Chota K. Naidu (born 1962) is an Indian cinematographer, best known for his distinct style of cinematography for films like, '' Matru Devo Bhava'', ''

Choodalani Vundi ''Choodalani Vundi'' () is a 1998 Indian Telugu-language action drama film written and directed by Gunasekhar, and produced by C. Aswani Dutt under Vyjayanthi Movies. This film stars Chiranjeevi, Soundarya, Anjala Zaveri and Prakash Raj. The f ...

'', and '' Kotha Bangaru Lokam''. Naidu is part of the

Indian Society of Cinematographers Indian cinematographers work in a number of regional film centres: Chennai, India, Chennai for Tamil language, Tamil films, Mumbai for films in Marathi language, Marathi and Hindi, Hyderabad, India, Hyderabad for films in Telugu language, Telugu ...

, the South Indian Cinematographers Association and the Telugu Cinematographers Association. He received two state Nandi Awards for '' Anji'', '' Kotha Bangaru Lokam'' and two

Filmfare Awards South Filmfare Awards South is the South Indian segment of the annual Filmfare Awards, presented by the Filmfare magazine of The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Indian film industry encompassing ...

for '' Kotha Bangaru Lokam'', ''

Damarukam ''Damarukam'' () is a 2012 Indian Telugu-language action fantasy film written and directed by Srinivasa Reddy, and produced by R. R. Venkat on R. R. Movie Makers. It stars Nagarjuna, Anushka Shetty, Prakash Raj, and P. Ravishankar. The music i ...

'' for his cinematography. His outstanding contribution to the Indian Film Industry and the Indian Television Industry working as a DOP for

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode ...

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, na ...

and

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

films, and in television is appreciated from last 30 and odd years.

Early life

Naidu was born in

Ramachandrapuram, East Godavari Ramachandrapuram is a town in Konaseema district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The town is a Municipality which serves as the headquarters of Ramachandrapuram mandal and Ramachandrapuram revenue division. Geography Ramachandrapu ...

district,

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

. His father, Chitti Babu Naidu, is a writer and director of stage plays at

, and his mother, Ananthalakshmi, is a housewife. His elder sister, Padma Latha, is an electronics engineer and his elder brother, K.V.S. Naidu, is a mechanical engineer. His younger sister, Kanaka Durga, is an electronics engineer, and his younger brother, Shyam K. Naidu, is a cinematographer. He attended Skpgn Govt. Junior College Rcpuram. Born into a family of engineers, Chota spent most of his time watching films instead of concentrating on his studies and, due to this, he failed in his 10th standard exams. As a way to widen his exposure to films, he worked as a gatekeeper in a nearby theatre. He failed in his supplementary exams later that year because he was increasingly watching more films. Realizing his interest in cinema, his father Chitti Babu Naidu challenged him to pass at least 10th standard, and thereby, if he's successful, his father will employ him in the film industry. Chota took the challenge and passed with good rank and, as promised, his father made him a camera apprentice at ''Devar Films outdoor unit,'' which is a camera rental house in the city of Chennai in 1979. Later, he joined ''Taraka Prabhu outdoor unit'' under

Dasari Narayana Rao Dasari Narayana Rao (4 May 1947 – 30 May 2017) was an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, lyricist, and politician known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema, in addition to Hindi cinema. He has directed more than 150 ...

. He was working with top cinematographers during the 1980s throughout India as a focus puller. He was inspired by DOP (Director of Photography) V.S.R. Swamy for his discipline, dedication and craft. He considers Swamy as his role model.

Career

Naidu's first opportunity as a DOP was for the telefilm ''Kristhu Jananam'' (1987) for DD Hyderabad Kendra which was directed by Bharath Parepalli and produced by P. Seetha Devi'','' who later went on to become his wife. From then onwards, he was continuously working for more regional and national television work and TV commercials, evolving his craftsmanship in the process. Naidu's first movie as a cinematographer was

Amma Rajinama ''Amma Rajinama'' (English translation: ''Resignation of Mother'') is a 1991 Indian Telugu film directed by Dasari Narayana Rao and cinematography by Chota K. Naidu. The Mother character is portrayed by Sharada. This is one of the movies w ...

