Apurba Kishore Bir (born 1948), also known as A. K. Bir, is an Indian film

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 ...

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

and director. An alumnus of the

Film and Television Institute of India The Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) is a film institute under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India and aided by the Central Government of India. ...

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

, he worked in various Ad-films and documentaries before making his feature-film debut. He won 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 ...

for ''

27 Down ''27 Down'' is a 1974 Indian drama film directed by Awtar Krishna Kaul, starring Raakhee and M.K. Raina. The film is based on the Hindi novel ''Athara Sooraj Ke Paudhe'', by Ramesh Bakshi, about a railways employee who meets a girl on the trai ...

'', his debut film. His directional debut '' Aadi Mimansa'' won the

Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration The Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration was one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organization set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry ...

. Bir's other directional ventures ''Lavanya Preeti'' and ''

Baaja ''Baaja'' (Mouth Organ; ) is a 2002 Indian Hindi film directed by Apurba Kishore Bir. Synopsis A free and compassionate human spirit is trapped in Shibu, an eleven-year-old boy. In order to guide Shibu's wandering energy on a constructive p ...

'' were bestowed with the

National Film Award for Best Children's Film The National Film Award for Best Children's Film 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 Golden Lotus ...

. As of 2014, he has won nine

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 ...

—including three for Best Cinematography—and is one of the directors of

National Film Development Corporation of India The National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC) based in Mumbai is the central agency established in 1975, to encourage high quality Indian cinema. It functions in areas of film financing, production and distribution and under the Min ...

Biography

Born in Balikuti village of

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

, Bir had a great passion for painting. At the insistence of his father, he joined the

with a specialisation in motion-picture cinematography. After passing out of the institute, he worked on short films and documentaries. ''

'', his debut feature-film as a cinematographer, won him the Best Cinematographer award at the

21st National Film Awards The 21st National Film Awards, presented by Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema released in the year 1973. Ceremony took place in Oct ...

. Nearly 70 percent of the film was shot using a handheld camera. Bir was one of the first-unit cameramen for

Richard Attenborough Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough (; 29 August 192324 August 2014) was an English actor, film director, and Film producer, producer. Attenborough was the president of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and the British Acade ...

Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British ...

. He won two more awards for "Best Cinematography" for '' Daasi'' (1988) and '' Aadi Mimansa'' (1991). The latter also marked his directional debut. It won the

. As a director Known for his work in

Parallel Cinema Parallel cinema, or New Indian Cinema, is a film movement in Cinema of India, Indian cinema that originated in the state of West Bengal in the 1950s as an alternative to the mainstream commercial Indian cinema. Inspired by Italian Neorealism, ...

. Bir's films focused on children as two of his films—''Lavanya Preeti'' and ''

'' won the

in 1993 and 2002 respectively. The former received the "Best Asian Film" award at the Osaka International Film Festival in addition to an "International Jury's Critic Award" and a screening at the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

. ''Hamari Beti'', for which he wrote the screenplay apart from photography and direction, was screened at the competitive section of the "World Film Section" of

Chicago International Film Festival The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the comp ...

in 2006. In 2012, Bir was appointed as one of the directors of the

. He headed the "Technical Sub-committee" and was the chairman of the feature film jury of the 45th

International Film Festival of India The International Film Festival of India (IFFI), founded in 1952, is an annual film festival currently held in Goa, on the western coast of India. The festival aims at providing a common platform for the cinemas of the world to project the excel ...

in 2014.

Filmography

* ''

'' (1973) * '' Gharonda'' (1977) * '' Godhuli'' (1977) * '' Ondanondu Kaladalli'' (1978) * '' Khatta Meetha'' (1978) * '' Prem Vivah'' (1979) * '' Dooriyaan'' (1979) * '' Hamari Bahu Alka'' (1982) * ''

'' (1982; was a part of the first-unit cameramen) * '' Rangula Kala'' (1983) * (1983) (screenwriter) * ''Tum Laut Aao'' (1983) * '' Maa Ooru'' (1983; documentary film) * ''Ram Avtar'' (1988) * '' Daasi'' (1988) * ''

Pestonjee ''Pestonjee'' is a 1988 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Vijaya Mehta, starring Anupam Kher, Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi, based on a story by film journalist B. K. Karanjia. At the 35th National Film Awards, it won the award f ...

'' (1988) * '' Matti Manushulu'' (1990) * '' Aadi Mimansa'' (1991, also director) * ''

Diksha Diksha (Sanskrit: दीक्षा, IAST: dīkṣā) also spelled diksa, deeksha or deeksa in common usage, translated as a "preparation or consecration for a religious ceremony", is giving of a mantra or an initiation by the guru (in Guru–s ...

'' (1991) * ''Lavanya Preeti'' (1991, also screenwriter and director) * ''

Aranyaka The ''Aranyakas'' (; ; IAST: ') are a part of the ancient Indian Vedas concerned with the meaning of ritual sacrifice, composed in about 700 BC. They typically represent the later sections of the Vedas, and are one of many layers of Vedic text ...

'' (1994) (also screenwriter and director) * '' Shesha Drushti'' (1997, also director) * ''Nandan'' (1998, also director) * ''

'' (2002, also screenwriter and director) * '' Shararat'' (2002) * '' Hari Villu'' (2003) * '' Sikhar'' (2005) * ''Hamari Beti'' (also screenwriter and director) * ''Jianta Bhuta'' (2008) * ''Huppa Huiyya'' (2010)

Awards

National Film Awards

Best Cinematography

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

: ''

'' *

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

: '' Daasi'' *

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

: '' Aadi Mimansa''

Best Regional Film (Oriya)

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

: '' Shesha Drushti'' *

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

: '' Nandan''

Best Children's films

: '' Lavanya Preeti'' *

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

: ''

Best Film on National Integration

: '' Aadi Mimansa''

Other awards and honours

* 1991 – Aravindan Award for Best First Film of a Director ''Aadi Mimansa'' * 1993 – International Jury's Critic Award at Udaipur International Film Festival for ''Lavanya Preeti'' * Jayadeba Award * ''Lavanya Preeti'' – Best Asian Film award at the Osaka International Film Festival. * 2011 – Taranga Cine Awards for Best Cinematography * 2013 –

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

References

External links

*
Apurba Kishore Bir on 27 Down

AK Bir at CFS India
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bir, Apurba Kishore 1948 births Living people Hindi film cinematographers Indian male screenwriters Screenwriters from Odisha Odia film directors Hindi-language film directors Best Cinematography National Film Award winners Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts 20th-century Indian screenwriters Film and Television Institute of India alumni Odia screenwriters Cinematographers from Odisha Directors who won the Best Children's Film National Film Award Producers who won the Best Film on National Integration National Film Award Directors who won the Best Film on National Integration National Film Award Odia film screenwriters