‘Bioscope’ at the South Asian International Film Festival and ‘Papilio Buddha’ at the Oaxaca Film Fest. ‘Marana Simhasanam’ won him the Golden Camera Award in the Un Certain Regard section of the prestigious Cannes Festival of 1999. His most recent work ‘Veyilmarangal’, directed by Dr Biju, won the award for ‘Outstanding Artistic Achievement Award’ at the 22nd Shanghai International Film Festival. It is the first time an Indian film is winning an award at the Shanghai festival.

MJ Radhakrishnan was the go-to choice for several art-house filmmakers as he had the ability to produce beautiful frames within a small budget. He was also well known for his love for shooting in natural light. Some of his best works in came in films like ‘Kaliyattam’, ‘Deshadanam’, ‘Kannaki’, ‘Thirakkatha’, ‘Ottal’ and ‘Veettilekkulla Vazhi’. He has collaborated with highly acclaimed filmmakers like Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Shaji N Karun, Dr Biju and TV Chandran.