Amal Neerad (born 13 February 1978) is an Indian film director,

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...

and producer who mainly works in

Malayalam cinema Malayalam cinema, also referred to as Mollywood, is a segment of Cinema of India, Indian cinema dedicated to producing films in the Malayalam, Malayalam language, primarily spoken in Kerala and the Lakshadweep islands. It encompasses both th ...

. He attended the

Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) is a film and television institute located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Named after renowned Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray, the institute provides higher and professional education and tech ...

, Kolkata (first batch). He was awarded the

National Film Award for Best Cinematography The National Film Award for Best Cinematography is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the National Film Development Corporation of India. It is one of several awards presented for feature films and awarded with Rajat Kamal (S ...

(special mention) in 2001 for his diploma film ''Meena Jha'' (short feature section). He started his career shooting music videos, documentaries and advertising. It was his diploma film that brought him to the attention of

Ram Gopal Varma Penmetsa Ram Gopal Varma (born 7 April 1962), often referred to by his initials RGV, is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer, primarily known for his work in Hindi cinema, Hindi and Telugu cinema, Telugu films.** * * Varma has dir ...

and his team. Amal Neerad moved into

Hindi cinema Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

with three back to back films; '' James'' (2005), '' Darna Zaroori Hai'' (2006) and ''

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

'' (2006). In 2004, he also shot the Malayalam film ''

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

'' starring

Mammootty Muhammad Kutty Panaparambil Ismail (born 7 September 1951), known mononymously by the hypocorism Mammootty (), is an Indian actor and film producer who works predominantly in Malayalam-language films. He has also appeared in Tamil, Telugu, ...

Early and personal life

Amal Neerad was born in

Kollam Kollam (;), is an ancient seaport and the List of cities and towns in Kerala, fourth largest city in the Indian state of Kerala. Located on the southern tip of the Malabar Coast of the Arabian Sea, the city is on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake ...

, Kerala. He attended school and college in

Kochi Kochi ( , ), List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the Ernakulam district, district of Ernakulam in the ...

. He was the college union chairman of Maharaja's College, Ernakulam during two consecutive terms, 1992–93 and 1993–94. He married actress Jyothirmayi on 4 April 2015.

Career

Amal joined the

in 1995. He is a winner of the

National Film Awards The National Film Awards are awards for artistic and technical merit given for "Excellence within the Cinema of India, Indian film industry". Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India ...

for best cinematography. After his graduation from the institute he worked as a cinematographer with

's production company for films such as '' James'', '' Darna Zaroori Hai'' and ''

''. His debut movie in Malayalam as cinematographer was ''

'', directed by Ranjith. In 2007, he made his directorial debut with '' Big B'' starring

and Shereveer Vakil. Even though the movie was an average grosser at the box office, the stylish narrative and technical brilliance that the film possessed apparently gave the movie an iconic stature and cult following. His next film was '' Sagar Alias Jacky'' starring

Mohanlal Mohanlal Viswanathan (; born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor and filmmaker who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically appeared in Tamil cinema, Tamil, Hin ...

, a sequel to the 1987 film '' Irupatham Noottandu''. In 2010, he directed '' Anwar'' with Prithviraj in the lead role. Amal Neerad launched his production company Amal Neerad Productions through the 2012 film ''

Bachelor Party A bachelor party (in the United States), also known as a stag weekend, stag do or stag party (in the United Kingdom, Commonwealth countries, and Ireland), or a buck's night (in Australia and Canada), is a party held for or arranged by a man wh ...

'' directed by himself. In 2013, he produced the anthology film, '' 5 Sundarikal''. Amal directed the segment ''Kullante Bharya'' which starred

Dulquer Salmaan Dulquer Salmaan (; born 28 July 1983) is an Indian actor, singer and producer who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema, Malayalam films. One of the highest paid Malayalam actors, Salmaan is a recipient of several awards including five Film ...

and handled camera for the segment ''Aami'', directed by Anwar Rasheed. He directed and co-produced (with Fahad Faasil) the period thriller '' Iyobinte Pustakam'' starring Fahadh Faasil, Lal, and

Jayasurya Jayasurya (born 31 August 1978) is an Indian actor, film producer, playback singer, and impressionist who works in Malayalam films. He has appeared in more than 100 films and has won several awards, including a National Film Awards, National Fi ...

in 2014. In 2017, he produced and directed '' Comrade in America'' starring

. He later directed Fahadh Faasil starred '' Varathan'' in 2018. The movie was jointly produced by Neerad and Fahadh Faasil. Amal joined hands with Anwar Rasheed again as a cinematographer for the movie ''

Trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...

'', starring Fahadh Faasil. Later, he joined Mammootty again after 15 years for the movie '' Bheeshma Parvam'' which emerged as one of the biggest hits in Mollywood industry.

Controversies

In a post on the Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council's Jagratha Commission Facebook page, it was claimed that Amal Neerad's blockbuster film Bheeshma Parvam offended

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

sentiments. The KCBC Jagratha Commission alleged that the portrayal of drug use, homosexuality, alcohol, and adultery among key Christian characters was a deliberate attempt to depict them negatively. A formal complaint was also filed against the song "Sthuthi" from the Malayalam film

Bougainvillea ''Bougainvillea'' ( , ) is a genus of thorny ornamental vines, bushes, and trees belonging to the family, Nyctaginaceae. They are native to Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru, and Argentina. There are between 4 and 22 species in the genus. The i ...

, directed by Amal Neerad. The complaint said that the song offends religious sentiments by misusing sacred Christian

hymns A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

. According to the complainants, the combination of a devotional hymn with modern music is seen as disrespectful and offensive to religious beliefs.

Filmography

Awards and recognitions

;

2014 Kerala State Film Awards The 45th Kerala State Film Awards were presented by the chief minister of Kerala Oommen Chandy on 26 December 2015, with the presence of the chief guest Mohanlal. Jury The 10-member jury, headed by John Paul, was composed of people represen ...

* Best Cinematography: Amal Neerad ;2014, Asianet Film Awards. *His film Iyobinte Pustakam bagged best film in 2014 at Asianet Film Awards. 17th Asianet Film Awards

References

External links

– Amal Neerad Productions Official YouTube Channel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Neerad, Amal Malayalam film directors Living people Malayalam film cinematographers 1975 births Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute alumni Artists from Kollam Film producers from Kerala 21st-century Indian people 21st-century Indian photographers Cinematographers from Kerala Kerala Film Critics Awards winners IIFA Utsavam winners