(1991). He collaborated with

for several other films such as ''Venkanna Babu'', ''Surigadu'', and ''Santaan''. Some of the directors he collaborated with are E.V.V. Satyanarayana, for the films ''

Varasudu ''Varasudu'' () is a 1993 Indian Telugu-language action film, produced by D. Kishore under the Sri Jayabheri Art Productions banner, presented by Murali Mohan, directed by E. V. V. Satyanarayana and cinematography by Chota K. Naidu. It stars ...

, Maga Rayudu,

Veedevadandi Babu ''Veedevadandi Babu'' is a 1997 Indian Telugu cinema, Telugu-language Comedy film written and directed by E. V. V. Satyanarayana and Cinematography by Chota K. Naidu. The film is an official remake of the Tamil film ''Ullathai Allitha'' which it ...

'' and ''

Maavidaakulu ''Maavidaakulu'' () is a 1998 Telugu-language drama film, produced by J. Bhagavan and D.V.V. Danayya under the Sri Balaji Art Creations banner, directed by E.V.V. Satyanarayana and cinematography by Chota K. Naidu. It stars Jagapati Babu, R ...

,''

Kranthi Kumar Talasila Kranthi Kumar was an Indian film director, producer, and screenwriter known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. He won two Filmfare Awards and four Nandi Awards. In 1985, he directed '' Sravanthi'', which won the National F ...

for '' Bhale Pellam'',

K. Raghavendra Rao Kovelamudi Raghavendra Rao (born 23 May 1942) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema besides having directed a few Hindi films. He has garnered four state Nandi Awards and fiv ...

for ''

Allari Premikudu ''Allari Premikudu'' () is a 1994 Indian Telugu-language musical romance film produced by Suresh and Satyanand under the Sri Satya Durga Arts banner and directed by K. Raghavendra Rao. It stars Jagapati Babu, Soundarya, Rambha and Kanchan, wh ...

Bombay Priyudu ''Bombay Priyudu'' () is a 1996 Telugu-language romance film, starring J. D. Chakravarthy and Rambha. The film was dubbed in Tamil as ''Bombay Kadhali'' and in Hindi as ''Main Tere Pyar Mein Pagal''. The film takes its inspiration from Hindi ...

'' and ''

Gangotri Gangotri is a town and a ''Nagar Panchayat'' (municipality) in Uttarkashi district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is 99 km from Uttarkashi, the main district headquarter. It is a Hindu pilgrim town on the banks of the river Bhagirat ...

,''

Ramgopal Varma Penmetsa Ram Gopal Varma (born 7 April 1962), often referred to by his initials RGV, is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer, known for his works in Telugu cinema in addition to Hindi, Kannada language films, and television.** ...

for ''

Deyyam Deyyam may refer to: * Deyyam (1996 film) ''Deyyam'' ( en, Ghost) is a 1996 Telugu horror film written, produced, and directed by Ram Gopal Varma. The film stars J. D. Chakravarthy, Maheswari, Jayasudha, and Ajinkya Deo. The film released on 2 ...

,''

Suresh Krissna Suresh Krissna (born 25 June 1959) is an Indian film director who has directed Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi Language films. His first independent film as a director was '' Sathya'' (1988), with Kamal Haasan. He is well known for hav ...

for ''

Master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...

Daddy A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...

,'' and '' Baba'' (Tamil),

Satish Kaushik Satish Chandra Kaushik (born 13 April 1956) is an Indian actor, director, producer, comedian and screenwriter. Early life Satish was born on 13 April 1956 in Mahendragarh, Haryana. He graduated from Kirori Mal College, Delhi in 1972. He is ...

for ''Prem'' (Hindi),

Gunasekhar Gunasekar (born 2 June 1964) is an Indian film director and screenwriter known for his works in Telugu cinema. He has directed films in action, romance, mythological, and historical drama genres. He has won a National Film Award, multiple N ...

for ''

'',

David Dhawan David Dhawan (born Rajinder Dhawan; 16 August 1951) is an Indian director of Hindi films. A member of the Dhawan family, he has directed over 42 films. The 1993 action thriller '' Aankhen'' and 1999 comedy '' Biwi No.1'' earned him two Filmfa ...

for ''

Kunwara ''Kunwara'' (Bachelor) is a 2000 Indian Hindi comedy film directed by David Dhawan, with cinematography by Chota K. Naidu, and was released on July 14th, 2000. This film opened with negative reviews from critics, leading to an unsuccessful run ...

