Ramachandra Babu

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).

Ramachandra Babu was born on 15 December 1947 in Maduranthakam at Chengalpattu District, Tamil Nadu. 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.

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), Itha Ivide Vare (Malayalam – 1977 – 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).

• Kerala State Film Award for Best Cinematography
  • 1976 – Dweepu
  • 1978 – Rathinirvedam
  • 1980 – Chamaram
  • 1989 – Oru Vadakkan Veeragadha
• Cinema Masika Award (1973) : Nirmalyam
• Rangam Magazine Award (1977) : Itha Ivide Vare
• Kerala Film Critics Award (1981) : Nidhra
• Film Fans Association Award (1981) : Yavanika
• Nana Film Weekly Award (1982) : Yavanika
• Film Arts Club Cochin Award (1989) : Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha
• Film Arts Club Cochin Award(1994) : Ghazal
• Johnsons Asianet Film Award (1998) : Kanmadham
• SICA Lifetime Achievement Award (2008)
• Kala Keralam Award (2008)
• Kerala Film Critics Award (2009) : Kadaksham
• Vayalar Samskarika Vedi Award (2010) : Yugapurushan

The positions held by Ramachandra Babu in various organisations and award committees include:

• Chairman – Technical Committee, India International Film Festival 1997
• Member – Technical Committee, International Film Festival of Kerala, 1999
• Jury – Kerala State Television Awards Committee 1998
• Jury – Padmarajan Film Award Committee 1998
• Jury – Asianet Film Awards Committee 2002
• Jury – John Abraham Film Award Committee 2003
• Resource Person –MACTA Chalachitra Kalari
• Jury –SICA Awards for Malayalam Films 2002
• Exec. Committee Member – Kerala Chalachitra Academy 2003
• Jury – Aravindan Puraskaram 2004
• Jury – Mathrubhoomi Film Awards, 2003
• Jury –SICA Awards for Malayalam Films 2006
• Jury – J. C. Daniel Award for outstanding contribution to Malayalam cinema 2009
• President – Indian Society of Cinematographers
• Vice Chairman –Malayalam Cine Technicians Association
• General Secretary –Malayalam Cine Technicians Association
• President –MACTA Cinematographers' Union
• Vice President – MACTA Federation
• President – MACTA Federation