Chandru Selvaraj is an Indian cinematographer who works in the

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

film industry. He has received two

Kerala State Film Award The Kerala State Film Awards are the film awards for a motion picture made in Kerala. The awards started in 1969 by the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala and since 1998 the awards have been bestowed by Kerala State Cha ...

, one for ''Kayattam'' (2020) and another for '' Vazhakku''.

Early life

Chandru was born in

Ooty Ooty (), officially known as Udhagamandalam (also known as Ootacamund (); abbreviated as Udhagai), is a city and a municipality in the Nilgiris district of the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located north west of Coimbatore and so ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

. His father's job required frequent transfers, which eventually led his family to settle in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

. Initially, Chandru pursued a career in engineering because of the suggestions from his family. However, he made the bold decision to take up filmmaking despite initial objections from his family.

Career

He started his career by assisting cinematographer

Tirru S. Thirunavukarasu (born 21 July 1966), better known mononymously as Tirru, is an Indian cinematographer who has worked in multiple languages across India. He won the National Film Award for Best Cinematography for '' 24'' (2016). Personal ...

. He has assisted on seven films in a span of four years, during which he was introduced to

Sanal Kumar Sasidharan Sanal Kumar Sasidharan (born 8 April 1977) is an Indian poet, lawyer, and filmmaker. Personal life Sanal Kumar Sasidharan was born in Perumkadavila village, Thiruvananthapuram district, Kerala on 8 April 1977. He graduated in Zoology from VTM ...

by one of

Karthik Subbaraj Karthik Subbaraj is an Indian film director, writer and producer working mainly in Tamil cinema. Life and career Karthik did his schooling in SBOA Matriculation and Higher Secondary School, Madurai after which he went on to study Mechatron ...

's associate while they were working on ''Petta'' (2019). In 2021, Chandru won the

for Best Cinematography in ''Kayattam (2020),'' which was his debut film in the

Malayalam film industry Malayalam cinema is an Indian film industry of Malayalam-language motion pictures. It is based in Kochi, Kerala, India. The films produced in Malayalam cinema are known for their cinematography and story-driven plots. In 1982, ''Elippathayam' ...

. The film was entirely shot on an iPhone XS Max in the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

.' In 2022, He worked on

Stephy Zaviour Stephy Zaviour is an Indian costume designer working predominantly in Malayalam cinema. Early life Stephy was born to Late Zaviour Karivelil and Gracy Karivelil and brought up in Wayanad, Kerala. She did her schooling at St.Joseph Higher S ...

's directorial debut, '' Madhura Manohara Moham'' starring

Sharafudheen Sharafudheen, professionally credited as Sharaf U Dheen, is an Indian actor who appears in Malayalam films. He made his acting debut in 2013 with '' Neram''. He got his breakthrough by portraying the role of ''Girirajan Kozhi'' in ''Premam'' ( ...

and

Rajisha Vijayan Rajisha Vijayan is an Indian actress, who primarily appears in Malayalam films, in addition to a few Tamil films. She hosted several television shows in Malayalam before making her acting debut in the 2016 film '' Anuraga Karikkin Vellam,'' fo ...

. His collaboration with director

on 'Kayattam' was a significant turning point in his career as he got to work with him again on 2022.

Filmography

As cinematographer

:*''All films in

unless otherwise noted''

Awards

* 51st Kerala State Film Award for Best Cinematography - ''Kayattam'' (2020) * 53rd Kerala State Film Award for Best Cinematography - Vazhakku

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Selvaraj, Chandru Living people Malayalam film cinematographers Cinematographers from Tamil Nadu 21st-century Indian photographers Indian Tamil people Year of birth missing (living people)