'' (Hindi),

A.R. Murugadoss Murugadoss Arunasalam (born 25 September 1974), commonly known as A. R. Murugadoss, is an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter who predominantly works in the Tamil film industry. He is best known for directing action films mainly on ...

for ''Stalin'',

Trivikram Srinivas Trivikram Srinivas (born Akella Naga Srinivasa Sarma; 7 November 1971), often credited as Trivikram, is an Indian film director and screenwriter who works in Telugu cinema. In 2021, he became one of the highest-paid directors in South Indian ...

for ''

Julai ''Julayi'' () is a 2012 Indian Telugu-language action comedy film written and directed by Trivikram Srinivas, and produced by S. Radha Krishna under Haarika & Hassine Creations banner. The film stars Allu Arjun, Ileana D'Cruz, Sonu Sood, and ...

,'' and with

V.V. Vinayak V. V. Vinayak (born 9 October 1974) is an Indian film director and screenwriter known for his works in Telugu films. He is known for directing action comedy and masala films. Vinayak made his directorial debut with the 2002 film '' Aadi'' starr ...

for ''

Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

Bunny Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit sp ...

Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism. She is the goddess of wealth, fortune, power, beauty, fertility and prosperity, and associated with '' Maya'' ("Illusion"). A ...

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is on ...

Adhurs ''Adhurs'' ( Marvelous) is a 2010 Indian Telugu-language action comedy film directed by V. V. Vinayak who co-wrote the film with Kona Venkat. Produced by Vallabhaneni Vamsi Mohan, the film stars N. T. Rama Rao Jr. in a dual role alongside Nay ...

Naayak ''Naayak'' () is a 2013 Indian Telugu-language action comedy film directed by V. V. Vinayak who co-wrote the film with Akula Siva. The film was produced by DVV Danayya and presented by S. Radha Krishna under the banner Universal Media. The fi ...

'' and ''

Alludu Seenu ''Alludu Seenu'' () is a 2014 Indian Telugu-language action comedy film directed by V. V. Vinayak. Produced by Bellamkonda Suresh on his banner Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Productions, the film marks the debut of his son Bellamkonda Sreenivas with Sa ...

''.

Style

Naidu received critical acclaim with his debut ''Kristhu Jananam,'' a telefilm dealing with the times of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

, for the rich painting-like cinematography. For '' Matru Devo Bhava'', Naidu applied the

chiaroscuro Chiaroscuro ( , ; ), in art, is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to achi ...

(extremely bright back light and top light to the point of burnout) and

silhouette A silhouette ( , ) is the image of a person, animal, object or scene represented as a solid shape of a single colour, usually black, with its edges matching the outline of the subject. The interior of a silhouette is featureless, and the silhou ...

techniques to communicate predominantly a tragic content. ''

'' was his first big commercial film. In the film, he adopted a commercial style of lighting and a fitting selection of the color palette to portray grandeur.

Personal life

His nephew

Sundeep Kishan Sundeep Kishan (born 7th May 1987) is an Indian actor and producer who works in predominately in Telugu and Tamil cinema. Career Sandeep Kishan was born in a Telugu family in present-day Chennai. He is the nephew to the cinematographers Chota ...

is a film actor.

Filmography

Television

* ''Appuchesi Pappukudu'' (

DD Saptagiri DD Saptagiri previously known as DD-8 ( Telugu: దూరదర్శన్ సప్తగిరి) is a state-owned television channel telecasting in the Telugu language from a studio at Doordarshan Kendra Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India. ...

)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Naidu, Chota K. Telugu film cinematographers Telugu people Living people Cinematographers from Andhra Pradesh Nandi Award winners Filmfare Awards South winners 21st-century Indian photographers 1962 births

Early life

Career

Style

Personal life

Filmography

Television

See also

References

External links